The heir apparent to Luka Modrić – Mateo Kovačić – is starting to really heat up in London with Chelsea. After scoring his first goal in Chelsea blue 10 days ago in Champions League versus Valencia, Kovačić hit another beauty from outside the box in a 3-1 loss to Everton. Although Chelsea lost, they remain in the top-four with their young attacking crew of Kovačić, Pulisic, Abraham all gelling together. This is the same behavior Modrić had at the beginning of his Real Madrid career. He never attempted shots from outside the box and finally found the confidence to start banging them into the back of the net.
Kovačić Scores From 24 Yards Out
In a huge game for Bayern Munich to get back into the Bundesliga title race against 1st-place Borussia Monchengladbach, Ivan Perišić came off the bench in the 20th minute and scored the game’s opening goal with a wonderful “back to goal half-volley”. (I know the video quality is horrible but Bundesliga highlights are hard to come by these days). Even with the goal, Bayern would concede twice and lose 2-1. They are now seven points behind first place.
I originally thought Perišić’s loan move to Bayern would be a good sign of things to come. Now I wish he would have stayed at Inter Milan.
Perišić Strike For Bayern Munich (Does anyone have better links to Bundesliga?)
Rumors are brewing in Liverpool that former Croatian and Bayern Munich manager Niko Kovač could be the next coach at Everton. He was spotted in the stands this weekend in Everton’s 3-1 win over Chelsea.
Budimir scores twice vs. Barcelona
Ivan Rakitić had an assist for Barcelona in their 5-2 victory over Mallorca on Saturday but he didn’t have the best Croatian performance of day in that game. Former Lokomotiva Zagreb striker, Ante Budimir, scored twice for Mallorca against Barca in what will surely be remembered as his greatest performance ever. At 28 years old, Budimir was never capped by the Croatian senior side and has been a journey man of sorts across Europe, but this weekend will go into the Hall of Fame for the Croatian.
Anonymous comment made on December 10, 2019 at 2:13 PM
You’re a false alarmer.
@Pro white guy
Listen idiot, you can’t throw things onto the field of play, that is not allowed, it’s against the rules.
Maybe you should be asking what sort of idiot would go to a football game to throw a banana onto the field, that’s a real tough white guy lol!
Spain was under Islamic rule for like a 1000 years, how come they don’t speak Arabic? You think they started speaking Spanish after the Reconquista? LOL!
FUCK FACE, I ALREADY TOLD YOU, a man was arrested for “making a racist gesture”, that’s putting a man in jail for free speech. Stop trying to justify the suppression of free speech you obeying faggot.
And let me take apart both retards arguing above, and I only read a few lines:
1) What Napoleon said he did not mean literally, he was making point.
2) The fact that Croatia is still a nation after 1,400 years PROVES we DID protect our nationhood. We still see today a nationally of people within another country’s borders consider themselves their own nationality.
3) Croatia was never in a position to colonize a third world country, so stop trying to make other white nations look “evil” when every single kind of people have taken advantage of another people when they had the power to do so.
4) Croatia was a part of stemming the Islamic tide invading Europe, but if the Muslims had taken Tours or Vienna you’d just have French and German speaking white muslims today basically. So please stop with “you’d be speaking Turkish” retardedness.
^
You’re not allowed to throw things onto a football field and he was arrested for that, so what’s your problem?
Anonymous of Dec 8, 3:59pm said: “What was the “racist gesture”?
Did he make a “racist gesture”?
The antonym for the word gesture is speech, that means to make a gesture is not speech!
So where did this “criminalization of free speech” take place?”
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Look at this obeying faggot trying to justify the suppression of free speech. Holy shit, what an obeying anti-white faggot. And he really has no idea how ridiculous he makes himself look with that reply to me.
How about we send you to prison anti-white for throwing a banana peel within 10 yards of a negro?
Hazard is pure offense, and is a winger.
Kovačić is a defensive and possession midfielder.
Different players, but Chelsea really did cash in on Hazard. They definitely got good money for him. Kovačić is a very good buy at only 50M.
Chelsea is gonna sell Jorginho if Kovačić keeps this up…and they will probably buy some more talent at other positions using the cash.
