Comments on CROATIAN SOCCER REPORT: EUROPEAN CUP SEASON BEGINS

General feeling is that Leko did not play to his f...

2009-07-17T13:38:18.673-07:00

General feeling is that Leko did not play to his full potential at Monaco as he saw it was no longer the Monaco from the Guily, Prso and Rothen days so has been picking up easy money. That's why he's leaving and why he'd do same at Stoke so really what i'm saying is that Dinamo need a player like Leko currently and maybe as he'd be regarded as a important player which he's not at Monaco he'd be playing each week and be helping the team he came from. You say he values more easy money rather than doing this - your prob right, but in that case he's just gonna be a waste of a player that only really showed anything back his time at Kiev. As i say with clubs like Stoke after him there is nothing on the table for him that is much better than Dinamo. All there is is more money. Prob not even that considering he's not going to Wolves cos they won't pay him the money he wants. Maybe Dinamo actually have more money than these teams.

I Think we'll close on this topic. I'm all talked ...

2009-07-17T13:29:45.006-07:00

I Think we'll close on this topic. I'm all talked out. Balaban played about as good as Balaban is. The guy's not exactly great. He Can't do better than that. As for Sokota - he's still a Dinamo hero in my mind, but he was injured and finished as a top class player. Also the guy's not exactly had it easy with sitting over Miki Feher when he died so i think whatever we paid Sokota is no problem.
Was pretty daft anyway to have the player for all that time when he was injured and then sack him just when he got fit. I'm ending this conversation. i think a 50-50 at least foreign to home grown player should exist in every club which will bring Real Madrid, Chelsea and Arsenal back down to earth.

Lets use the Leko situation....Who is to say he wo...

2009-07-17T13:20:49.994-07:00

Lets use the Leko situation....Who is to say he would play his heart out for Stoke. Maybe we would for pride or to get a better deal. There is no guarentee he would play his heart out for dinamo either.

Again, if dinamo will give him 700,000 per year and Stoke comes back and offer double that amount...he would be an idiot to go to dinamo. You think past players that have come back to dinamo put their heart into it.. Did prosinecki put his heart into dinamo by smoking and drinking during the season? Did balaban and sokota put their heart into the club when they came back?? No, they came back because dinamo was the only team willing to put them that much.

Everything isn't Ronaldo and that guy is not going...

2009-07-17T12:40:09.345-07:00

Everything isn't Ronaldo and that guy is not going there just for money. He's from a hot country very close by there so there are other reasons. He don't like it in England no more. For a start he's regarded as a cry baby and poser by English public and it obviously gets to him. Manchester is not a very good city. Eventually star players get fed up with it.
I'm talking about a guy like Leko going to Stoke rather than Dinamo. That's hollow as he has no feeling for Stoke. If he went there for money and played with no heart he'd be hated by fans - agreed???
You think really that English people are all for the current amount of foriegn players and so called big business. Paying masses amounts of money for shirts and tickets to fund greedy players wages. Yeah i'm sure they enjoy it big time.
Basically eventually greedy people crash the market. Its boom and then bust.
I agree with the Africa situation, but France is there gateway and i'm not against a quota of foriegn player. Chago would be amongst our quota at Dinamo. Its wholesale foriegn players which is not healthy. And foreign ownership is even worse and ultimately all these big clubs owe debts to these foriegn owners who can kill the club at any moment by pulling out and saying repay the money i put in.
As for Corluka and Modric they only play in big leagues and English currently allow it - but who knows maybe eventually they'll change their mind.
At present countries in financial mess and BNP (the most disgusting racist party in England is growing). That'll tell you something about how much your beloved freedom of trade is welcomed. Football clubs are important to communities in England and a return to old system is hugely neccessary. If this means Modric and Corluka are hitting the road back to Croatia well that's great for us at Dinamo but this is how it has to be. You'd feel same if Croatian teams was 90% foriegn players and Croats never got to play any football.

@ Denis, Perfect. You know I'm big on the snacks....

2009-07-17T11:13:58.274-07:00

@ Denis,

Perfect. You know I'm big on the snacks.

