United scout Croatian duo

Croatia has some good players coming up - Vrsaljko, Badelj, Kovacic etc

I think Slovenia's goalkeeper, Serbia's defence, Croatia's midfield and Bosnia's attack would have a shout in international tournaments

They should recreate Yugoslavia but only for football - like the UK except the exact opposite
 
Nani Nana said:
Croatia has some good players coming up - Vrsaljko, Badelj, Kovacic etc

I think Slovenia's goalkeeper, Serbia's defence, Croatia's midfield and Bosnia's attack would have a shout in international tournaments

They should recreate Yugoslavia but only for football - like the UK except the exact opposite
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Why not go all the way and recreate the British Empire for sport.Then we'd have the best track and field athletes,best rugby,best cricket and so on
 
Inigo Montoya said:
Why not go all the way and recreate the British Empire for sport.Then we'd have the best track and field athletes,best rugby,best cricket and so on
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you'd still be proper shit at football though
 
Sean_RedDevil said:
Bale, Fletcher and Ramsey would be great for "England".
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Fletcher and Ramsey would probably not even make the first team. Bale would but he wouldn't really improve it that much unless we believe he's a special player again.
 
Nani Nana said:
Croatia has some good players coming up - Vrsaljko, Badelj, Kovacic etc

I think Slovenia's goalkeeper, Serbia's defence, Croatia's midfield and Bosnia's attack would have a shout in international tournaments

They should recreate Yugoslavia but only for football - like the UK except the exact opposite
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You forgot Montenegro. Vucinic + Jovetic.
 
The Spanish Empire will still beat the British Empire hands down.

Spain + Messi...

Alternatively if you consider the Iberian Union that existed for a while, you basically have the World XI:

Spain + Messi & C Ronaldo... :drool:
 
Cal? said:
The Spanish Empire will still beat the British Empire hands down.

Spain + Messi...

Alternatively if you consider the Iberian Union that existed for a while, you basically have the World XI:

Spain + Messi & C Ronaldo... :drool:
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Why would you need Cristiano when you already have Messi?
 
vuc said:
You forgot Montenegro. Vucinic + Jovetic.
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Also Pandev of Macedonia.

Handanovic
Srna Ivanovic Vidic Kolarov
Modric Pranjic Kranjcar/Pandev
Jovetic Dzeko Vucinic

That'd be a great team even tho a bit unbalanced. What would be your choice, vuc?
 
westlife4ever said:
Also Pandev of Macedonia.

Handanovic
Srna Ivanovic Vidic Kolarov
Modric Pranjic Kranjcar/Pandev
Jovetic Dzeko Vucinic

That'd be a great team even tho a bit unbalanced. What would be your choice, vuc?
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That's actually pretty good.

I wouldn't have Pandev or Kranjcar in the CM though. Pranjic is a good shout, Serbia doesn't really have a good DM - Kacar could be that player but he is always injured.

That defence and that strikeforce is world class.
 
vuc said:
That's actually pretty good.

I wouldn't have Pandev or Kranjcar in the CM though. Pranjic is a good shout, Serbia doesn't really have a good DM - Kacar could be that player but he is always injured.

That defence and that strikeforce is world class.
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If you think Danijel Pranjic then that's an awful shout, he's more of left winger, attacking midfielder then DM, unless that's some other Pranjic which I'm unaware of? If you need good DM then there's Ognjen Vukojevic, he's disciplined in holding his position, strong in the duels, good tackler and can shoot very well, no wonder he's most regular starter for Dinamo Kiev since he joined them three years ago. Put him instead of Pranjic and that's a very good team.
 
Black Adder said:
If you think Danijel Pranjic then that's an awful shout, he's more of left winger, attacking midfielder then DM, unless that's some other Pranjic which I'm unaware of? If you need good DM then there's Ognjen Vukojevic, he's disciplined in holding his position, strong in the duels, good tackler and can shoot very well, no wonder he's most regular starter for Dinamo Kiev since he joined them three years ago. Put him instead of Pranjic and that's a very good team.
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Every time I saw Pranjic play for Bayern he was OK. I don't watch enough Croatian football to know what he is like for the NT, so can only go on what I have seen.
 
RDCR07 said:
How did Kovacic do yesterday when he came on as a sub?
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Not good, whole team played really bad and were overrun by Ajax. Although I've read today that Sulejmani in his post match interview claimed Ajax players were delighted with Kovacic after the match with how talented he is. Must also say that Zoran Mamic, Dinamo's director, said that there weren't any official aproach for Mateo from United and that he doesn't know where paper talks about eventual transfer came from.
 
How big a talent is he BA?
 