Hazard was gonna leave eventually, so they did the right thing by selling him at his peak (unlike teams like Lazio who got greedy with Sergej, and lost 50M and counting for not selling at the right time).
I doubt Kova will be better than hazard
Hope he proves me wrong
I meant they sold Kova for 50
Picking up hazard for what 100?
They are sort of a trade if u think about?
I know Kova was already in England with hazard but still u think
They could have just taken Kova back to Spain and Saved the money
Again I’m not saying Kova is hazard but in three years you never know
Kova can be just as good or better Maybe…
@Dannyj
Re: Your comment…
“Was it worth for Madrid to essentially pay more then double what they sold Kova for??”
Madrid paid Inter about 30 million Euro for Kovacic, then they sold him to Chelsea for something like 50 million Euro.
They made like 20 million Euro profit on him.
Not just the deepest midfield in the world but more importantly the best
Also shouldn’t fail to mentioned Kova is nearly three years younger
Pound for pound If Kova keeps this play
Chelsea raped them…
Again correct me if I’m wrong And I just don’t have homer glasses
I guess what I’m asking
Was it worth for Madrid to essentially pay more then double what they sold Kova for??
At this point I don’t see it
https://youtu.be/0gUi2qJOIWc
A video of Kova showing his incredible dribbling skills under pressure
Hoping he follows luka how when luka “played like a bust” then went on to dominate the world
Some of the Chelsea fans are saying too bad he wasted away at Madrid. But I really don’t feel he did. He must have Learnt so much obviously hanging with luka but others daily as well
And it’s not like he didn’t play at all
He had a few good stints of quality action
Now 25 he is primed to take the next 5-8 years and really do his thing
Some are calling him the best midfielder in the EPL
Not my words but those are big words
Yet he still has a hard time finding play time for us
But I guess we will see this summer
Having Rakitić and Kova on the Bench… I think we can honestly argue that we have the deepest midfield in the world at the moment
^
Awesome stuff
Zdravko Mamić legendo.
How can anyone not like this guy?
https://www.facebook.com/ZdravkoMamic/videos/dinamo-je-u-srcu-hercegovine-a-hercegovina-je-u-mom-srcu-hvala-udruzi-dinamo-u-s/1972664606212021/
Sorry ..nope russians are in euros.
https://www.newsweek.com/russia-doping-ban-fifa-world-cup-uefa-euro-2020-1476213
yup 4 years the russians are banned all international sports ..
The last world cup ..closeup camera shot of 1 of the russian players clearly showed a needle mark on his arm…during the 70s olympics east germany soviets were ruthless roid doper users..they dominated the medals podium.The woman athletes looked like mutant mangina bitches..horrific what performance hormonal injections can do..to basically cheat.
Ruskis might have to wear blank soccer kits with no flag..like an independent athlete..i think i just heard on the news…correct me if im wrong.
Russia Athletes Just banned. Wonder if their Euro team is affected ?
Apologeeze for interjecting on croatiansports.com with, um, sports content, but here’s something on Rakitic, the soccer player:
https://www.marca.com/en/football/barcelona/2019/12/09/5ded484de2704e1a2a8b45a4.html
Serbs will be our source of slave labor and
They will never be taught to count over 500.
@EUsports.com nation
I said,
“Your history starts from the time that communust/globalist Kolinda rolled out the red carpet for Alex Vucic while some Croats still don’t know the whereabouts of their loved ones after the war. That’s a part of your Croatian history now, LOL!”
Lol, @Maminjo responds with,
“Again. All that political stuff is window dressing. You’d be better off ignoring it.”
Why ignore it, because the missing are already dead?
False alarmers think that way, lol let Kolinda score points with the EU and ignore the fact that cetnik Vucic’s Serbs, are the cause of so much heartache for real Croats? Lol, Croats shouldn’t be effected by that all? Lol, just ignore it.
@Maminjo
If the missing were your family members I could easily ignore it.
Meh.
Again. All that political stuff is window dressing. You’d be better off ignoring it.
If you want something to go by what Napoleon was referring to…
Today’s Croats almost won the World Cup (twice), and there’s always a Croat killing it in the ring (MMA, boxing, and kickboxing). Not bad for a country the size of a city, and has no money invested in sports.