As for Pamela. I don't think she qualifies as Stara Koka status quite yet. But yes I don't mind the occassional older woman. I'm a good student. ;)

really.....Ronaldo must be hated at Real Madrid. ...

2009-07-17T10:46:42.024-07:00

really.....Ronaldo must be hated at Real Madrid. That sure looked like hatred during his introductory press conferance. its survival of the fittest. if you can't compete with the big boys, then leave and form an amateur club.

yes, the game is healthy. Record crowds, record tv ratings, huge tv dollars....

But, i'll play your liberal social angle. The current system has sure saved many in Africa and their family memebers by discovering african kids that without soccer would have nothing going for them.

Sounds like you would prefer the old yugo system where the soccer players were not allowed to leave until they turned 27 (i think that was the age). Yeah, thats all we need. You go tell Modric or Corluka or any of the other guys that left at a young age they have to stay at Dinamo/Hajduk and make at best a half million dollars instead of making a few million per year.

Well i know country i live in, in England has not ...

2009-07-17T09:53:57.587-07:00

Well i know country i live in, in England has not greatest relationship with EU anyway and would rather opt out and govern its own laws. Sees itself more aligned to America sadly. Businessman stole the game away and they don't even buy off lower league teams and now those sides are going down the drain. You say that football has never been healthier - what you kidding - like kids stabbing each other in the streets cos they have nothing better to do with their time cos government doesn't invest energy into them and football clubs don't give kids any matches so that's a closed avenue to them. Is that healthy then? If you have a survival of the fittest mentalty the rest get left wallowing in shit.
That's a nice thing about Croatia is that it give Croat kids opportunities despite how bad you think Croatian league is it still has a social purpose and that's same as it should be in England. Personally i'd love to see Modric and Corluka ripping it up at Dinamo rather than playing for Tottenham 'lets have 50 different players a season' Hotspur.
Here's an example for you a Nottingham Forest ex youth acadamy guy died in a police cell few weeks ago. That's the repuccisions of your mentality of clubs not giving a damn about the locals.
Mass influx of foreigners into a country also leads to fascism and it won't be the likes of footballers that get it - it'll be some lower class guy. Basically just searching for pay cheques is hollow and people who do it will just be hated by their clubs fans.

Wow! 30 comments in just a few days after the Dina...

2009-07-17T07:42:22.212-07:00

Wow! 30 comments in just a few days after the Dinamo Champions league game. I don't have much to say as I wasn't able to catch the match due to my bus to Zagreb.

I will keep you posted with anything interesting from Croatia...

By reading each and every one of your analysis, I didn't even have to watch the match..

Dinamo fans, nothing to panic about a 0-0 draw.. They will take care of business at Maksimir(If UEFA allows them to play there)

@Ante

Excellent job on the posts.. I will ring you back some maslinovo ulje, pršut, Pagški sir, and Pamela Anderson as soon as her week long engagement finishes in Croatia... You like older, mature women? right?

No way, legally, a foreign cap will work in EU con...

2009-07-17T07:26:28.554-07:00

No way, legally, a foreign cap will work in EU contries. FIFA can try all they want, but their rules do not outweigh the rules that govern nations. If you want to impose a quota on non-EU players, then it might work, but not for EU citizens. Besides, it is benefical for the cro national team that our players play in the big countries and develop their game. Playing matches in front of 3,000 people in the croatian league does not motivate anyone.

Its all about the money. If it was about love for your club, then why would any player leave the club they came up with. Its about getting a paycheck. I have pride in my work and the company I work for and I klow what my true value is to my employer. But, once I stop getting a paycheck or I find another company willing to pay much more for the same work, well then it is on my current employer to match or let me walk. Soccer is no different. It is a business and the game has never been healthier.

RE: Hajduk's Europa League draw It appears Hajduk...

2009-07-17T07:21:22.450-07:00

RE: Hajduk's Europa League draw

It appears Hajduk will play Slovakian side Zilna in the third qualifying round for the Europa League. Zilna holds a 2-0 advantage after the first leg of their second round matchup.

Stoke City - is that what things have come to. How...

