Ivan Rakitić and Barcelona will join Luka Modrić, Mateo Kovačić, Mario Mandžukić and Dejan Lovren in the Champions League quarterfinals.
The current La Liga leaders defeated Premiership club Chelsea 3-0 Wednesday night to book their spot in the Champions League quarterfinals. They will join Real Madrid, Sevilla, Juventus, Roma, Bayern Munich, Manchester City and Liverpool in the draw this Friday. Rakitić played the full 90 minutes with Lionel Messi scoring twice; nutmegging Chelsea keeper Thibaut Courtois on both occasions.
Truth Trolls having more fantasies while playing his Xbox
https://youtu.be/WeCnOFv0O78
Here are the beasley highlights. I got to watch from slightly behind the Sixers bench so got a good view. Saric really struggled
@ maminjo
I generally agree. I’ve been impressed with saric and his progress. And he’s done what he really needed to do to be effective and that was improve his shooting
I also think he has great desire to play for Croatia unlike “when it suits me” hezonja, “too busy right nite” zubac, and “not the right time zizic”
Ya we have been talking bout caleta for while now
Kid sounds like he deserves some play time
What’s up with that benkovic kid??
Sad we are talking bout kids over a guy that plays for Liverpool
Ne seri Truth Troll
@troof
Saric is a second year NBA player who’s made monumental gains in his ability to make automatic threes, scoring more efficiently, improve his total shooting, and adjusting to an offense that has multiple players who require the ball in their hands to be effective.
Almost every single 2nd year player will struggle at times on defence, especially with limited athleticism…but he’ll conquer this too with his high BBall IQ.
All signs pointed to him failing, and he still has surpassed expectations. He just has that IT factor. He will become an All-Star one day.
Caleta-Car had a good game today and almost scored (he was denied with a great save by the Borussia keeper) but Red Bull Salzburg is the first Austria League team to ever make it to the quarterfinals in Europa.
I can’t believe he wasn’t called up to the Peru/Mexico friendlies.
Hopefully he gets called up as a replacement to the injured Corluka. I highly doubt Vedran will be playing now.
Celtic fans hate Simunovic the same way Liverpool fans hate Lovren.
I don’t watch Celtic games (who does really?) but I don’t really care if he plays for BiH or not. Celtic apparently are going to sell him off in the summer. Mamic really suckered them good.
But I guess it’s better he doesn’t represent BiH. You never know, he might be a decent depth player in the future, but I wouldn’t count on it.
If corluka not well maybe caleta car an option or perhaps simunovic
Sitting courtside at the Knicks sixers game tonight. Saric is a good player but man does he struggle on defense
Isn’t mitrovic buried behind 4 seasoned players
Mitrovic is another option as well.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duje_%C4%86aleta-Car
He’s even got a bit of an eye for goal.
4 goals in 27 youth team games for the National Team is great.
Caleta-Car!
What does the man have to do to play for us?!
Is he in Mamic’s bad books or something?
He just went the full 90 in a clean sheet win over Dortmund.
Not having slow Corluka waddling around like a duck in our defence is a big blow, he’s our best and most athletic defender.
Have we got another one like Corluka anywhere?
And more importantly who will our two defensive mids protect now?
Lovren does makes massive mistakes, so much so that you even question your sanity, as in: “Did I just see him do that or am I seeing things???”
Gentleman…I have even more bad news, Corluka was subbed out in the 75th minute due to an injury on the same Achilles tendon he had an operation on. At this point, it’s questionable whether he will be fit for the World Cup.
Therefore we might, *gulps* have to see Lovren at Center-back…
But all is not lost! We can get Caleta Car in their at CB, he’s as strong as an ox and as fast a Rimac automobile. And would partner up nicely with Vida.
Corluka was subbed off in the 75th minute when they were down by 3 goals. Hardly alarm bells ringing. Lokamotiv has to ring the changes as they were exiting Europa.
Hmm interesting point anon!
I read that Corluka was substituted off at halftime as well. Tough to think Corluka will be ready for WC.
Interesting development….. looks like Jozo Simunovic has walked away from his call up from BiH in upcoming friendlies. He’s 23 and future could be bright for him and perhaps the Repka….