If we were still battling with swords (instead of drones and window dressing media articles that you seem to like) I also would choose the 100,000 Croats option.
@Maminjo
“What do you expect Croatia to do? Steamroll Serbia with the Croatian army until they tell them where these bodies are?”
I expect “Croats” to shit on Croats and roll out the red carpet for cetnik Vucic, and that’s what they did LOL!
The battles with Mohammedan Turks has nothing to do with you “Croats,” you liberal “Croats” build them mosques LOL!
I responded to the Napolean quote, I just wanted you “Croats” to know that doesn’t have anything to do with today’s “Croatia.”
BTW, I’m just messing around with you.
But on a serious note…why do you take pride in Croatia’s unsuccessful attempts to get the Serbian president to disclose where mass graves of innocent civilians are?
What do you expect Croatia to do? Steamroll Serbia with the Croatian army until they tell them where these bodies are?
Even though Croatia is more than capable of doing that, it’s an absurd act.
Serbia wants to join the EU, and won’t be able to, until they disclose where the bodies of the innocent people are. That’s that.
Everything else you read online is just window-dressing.
But none of this should concern you, nor should you be taking any pride in any of this because it doesn’t represent you.
Remember…
You’re just some dude writing about politics in the comments section on a sports website.
The Turks would have been ruling this empire.
Not sure why this is so hard for you to follow.
You’d be chewing on your gritty Turkish coffee right now, if it wasn’t for us.
@Maminjo
Tell us more pussy.
Who would’ve been ruling this empire?
Didn’t fight them over “language”.
Fought them and prevented them from expanding their rapidly growing empire (which would have included you).
You’re welcome.
And vucic still looked pissed when he got the red carpet treatment
There just no pleasing them so why bother
@Maminjo
“If it wasn’t for Croats, you’d probably be speaking Turkish right now.”
When did you “Croats” fight the Turks over language?
Your history starts from the time that communust/globalist Kolinda rolled out the red carpet for Alex Vucic while some Croats still don’t know the whereabouts of their loved ones after the war. That’s a part of your Croatian history now, LOL!
The globalists laugh at you “Croats.”
How did Croatia protect its homeland? It wasn’t its own Nation for a thousand years
@ Stipe
I too don’t want Serbia to qualify because of all the off field BS, the game unfortunately would become politicized. This would be a distraction for players on both sides. Anyway, I highly doubt Serbia will beat Norway in Oslo.
@ Maminjo
Croatians never got into the whole exploit and colonize business. We were just Great Warriors who kicked a lotta ass, and protected our homeland.
Also just saw Son of Tottenham’s goal today. No reason Kova can’t do something like that. Maybe it’s only a matter of time….
Want white Serbia in east Germany
Long way from mother Russia
That’s why Russians give the Serbs that puzzled look every time they meet
There is no way any Croatian player would put their friendship with a Serbian player should that match up occur
@Suba
If they qualify. Don’t sleep on them. I don’t want them to bc of the off field bullshit. Those players get along.
Speaking of budala coments look what super cetnik seselj said..other day
For us Serbian Radicals and all Serbian patriots, Serbia is the homeland and Russia is the mother. We equally love our fatherland Serbia and mother Russia,” Seselj remarked.
The real answer is ukraine has much older history.kievs older than moscowand is the mother of the white race..so they say
@Facts are facts
If it wasn’t for Croats, you’d probably be speaking Turkish right now.
Croats aren’t an empire-aspiring nation.
They don’t go around trying to colonize other countries, nor do they go around considering the neighbours as just an orthodox or alpine version of themselves.
They consider their slice of land on this earth as the best piece, and that’s that.
The Napoleon quote was not real. Undoubtedly made up by some Croats
But if it was real, it’s the stupidest thing i ever heard. Give me 100,000 Croats and I’ll take over the world?! Well guess what, there were over 100,000 Croats in Croatia’s for as long time and they never took over the world. They couldn’t even have their own nation for a thousand years until it was gifted to them by nazi Germany or the U
More like, give me a 100,000 Croats and the kafic’s will be full
Serbia will not qualify don’t know why you give a shit stipe
Moderate Serbs are already congratulating us for qualifying because they know they won’t
Can we stop using that stupid Napoleon comment regarding the prowess of Croats
It’s only people like stimac who still uses it
There more to Croats than that comment from Napoleon
How about we defend what’s ours and reclaim what’s ours first before we claim 100 thou Croats can take on the whole world
For fucks sake we can’t even return a couple of Nigerians back from where they came from
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-manchester-50704879
You talking about this mr anon above.