2009-07-16T14:58:04.708-07:00

Stoke City - is that what things have come to. How hollow.. These are clubs around where i live and i know clubs like this would have meaned nothing to Leko few years ago. That's just sad if Leko would go there for money. Foreign cap is not a bad idea as English football is a league supposed to be for the English people and its awash with foriegn players. Stupid businessmen who never played a game of football in their life stole the game from the people - eventually they'll give it back. I have no problem with foriegn players, but at the end of the day when clubs lose identity with the area they are from that's just totally wrong. Dinamo could be a great club if we didn't have to feed these clubs that can't make their own players. What pride would Leko have in wearing a Stoke shirt - prob as much as he had in a Monaco shirt - zero.
Foreign cap i think is in FIFA's plans. The clubs that oppose it actually show what crappy football clubs they really are. Its like they want us to feel sorry for them cos they can't produce their own players. Be great to see these so called big fish flying back down to everyone elses level. As for the freedom of trade - well as much as i used to be all for that actually its starting to create a rise of facism due to growing unemployment in countries amongst locals so really could do with being curtailed a little. I think this is the way the world is going after economic crash so expect changes to legislation soon enough.

If someone like Stoke City offers twice the amount...

2009-07-16T14:10:47.593-07:00

If someone like Stoke City offers twice the amount Dinamo would, then Leko would be a fool to go back to Croatia.

You are correct, France, Engalnd, Germany are not are countries, but those countries offer better wages than Hrvatska does. I would love to live in Croatia full time, but I enjoy my current lifestyle. There is no way I can make the same amount of money legally in Croatia that I do in the US, so I prefer to live in the US because of the money and standard of living I have established here in the US.

The foriegn cap rule is a bad idea. Since Cro envisions joining the EU one day, the foreign cap rule will never work legally. If I am the best in my craft, I want to go showcase my craft to the best. The croatian league is either stepping stone for younger players or a place where players with limited talent or washed players go to earn a paycheck.

Yeah but as i say its your country. England, Franc...

2009-07-16T13:10:33.236-07:00

Yeah but as i say its your country. England, France is not your country. If Croatia goes up in flames is everyone gonna just disappear and live as refugees. I think this is one reason why the foreign player cap might be a good thing as some people clearly need to know which country is there own.
Croats should be helping to build their own domestic league and institutions - no point looking elsewhere.
If Leko chooses Stoke City over Dinamo Zagreb then i think he should hang his head in shame. Leko has got nothing interesting on his table. If a offer is there for a Croat to come to Dinamo they should take it if there is nothing much happening at the club they are at. Maybe i'm living in Cookoo land.

I am suggesting they have no pride in playing in t...

2009-07-16T12:44:02.553-07:00

I am suggesting they have no pride in playing in the croatian league. Playing in empty stadiums, playing in stadiums that are in terrible shape, playing in a league that changes formats every other year. Who can blame them? Its just one last payday for people like Kovac or any of the other guys that eventauly come back and are done. People like Asanovic and Stimac are perfect examples along with some of foreigners dinamo signed in the last 5 years. They came back out of shape with thier own agendas and had no interest in playing quality soccer.

Vierri to test Hajduk? Hajduk hosts Blackburn tom...

2009-07-16T12:19:45.752-07:00

Vierri to test Hajduk?

Hajduk hosts Blackburn tomorrow. I believe they're playing half-games in a three-team tournament at Poljud.

It seems there's a good chance they'll run up against Italian scoring ace Christian Vierri.

See below.

Vieri trial at Blackburn extended
Christian Vieri
Vieri has topped the scoring charts in Italy and Spain

Blackburn are to hand Italian striker Christian Vieri another chance to earn a contract at Ewood Park after he impressed during a recent trial spell.

The 36-year-old ex-Juventus and Inter Milan star spent a week with Rovers at a pre-season training camp in Austria and will join them on tour in Italy.

Tom

What your suggesting is that Croatians have no pri...

2009-07-16T12:07:58.970-07:00

What your suggesting is that Croatians have no pride in their country or institutions. Everyone just keeps moaning about the standard of league and nobody seems to believe in it (its your people for goodness sake) and what your suggesting regards Leko is that any decent Croatian player is not interested in playing in front of their own countryman. If that's so isn't that rather sad. I think Leko has recieved poor offers. He'd be best off going home.