KM said:
How big a talent is he BA?
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He's labelled as the talented player then Prosinecki, Boban or Modric were at that age. Ever since he came to Dinamo at the age of 13 he was year or two infront of his teammates playing with older players since those his age couldn't handle him. Has great vision and creativity, brilliant passing abilities and an eye for that killer pass that will unlock any defence. He's brave in duels, had one serious injury which he overcome and always says it teached him not to take things for granted and he's using both of his foots very well. Since he's only 17y old he's still growing and can't wait to see him put on some weight. Also he's very humble and very brave, wasn't impressed with Real and the players he only played on playstation before but put mature performance which surpised even players at Dinamo. Boy has all the talent in the world and if he keeps with hard work he'll become world class midfielder there's no doubt about it.
 
Black Adder said:
He's labelled as the talented player then Prosinecki, Boban or Modric were at that age. Ever since he came to Dinamo at the age of 13 he was year or two infront of his teammates playing with older players since those his age couldn't handle him. Has great vision and creativity, brilliant passing abilities and an eye for that killer pass that will unlock any defence. He's brave in duels, had one serious injury which he overcome and always says it teached him not to take things for granted and he's using both of his foots very well. Since he's only 17y old he's still growing and can't wait to see him put on some weight. Also he's very humble and very brave, wasn't impressed with Real and the players he only played on playstation before but put mature performance which surpised even players at Dinamo. Boy has all the talent in the world and if he keeps with hard work he'll become world class midfielder there's no doubt about it.
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Cheers sound very promising.
 
From Šjor Bepo in the newbies.

-------------------Handanovic----------------------------
Corluka----Ivanovic--------Vidic---------------Kolarov
-------------------------Kacar------------------------------
----------------Badelj--------Modric-----------------------
Jovetic------------------Vucinic------------------Kranjcar
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vuc said:
That's actually pretty good.

I wouldn't have Pandev or Kranjcar in the CM though. Pranjic is a good shout, Serbia doesn't really have a good DM - Kacar could be that player but he is always injured.

That defence and that strikeforce is world class.
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Yeah forgot about Kacar. A terriffic DM when fit. Always thought his style was similar to Keano.

Vukojevic is a good shout too.
 
vuc said:
From Šjor Bepo in the newbies.
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Decent shout but Pandev>Kranjcar and Srna>Corluka. The Tottenham players have barely played the last year. Srna is always good in the CL. Pandev is very energetic.
 
Watched the Zagreb Vs. Ajax match. It was all Ajax and Eriksson stole the show but Kovacic played 90 minutes and had a couple of involvements that showed his technical ability. Situm came off the bench, but I didnt realise we were linked with him too so I didnt pay any special attention to him. He did have more of an impact than their other strikers though

Kovacic didnt have a huge impact on this losing game for Dynamo, it was in fact a Brazillian guy playing in front of him that was the main threat for Dynamo on the couple of occasions they got an attack going. However there were a few impressive things about Kovacic's game as a 17 year old.

He was very comfortable taking the ball and receiving it from team mates even in tight areas and sometimes passes that you felt he might have had a hard time controlling. And when he received the ball he was very neat and tidy with his passing almost always finding a team mate, but very rarely looking to play a pass of any difficulty. Just neat and tidy keeping the ball moving.

He played pretty much on the left of a midfield diamond and spent most of his night doing a job trying to double up with the left back to defend against Van Der Wiel and Sulejmani. By and large he did the job well for a young player, but once or twice he didnt track all the way back with the fullback and this is the area Ajax done most damage with these 2 players linking up with Eriksson in the middle. Kovacic kept at it, kept trying and he lasted 90 minutes still putting in effort to close down the player on the ball and try to win it back

In fact he kind of reminded me of Busquets or Carrick at times with the way he stayed in deeper areas, tried to close down and tackle players who would take him on. It wasnt too often that he got too far forward and looked to open up Ajax, but when he did it was quick one twos and little dribbles into space that showed off his ability and he was unlucky not to set a few good chances up. I would have liked to see him try to influence the match in this way more often, but on the few occasions he did, he showed very good technical ability

A few times he got brushed aside a bit too easily as he isnt very strong and he's about Carrick's speed which isnt very impressive. But overall he certainly looks one to keep an eye on
 
Ekeke said:
Watched the Zagreb Vs. Ajax match. It was all Ajax and Eriksson stole the show but Kovacic played 90 minutes and had a couple of involvements that showed his technical ability. Situm came off the bench, but I didnt realise we were linked with him too so I didnt pay any special attention to him. He did have more of an impact than their other strikers though

Kovacic didnt have a huge impact on this losing game for Dynamo, it was in fact a Brazillian guy playing in front of him that was the main threat for Dynamo on the couple of occasions they got an attack going. However there were a few impressive things about Kovacic's game as a 17 year old.