@Anonymous
“Someone was ARRESTED by police in England for making a “racist gesture” and not ONE, not ONE person in the ENTIRE American media, these self proclaimed “protectors of free speech” will criticize this criminalization of free speech.
And by the way, who gets to determine what qualifies as a Thought Crime?”
What was the “racist gesture”?
Did he make a “racist gesture”?
The antonym for the word gesture is speech, that means to make a gesture is not speech!
So where did this “criminalization of free speech” take place?
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/george-chuvalo-muhammad-ali-1.3628744
Heres proof they allowed cuvalo as a pall bearer for ali..ali in his hay day no doubt had zero respect for the ptb.
George cuvalo an mohamed ali..casius clay were also good friends .They fought when there was massive race riots in usa..ali no doubt must have not liked the white devils but admired and respected george.Imo i bet ali knew how hrvats were oppressed by evil commy serbs..so he understood georges toughness.
I think it’s a one game playoff, at the higher ranked team’s stadium (ranking is based on Nations League rankings I think).
Serbia and Noway would play in Norway.
Then the winner would play Scotland in Scotland.
Serbia is better than both those teams talent wise, but they’re not deep enough nor are they THAT talented to easily overcome two teams on the road.
It will be tough for them.
A part of me wants them to qualify because I would love to see us beat them again (I honestly can’t see them competing with us at tournament level).
However, I also don’t want to deal with any off the field nonsense, and listen to ignorant western media hyping this game up as some deep rooted football rivalry (when Serbia is not even good enough to ever have a rivalry with us).
I don’t want it to overshadow the REAL football rivalry we have with England (and France, since we meet them in the quarters).
When does Serbia play Norway?? And is it a home and away game with aggregate ? How does it work ? Anybody???
Just to let you in on how absolutely fucked up our current society is: it is ILLEGAL for a white man in Europe to say Europe should only allow white immigrants. The CRIMINAL white traitors say “we are for free speech, but you can’t say THAT”.
What’s really really sad is that I have to say ‘Can you imagine a black man being arrested inside of a black country for saying only black immigrants should be allowed here?’
Someone was ARRESTED by police in England for making a “racist gesture” and not ONE, not ONE person in the ENTIRE American media, these self proclaimed “protectors of free speech” will criticize this criminalization of free speech.
And by the way, who gets to determine what qualifies as a Thought Crime?
@Canadian Croat
What Napolean said about those Croats doesn’t apply to these modern “Croats.”
Croats are more likely to bend over now and take it up the arse.
If “Croats” kept it real they would call themselves European unionists, cos the Croatian character is more in line with the EU then those Croats Napolean spoke of.
One example is that Croats used to battle at Sisak against the Mohammedans, now lol because of the instructions they’ve been given by the EU/globalists (Croats are under a tutorship), they build a mosque in Sisak.
So please, stop with this linking today’s “Croats” with those Napolean spoke of, it pisses me off as a Croat that’s deeply rooted in Croatian history.
Like I said, most of the Croats here are false alarmers.
Kovacic’s form has been exceptional, in recent weeks he’s arguably been one of the best midfielders in the league….
…if this continues, he can be anointed “World Class” status.
Kovacic has a unique combination of dribbling and tackling ability. Now that his scoring has been improving, he’s on his way to becoming a complete midfielder.
Can Cro…facts and istina right there
Ya let’s hope Kovacic makes that jump
I don’t think luka Was too far more advanced on his career at the same age
Correct me if I’m wrong
Now we ain’t saying he is luka but if he got to 80 percent of him
We will be just fine going forward
Surely one of these young midfielders will pan out shortly to get into the mix
There will be another Vlašić or Broz coming up soon enough
Full Quote:
Napoleon is quoted as saying to general Marmont: “I never had more braver and better soldiers. Croatians, they are the best soldiers in the world. If I had only 100000 Croatians, I would conquer the entire world!”