I agree with Vatreni.....I dont care if this was D...

2009-07-16T07:13:19.165-07:00

I agree with Vatreni.....I dont care if this was Dinamo's first game since the break, they were playing a team from Armenia. No excuse not to win the first leg. I think they will win the 2nd leg easily, but they will have a tough time as they advance. They lack any playmakers on that team.

For dinamofan....you keep bringing up Leko. What makes you think he would want to come back to Croatia. His name has been bounced around in Engalnd/Scotland and he is living a rather nice life in France. When he gets to be Kovac's age, then he sould want to come back, but there is more $$$$ to be made outside of Croatia for him.

Butina - Kovac, Biscan, Lovren - Etto, VRDOLJAK, C...

2009-07-16T02:02:36.900-07:00

Butina - Kovac, Biscan, Lovren - Etto, VRDOLJAK, Callelo, Sammir, Glavina/Ibanez - Mandza, Pap/ Sivonjic

In my opinion the position i highlighted VRDOLJAK is our problem position as he can't create or attack very well - he can only tackle. If we replace him with someone like Jerko Leko and put Etto and Ibanez who both have pace on wing backs it'd be a better looking side. Really Biscan is supposed to go there. That's where he was tipped by Boban to play at the highest level and now it seems nobody even trusts him to play there even in HNL league.

I personally just think its time for Vrdoljak to move on. I can see him becoming a hard defensive midfielder in Austria or Germany, but he's not what we need right now. It'll also be another 1 million in the bank to be able to afford a new quality player.

Nah sorry mate but Carlos and Morales are better t...

2009-07-16T00:51:58.892-07:00

Nah sorry mate but Carlos and Morales are better than Badelj and well Barbaric - that guy should have been released. He's a big load of rubbish. As for Dario Simic - he will be useful for cover. Robert Kovac besides being slow that don't matter in Croat league as he significantly improved the defence when he arrived just by having defensive awareness. Simic will do the same. They are better than playing Etto, Ibanez and Glavina there who are attacking players by nature. With Simic at least the guy is a defender with know how rather than a midfielder that hasn't got a clue what he's doing. I mean who do you want us to buy? Its not easy attracting players to Dinamo - we just should make gradual improvements. Short term Simic is useful. What Dinamo is lacking at moment is knowhow.
I would definitely not play Biscan-Kovac-Simic. I think your missing Lovren out there. Personally i don't know what Biscan is doing back there. The guy was supposed to be a central midfielder. However apart from Kovac and Lovren the rest of the defenders are terrible. Barbaric should not have got a contract. He's simply no good. Simic as right or left back gives me more confidence than a midfielder at full back. Etto needs moving up to right wing and getting Sivonjic either as first sub striker or replacing Pap up front now and then. He's not supposed to be on wing.
I have no idea why he bought Morales just to not play him. Morales was scoring until he was dropped and stats showed that when we play Morales-Mandza-Sammir as a forward line we had a good win ratio. I'd actually prefer to see that forward line again rather than this Jurcic formation. Morales is a decent player but for his sake i'd like to see him go back to South America to rebuild his career. Then we buy Sharbini and Badelj and Sammir go to bench until they show they can perform better in Euro competition. Vrdoljak got to be sold for his career progress too as Soldo would like to take him at Koln. Soldo also wants Sharbini but £3m is too much for most well structured clubs to pay on one player. Leko should have got a bumper pay packet instead of giving it to Pap. We need a driving force in the mid. As for Mandza he's not worth over £10m. That's rubbish. He is being over rated. Mamic just wants to keep him so has rejected all offers. Those offers were good enough in another time and place. But Mamic thinks we can get in Champions League. Me though i want us in Europa Liga which is all we should aim for just now.

Dinamo should have beaten this team 3-0..There is ...