Man Corluka looked like he was running in place against the speed and quickness of Athletico Madrid.
Vrsaljko on the flip side has explosive speed up and down the entire right flank.
Lovren maybe our 2nd best CB next to Vida, who a couple years ago was just like Lovren.
Putting his hand up in the penalty box like a 1st grader wanting to use the bathroom.
We may have to root for Lovren to be better off from all this Liverpool learning curves.
cp85 thanks friend
when lovren makes errors for Liverpool….they are massive errors
Soul champ would u trust lovren to move the ball from that spot? I wouldn’t mind trying lovren there but badelj is prob just the overall smarter safer choice
Heck put lovren at LB!
The chessboard has whitecand black tiles arranged reciprocally.
The same colored tiles can’t be set next to each other.
You should think about “white and black” being matched up as one!
@ CP85
Modrić able to play #10 role for us.
Real Crodrid need him the center of the park.
He has way too much responsibility carrying Kroos.
The 4.5 ?
Modrić – Rakitic – Kovačić – Mandžukić
Lovren ~.5.
I don’t like the way he is scapegoated in Liverpool… but he is missing a screw and even my homer glasses have to admit that can be a liability at CB.
I always said he was a CDM.
But in Croatia the boys are so skilled that he probably was pushed back to CB.
He has good pace, quick feet, good technique on the ball. Loves to tackle and release forward pass.
He seems erratic and mistake prone at CB.
Also seems a bit slight to handle the lukaku’s of the world ?
i like mandzukic, but he just doesnt fit in with the rest of the team
Hey Soul Champ whose the half player, just curious. Is that because Kovacic plays sparingly?
@Truth – we have too many players who do the dirty work on their club teams. It’s difficult to now expect them to score for us, we lack fire power up top. Remember Modric works/plays with Ronaldo and Rakitic with Messi. Mandza’s goal scoring is only as good as his service/crosses. If crosses/service is poor it’s hard for Mandza to score for us. Perisic needs to pick it up prior to the World Cup and hopefully Pjaca is fully healed. Some players are better for club vs country and other players are better for country vs club – Turkey, Mexico, Greece all seem to have their club players playing in their home leagues and qualify (ok No Greece or Turkey this World Cup).
Maybe our Cro league makes a difference as well. You have teams like Uruguay making the World Cup with a smaller population and arguably worse domestic league but they will pull your eyes out before they lose. We had that in 98, not anymore.
Question for you Truth/everyone. Do our NT players play better for club or country ? and why ?
Congrats Idemo.
Haven’t been watching much ball lately
Started my first career big boy post college job
But one things for certain
If Milan Badelj is playing for Fior….he will play for certain this summer!
10 years ago … only Srna was making a little noise with Shaktar in the CL.
Now we are ubiquitously present on the business end of proceedings.
These 4.5 guys need to lead us out of pool play this summer!
Modrić has to play right exclusively behind the striker. Dalić needs to deploy the plethora of midfielders in support of Modrić.
Truth Troll SO clever and witty
You got it razbijac! Well said.
Ok so now we got Lovren, Rakitic, Modric, Mandzukic, and Kovacic all in the Champions League Quarterfinals….Now call me crazy, but I think the chances are high that a Hrvat will win the Champions League for a sixth year in a row.
And ya know, every time I see a Hrvat lift the Champions League Cup, with the Croatian flag wrapped around his waist…it brings a tear to my eye…
UMMMM…
Repka is not a Croatian word.
In Macedonian it means Turnip or beet or rape.
The word you want is reprezentacija.
Reprezentacije if your talking about more then one Reprezentacija
Reprezentativci if your talking about the players or Reprezentativaca if your talking about a certain male player
Repka is just a butcher job by wanna be Croatian Diasporac.
Thats the Truth!
Dick
It’s interesting that some of our pretty boy players like rakitic and mateo krotch-does-itch play the dirty work roles on their pretty boy teams
Are either of these guys capable of playing this more dm role time for the repka?
Rakitic probably too slow to play true cdm
Krotch-does-itch maybe is getting there
In the end, we might have to just keep relying on milan bad-L…. His name comes from him being bad and his team often taking Ls
Rakitic is quiet, like I am a fan of Post Malone.