@ Iggy: “Oh nice! I didn’t know about the Hrgovic fight but as you guys all know we have a proud history of fighters with Branko, Mirko and Stipe so it’s great to see it continuing. Great stuff!”
So many non Canadian Croats have never heard of George Chuvalo (aka Jure Cuvalo) who was the Canadian champion for like 25 years straight. He has never and I mean never been down to the mat, toughest chin ever. He fought Mohammed Ali twice and after one of the fights, even though Ali won, Ali was pissing blood for two weeks and couldn’t fuck for a month…true fact….guess what Cuvalo did after the fight? He went dancing with his wife! Also noteworthy was a Croatian American by the name of Pat Miletich…him and the Gracie family were the early UFC tough guys who helped put UFC on the map…Croats are warriors always have been and always will be! Napolean once said, “Give me 100,000 Croatian soldiers and I will conquer the world” “The Cravats” were always a force to be reckoned with!
Anyone know Benković’s situation at Leicester? Seems it’s hard for him to get game time.
Filip lost to Joe Joyce in the amateurs and Tony Yoka in the Olympics I think he can beat both in the pros. Filip has the potential to hit as hard as wilder his next fight should be against Usyk he needs a real test. Filip could become a Croatian superstar! I love this guy!
Maminjo, I watch a lot of fights and have been following Filip since his amateur days. I think Filip could beat them also but he needs to work on his movement he got caught twice yesterday and froze Wilder would have dropped him. Flip has real power and relies on it too much. I Love the fact that flip can eat a punch but he needs to avoid this his cardio is also a question mark.
@ BZ and Dannyj
Kovačić slalom run against Iceland when we were down a man, slide pass to Srna. That was his game!
Vlašić is a must start as he is our first explosive #10 since Boban/Prosinečki.
Modrić is well Modrić and can create from anywhere.
Brozovic > CDM than anyone we have including Kovačić.
Kovačić how ever has recovery speed and has improved tremendously defensively over the past few years.
We will see how the club season plays out but my sense is Kovačić brings more EPL type play versus England than Brozovic.
But they are neck and neck now and that is due to Kovačić stepping up.
I remember in the start of his first Inter Milan season when he was playing the #10 and creating dynamic goals all over the place.
We just need him to a be a goal creator as a #8 not at the level of a Vlašić #10.
Thanks to Lampard he seems to play without fear in the final third.
Man .. if he could access his supreme confidence like a De Bruyne type player .. he. could become world class.
Yeah I said it .. Kovačić in the next 18 months could become a world class #8 and fulfill his destiny to bridge the generation with Modrić.
I remember when Šuker (zemljak) told me himself we would never produce player like the ones from ‘98, because Jugo League was the source of the Vatreni.
Then Luka “Ballon D’or” Modrić comes along.
The vision was always to produce a generation for ever!!
Just qualifying for Euro 2020 after WC 2018 will inspire the next generation of dečki.
Bog i Hrvati.
I’m not a boxing expert…but I can’t tell if Hrgovic actually has potential to beat a Tyson Fury or a Deyonte Wilder.
I watched a few of his fights, and the guy doesn’t seem fast or explosive when he punches. He’s technically very good and disciplined. But he seems slow. I’m hoping it’s just because the competition he’s faced didn’t stand a chance against him, so he treated it like a sparring match. He doesn’t seem to be challenged by any of these guys he’s fought recently (despite a couple of them having decent resumes).
He seems like a ‘Stipe Miocic’ type of Croat fighter. He has VERY heavy hands that really hurts his opponent (even though it doesn’t look like it from our point of view)…and he can eat punches from his opponent without being knocked out.
But I’m curious to see if Hrgovic is capable of eating a punch from Fury or Wilder. These guys are just as big as he is, with probably more punching power.
Like Joey
I hear you but the betting sites had it the other way around. Yes he has potential but just saying the boxing world has not given Hrgovic his due. I expect that will slowly change.
Filip Hrgovic has crazy potential and has Pedro Diaz as a trainer. The sky is the limit!
Ivan, Hrgovic was favoured to win. Hrgovic is the guy nobody wants to fight. Filip has a great amateur background and has a great camp. Filip is a huge problem when he becomes a mandatory contender. Filip has sparred with Dubois, Wilder, Klitschko etc. He has a loss to Joe Joyce as an amateur which he could avenge now. Anybody saying Filip was an underdog, is clueless to the fight game.