2009-07-15T19:02:58.806-07:00

Dinamo should have beaten this team 3-0..There is no excuse..Croatian players are supposed to be in another class from players in Armenia, Afghanistan, Luxembourg etc. Mandzukic is supposed to be worth 15 million euro and he can't score a goal against Pjunik..Its sad that 2-3 Romanian teams are playing in Champions League every year and we don't have 1 team there..Maybe Mamic should go to Romania and see how they are developing and managing their teams..I'm sure we can learn some things there..The problem is that to Mamic soccer is first a business then a sport. These idiots don't realize if you have build a great team more people will fill the stadium, we will play in better European competitions, and our players will be worth even more..Carlos should not even be getting water for the Dinamo players..Dinamo needs to take some of that money and buy talented Croats like Sharbini, Ilicevic, etc..Instead Mamic is forcing Sammir so he can make a couple of million euros for him..Why did he buy Morales?? These guys are worse than the young Dinamo players sitting on the bench Kramaric and Barbaric..Mamic is trying to find another Eduardo but that happens 1 in 1,000,000..Good luck

For sake of arguement, let me play reverse 'devil'...

2009-07-15T16:39:03.796-07:00

For sake of arguement, let me play reverse 'devil's advocate' in defense of Dinamo.

1. Dinamo had a short summer break as Champions League qualifying started really early this year compared to seasons past where it started in late July or August. They barely ended their HNL season 6 weeks ago.

2. New players=new chemistry ans commroderie to mold. give them time.

3. They played in Armenia for Christ-sakes! Who wants to travel there? They'll take care of businees at Maksimir.

My prediction is a 3-1 win for Dinamo in the return leg.

Dario Simic......yeah, that all they need is anoth...

2009-07-15T12:58:25.499-07:00

Dario Simic......yeah, that all they need is another guy that cant run anymore. What a backline that would be with Simic, Kovac and Biscan. It might be the slowest defense in europe.

Sharbini might be talented, but how does anyone know for sure. He playes in HNL against week opponents. If he trully is talented then some other teams besides Red Bull would be interested in signing him.

Cvitanich's national team situation is he has a Cr...

2009-07-15T11:58:25.626-07:00

Cvitanich's national team situation is he has a Croatian passport obtained in 2008. Therefore he needs to live in Croatia or play there for a year or two and then its possible. If he doesn't want this then i think the book is closed on that one. River Plate is no great club no more - this is why Callelo and Morales come to us rather than stay in South America. I think Cvitanich is not in Mamic's thinking though so its a non topic. I was talking hypothetically.

I've got to be honest you don't sound like much of a Croatia fan. How can you put down Sharbini when the guy is clearly talented. I think your over critical. Nah don't agree with you on Pap as if he scores 2 or 3 against small teams that doesn't amount to success. His role is to score 20 this season otherwise its a bad buy. Also you can't take this game serious. Its far too early. I remember Man Utd beaten in a Champions League first leg qualifier by an Hungarian side, but it means nothing. We expect a win in home match, but we are still in pre season prep. What i will say from this match is that i don't like that line up of Jurcic's. It looks stupid and that's putting it kindly. Sivonjic is a striker not a right winger and Sammir is a playmaker through the middle not a left midfielder. 4-4-2 makes our team skewiff. I know 3-5-2 is an outdated formation, but basically that's all our players fit into. Etto, Tomecak, Glavina and Ibanez are all wing backs and can't play right back or left back so what's the point in forcing them to. I heard news we are hoping to sign Dario Simic which i will completely welcome.

in defence of dinamo, they showed they were tired,...

2009-07-15T08:36:02.497-07:00

in defence of dinamo, they showed they were tired, but you have to remember its there first real game this season, im sure they'll step it up after they get some more games, pyunik were also in the middle of there season meaning they were already in form

Dinamo did not make 60 million euros. Some of that...

2009-07-15T07:21:53.627-07:00

Dinamo did not make 60 million euros. Some of that money went straight to Mamic since he was the agent for some of the players that moved.

Cvitanich.....what national team issues. I thought that was resolved. His great grandfather was from Croatia, not his grandfather, which means he is unable to play for Hrvatska. Plus, playing for River Plate and the argentine league is mucher better than the cro league.

As for the greek....yeah, he will show that he can score goals in the middle of the cro league when he scores 2 or 3 against Istra, Karlovac and Cibalia. 600,000 euros for that!!!! If these guys were any type of players they would have won the game individually yesterday. The talent is not there.

And for everyone wanting Sharbini....does not seem like any other clubs want him either. Only concrete offer he has received is from Austria.