He was very comfortable taking the ball and receiving it from team mates even in tight areas and sometimes passes that you felt he might have had a hard time controlling. And when he received the ball he was very neat and tidy with his passing almost always finding a team mate, but very rarely looking to play a pass of any difficulty. Just neat and tidy keeping the ball moving.

He played pretty much on the left of a midfield diamond and spent most of his night doing a job trying to double up with the left back to defend against Van Der Wiel and Sulejmani. By and large he did the job well for a young player, but once or twice he didnt track all the way back with the fullback and this is the area Ajax done most damage with these 2 players linking up with Eriksson in the middle. Kovacic kept at it, kept trying and he lasted 90 minutes still putting in effort to close down the player on the ball and try to win it back

In fact he kind of reminded me of Busquets or Carrick at times with the way he stayed in deeper areas, tried to close down and tackle players who would take him on. It wasnt too often that he got too far forward and looked to open up Ajax, but when he did it was quick one twos and little dribbles into space that showed off his ability and he was unlucky not to set a few good chances up. I would have liked to see him try to influence the match in this way more often, but on the few occasions he did, he showed very good technical ability

A few times he got brushed aside a bit too easily as he isnt very strong and he's about Carrick's speed which isnt very impressive. But overall he certainly looks one to keep an eye on
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Nice report.
 
Manchester City set to pip United for 'new Luka Modric' Mateo Kovacic
Manchester City are in talks to sign Mateo Kovacic, the 'new Luka Modric', beating competition from Spurs, Arsenal and Manchester United.

The 17-year-old Dinamo Zagreb midfielder already has a year of first-team football under his belt, with his performances attracting host of interested parties from across Europe.

As well as the clubs from England, German giants Bayern Munich and Italian side Juventus are both understood to be monitoring the player.

Not content to rest on their laurels despite holding a five-point lead at the top of the Premier League, City boss Roberto Mancini wants to add some more guile to his squad, to support key player David Silva.

In October, reports suggested that Man United had declared an interest in Kovacic, who had plumped for the reigning Premier League champions ahead of Arsene Wenger's Arsenal, who were struggling at the time.

However, City chiefs have now reportedly held a meeting the player's agent, with Kovacic attracted by his options on and off the pitch at the Etihad Stadium.

Dinamo are reportedly asking for £10 million in return for Kovacic. This is less than the £16.5 million Tottenham paid the club for Modric in 2008, but Modric was an established international at the time.

Kovacic has just two caps for the Croatian Under-21 side.
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Ah well
 
A source close to Mateo Kovacic has revealed that Manchester City are chasing the star, but the playmaker would prefer a move to Manchester United when the time is right to leave current club Dinamo Zagreb.

Kovacic has starred for the Croatian outfit since moving through the side's youth ranks and into the seniors last year. In 21 appearances, the 17 year old has scored four goals, and is touted as a future European talent by numerous big names.

Manchester United have long been interested in Kavacic, and while City have sent scouts to watch the youngster, a source believes that United is his only likely destination.

"Manchester City is an exciting project and a wonderful club that interests Mateo," they told Goal.com of the £10 million-rated player. "But at the moment, he would rather move to Manchester United when the right time comes to leave.

"He is only 17 so right now he needs to play and grow as a player."

United have insisted that they will not be signing any new players in the January transfer window, though Sir Alex Ferguson admitted that he has 'two or three' targets in mind.

And with Kovacic already showing so much potential, the starlet will be at the forefront of Ferguson's plans as he looks to build on a United squad with long-term ambitions to keep challenging for trophies.

Yesterday Ferguson admitted that he is planning to send youngsters Mame Biram Diouf and Federico Macheda on loan in the January transfer window.

"It works well for all young players to get game time and that's what we are looking at for Macheda and Diouf, they need game time, there is no question about that. Every young players wants to play and we have to give them that opportunity," he said.

If United were to sign Kovacic, the Croatia Under 21 international will likely be sent on loan to build on game time before he can return to Old Trafford on a full time basis.
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United £10m Playmaker Target Will Move to OT ?When Time is Right?
 
United have insisted that they will not be signing any new players in the January transfer window, though Sir Alex Ferguson admitted that he has 'two or three' targets in mind.
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:lol: Love the way they spun that
 
Hope he'll stay at Dinamo for at least a year, he's too young to go elswhere and at this point of his career playing time is most important for him.
 
Ljajic has made 3 sub appearances for Fiorentina this season, so maybe SAF was right.
 
MPTutd said:
Ljajic has made 3 sub appearances for Fiorentina this season, so maybe SAF was right.
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Sshhh...let the muppets go on with #novalue thing.
 
Apparently Kovacic is the player the Glazers wouldn't sanction a £10m move for.
 
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