@Slavonac
I’m really happy for Hrgovic. He was training in Miami the past month and no one gave him a chance. Hopefully he can go far.
Kovacic reminds me of myself in 8th grade! Once you bang your first one in, then you starting banging them non-stop. (Chelsea lost, so that is concerning.)
Brekalo’s slump continues, but at least he got some playing time this week.
Happy to see Bayern and Juventus lose in the same day. That’s what you get when you don’t start World Class players like Perisic and Mandzukic.
@Soul-Not sure if I am happier for you or Kovacic, but let’s remember, Kova has never lit it up for us in ANY of his NT opportunities. But like a buddy of mine always says, things are swinging our way.
I gotta say that perisic highlight is 5 star HD great
Someone on here stated his cross field passes go 60 yards effortlessly no reason he can’t score,and that his first goal might turn him into a goal scorer once he gets his confidence.MIND OVER MATTER!
@horvat
The pundits on sky sports in the UK and a large proportion of twitter have already named Kovacic the best midfielder in the premier league for a few weeks running. Some saying best in the world. Lets hope he continues to shine
Budimir with both goals for Mallorca versus Barca so far.
(And check out Suarez’s goal if you can, wow.)
Just when I started throwing the towel in on Kovacic.
I have always said he is one of the most talented Croatian players ever. However, I have questioned his motivation and fighting spirit.
Let’s hope he continues and becomes a great player!
Oh nice! I didn’t know about the Hrgovic fight but as you guys all know we have a proud history of fighters with Branko, Mirko and Stipe so it’s great to see it continuing. Great stuff!
Hrgovic is a beast
Let’s see how far he can go
Soul champ
If we were playing England tomorrow how do you the midfield??
Perišić with a goal as well today
Remember the times we would go a couple weeks without goals
Now I personally can’t remember when main Croats were held off the score sheet
Long way to go to win euro but there is no doubt at going In at 9th place odds to win it will only go to serve us well
Feeds so much into our underdog mentality
Vrsaljko I think also practicing with main team as well
Crappy bout Lovren. Hope not too bad
I just hope someone really steps up as a back up cb for euro
I guess At this point it’s caleta
Hrgovic KO over Molina!
The bookies had Molina easily winning this fight and yet he was really nothing but a slob!
Good win for Hrgovic!
Lovren re-injured…too bad he’s been doing well lately Klopp has been speaking highly of him
Well, his shots still can’t really reach the net (as his goals were bouncing shots).
But it’s good that he’s taking these.
Throwing a ball toward goal, with all the chaos that goes on… Anything can happen.
A few weeks ago Mateo’s shots wouldn’t reach the net from outside the 16, now he’s got two goals from there. Amazing what a little boost in confidence can do.
Mateo!!!!!! Goal!!!!!!!
“Let’s get ready to RUMMMMMMBLE!”
WWC in the house .. Weekend Water Cooler.
I watch Kovačić and Chelsea religiously every weekend.
He has stabilized his career and is starting to fine tune his play in the final third.
He starts every match for the 4th placed team in the EPL and most meaningful matches in the CL.
He has defined his game as a #8.
He still has a shining example in Modrić to learn from.
His talent and slalom runs have always been evident to all of us.
You need depth to make runs in big tournaments.
Once again Kovačić will be given an opportunity to breakthrough for us this June.
I personally would start him against England as he is mastering the EPL.
He just brings a different type of midfield presence for us.
Especially now you have Vlašić as an explosive #10 and Brekalo as a slick attack winger.
Three dribble attack players that put pressure on the D will diversify our offense.
Modrić can create play from any place on the pitch.
Brozovic can run for ever.
Perišić will be in the mood to shine against England.
Petković is a handful.
Kramaric is a finishing savant.
Dalic has to maximize the collective power of all these parts to create a unified whole to make yet another historic run.
Could you imagine we win Euro 2020?
It’s a tournament . big teams will knock each other out along the way. We don’t need to beat every country.
All these kids growing up are feeling the stereotype lift of the archetypal form of the nogometaš.