We have one Croatian in the Champions League semifinals. Will Luka Modrić join Kovačić and Chelsea Wednesday night?
Chelsea didn’t have to do much Tuesday night in Spain as they had a comfortable 2-0 first leg win. However, they did concede an absolutely wonderful injury time bicycle kick goal at the death. It wasn’t enough for Porto as Chelsea will now face Real Madrid or Liverpool in the Final Four. The extent of Kovačić’s is not yet known but it doesn’t seem serious.
Chelsea take a 2-0 first leg win over Porto into Tuesday’s night return match (3PM ET), which will also take place in Sevilla, Spain due to COVID travel bans. However, it will be without Kovačić. In Chelsea’s final training session ahead of the game Monday, Mateo Kovačić reportedly suffered an injury that will keep him out of tonight’s clash, Football London reports.
Kova had been a pivotal piece of this Chelsea midfield this season and the club are now 90 minutes away from the Champions League semifinals. It’s very possible that Kovačič and Modrić will meet in the semis with a chance at the Final on the line if both teams hold serve this week in the return legs.
Yea, I could care less for club performance.
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We had guys like Miki Rapaić who would kill it for us, but had mediocre club careers.
Even Perišić gets a little inconsistent at club level, but he’s one of our best NT performers.
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Club form is important, but if you’ve already proven your worth at NT level (and consistently bring it for the NT) then I don’t really care about club performance.
This is why I’m not concerned about Vrsaljko winning back his starting role at Atlético. So long as he stays fit, I know he’ll step up at the Euros.
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Kovačić, on the other hand, has been capped over 60 times and I can count his good games on my fingers.
He’s been very bad for us.
IF he plays well for us regularly, then yea, then I will give him his due credit. But his “so called” good club performance won’t mask his mediocre performance on the National Team.
Kova is improving a lot at Chelsea…and he does pass forward once in a while 😉 I’ve been watching their games all season, and he rarely has a bad game. Under Tuchel, he has become one of their most valuable players.
I think Maminjo will change his mind on Kova once he proves himself, and shows his value for the Repka. I tend to agree with this line of thinking…what you accomplish for your club is not nearly as important as what you add to the Vatreni.
Hopefully Kovačić gets better when he’s in his 30s, like Modrić did
We are too hard on mateo,he’s a good lad and we ride him because we expect more from him due to his talent.
Medo, He was the alter boy and met her at Church as she was taking the Eucharist… He would see her come down that isle every Sunday for years….Beautiful site indeed! Nice to see him finally taking her down the isle at the end of the day! Don’t worry, Kova, will be making his down the isle runs pretty soon…
Like marriage takes readiness and maturity so will his runs through the opposing Teams when he is ready. I predict it will be sooner than most think!
I wonder how long Mateo took to make a pass at his gorgeous wife,or was he constantly sidestepping the issue or perhaps retreating?
Watch more of his games. He does pass forward.
I still chuckled at it, but yeah… don’t want to turn into Živa/Truth making a mildly amusing joke, then repeating it thousands of times.
I agree. But it is necessary.
One day, when Kovačić makes a forward pass… You’ll thank me.
The passing joke is starting to smell and feel like week old bread.
Chelsea will be in big trouble for this 2nd leg. Mateo’s ability to deliver pin-point, world class side and back passes will be missed. Do they have someone on the bench who can fill this gap? I assume not.
In this Kovačić photo, there is actually a little devil on his right shoulder telling him that he should take the ball forward himself and selfishly take a shot on goal
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It is obvious, from Kovačić’s facial reaction, that he is fighting this temptation and is about to turn around and back pass it to the nearest defender.