Sportnet Wc02 Squad [Archive] - Xtratime Community

CROCOYOTE

January 16th, 2002, 04:49

Listed below is nominated squad:

Sport Netova 23 putnika na SP
Br. Ime i prezime God. Klub Br.ut.

1 Stipe PLETIKOSA 23 HAJDUK Split 15
2 Tomislav RUKAVINA 27 VENEZIA (Ita) 5
3 Robert JARNI 34 LAS PALMAS(Esp) 74
4 Dario ŠIMIÆ 27 INTER Milano (Ita) 46
5 Igor TUDOR 24 JUVENTUS Torino (Ita) 25
6 Robert KOVAÈ 28 BAYERN München (Nje) 17
7 Niko KOVAÈ 31 BAYERN München (Nje) 18
8 Robert PROSINEÈKI 33 PORTSMOUTH (Eng) 44
9 Davor ŠUKER 34 1860 MÜNCHEN (Nje) 66
10 Milan RAPAIÆ 29 FENERBAHÇE Istanbul (Tur) 19
11 Alen BOKŠIÆ 32 MIDDLESBROUGH (Eng) 35
12 Tomislav BUTINA 28 DINAMO Zagreb 3
13 Mario STANIÆ 30 CHELSEA London (Eng) 41
14 Stjepan TOMAS 26 VICENZA (Ita) 14
15 Boris ŽIVKOVIÆ 27 BAYER Leverkusen (Nje) 13
16 Jurica VRANJEŠ 23 BAYER Leverkusen (Nje) 7
17 Danijel ŠARIÆ 30 PANATHINAIKOS Atena (Grè) 24
18 Mario CAREVIÆ 20 HAJDUK Split -
19 Goran VLAOVIÆ 30 PANATHINAIKOS Atena (Grè) 49
20 Boško BALABAN 24 ASTON VILLA (Eng) 12
21 Davor VUGRINEC 27 LECCE (Ita) 17
22 Igor BIŠÆAN 24 LIVERPOOL (Eng) 15
23 Vedran RUNJE 27 OLYMPIQUE Marseille (Fra)

Noteable admissions include Soldo and Stimac who i probably would have in squad but overall a strong line up.

Comments!

CROCOYOTE

January 16th, 2002, 05:01

Sorry,posted same thread twice...

baraba

January 16th, 2002, 06:52

I thought I was seeing double.

baraba

January 16th, 2002, 06:53

I thought I was seeing double.

;)

spwolf

January 16th, 2002, 16:46

seems allright... sensible choice based on past 2-3 yrs.. although I think that 5-6 of those names will be decided upon based on their performances in friendlies and their own teams

IVO

January 17th, 2002, 03:04

I really don't see how they can omit Soldo while suggesting Biscan and Vranjes. While I like these two kids, particularly Vranjes, there's no way they would get a call ahead of Soldo.

I saw a statisic in the German forum about the top 10 midfielders in the BuLi according to "Kicker" and Soldo was number 10 on the list. Pretty good considering his age and definately a player to be taken over either of the aforementioned players.

I also disagree with Rukavina being there. Another player who hasn't fulfilled his potential although he's suffered many injuries. As it stands, he doesn't have a starting spot on Venezia which is pretty sad. He's had some good performances but if he can't be a starter at a club like Venezia then I wouldn't even have him on the bench for Vatreni.

CroatTommy

January 17th, 2002, 03:56

i have to disagree with you on the Rukavina issue! i think he can be very valuable he has some tremendous skill you dont just loose that because you have been injured for a while! plus there has to be one guy with a Lican name! on the Cro national team :D ;)

but i do agree with you that Soldo MUST and should be on the team! i mean we voted him to be captain of the vatreni just a few months ago right here on XT isnt sportnet paying attention ha ha;)

CroatTommy

January 17th, 2002, 03:57

Love the new avatar:cool:

Ljubuski

January 17th, 2002, 06:37

Its a great list and they shall do well in Japan-Korea.

I'm confident that this is a very strong side (particularly on the defence) and I believe that if we can hit our stride we can reach at least the semi's and go to the final and win the world cup.

CROCOYOTE

January 17th, 2002, 08:30

Soldo/Stimac in and Rukavina/Saric out resulting in a formidable squad good enough to reach final 16 which is an achievement.
From that point on sure we can beat most teams on our day but we can also lose to most of those teams if not our day as luck will play a huge part along the way.eg:injury,suspension,send off,penalty shots etc.
Sometimes i think coming 3rd at France 98 gives us a false impression of how good Croatia really is.We must not forget that amongst that 98 squad were some world class gifted players who were at their peak and everything went our way.
The current squad whilst good is not as talented and we as fans at times need a reality check as to where NT is ranked by most observers.Note:most betting agents for WC02 have us between 12-16 place which to me seems a fair appraisal hence we need to have realistic expectations of out NT so that we can truely judge what results/placing are seen as an achievement compared to an non-achievement.

All the best Vatreni!

placebo

January 18th, 2002, 10:37

Boban thinks that this team is better the one that played in France as they play better as a unit and they are more motivated. This is what Boban said.

Ok, we've lost Boban and Asanovic but Prosi. is there which more than makes up for it....our defence is stronger, better gk and also Boksic will be fit (hopefully). I predict another semi final appearance where we will play Spain.

BOban_2

January 18th, 2002, 14:05

Why are you lying? I said no such thing. I predict as winning the whole thing and not just making a semi-final appearance :D :D

IVO

January 19th, 2002, 00:30

I tend to think our 98 squad was better. Boban might just be trying to play the optimist or maybe he really thinks that. Either way, it's good to know he rates the squad so highly.

ps.thanks Tommy;)

spwolf

January 19th, 2002, 00:54

we need to go to the finals or every1 will be dissapointed... lets face it, croatians expect 300% from their players

Tommy

January 19th, 2002, 02:14

Some other notable omissions have to be Tomislav Maric,Josip Simunic and Ante Seric :(

Im a bit surprised that Simunic and Seric haven't been included in this squad i would have at least thought they were good enough to be in the squad, as for Maric with his recent Bundesliga u would have to think he would have at least been included in this squad.

spwolf

January 19th, 2002, 03:14

lol, dunno bout that TJK... sure they are from aussie but doesnt mean they gotta play :-).... where is seric playin now?

Ero

January 19th, 2002, 07:07

Maric has never played a game for Croatia, ever in his life !

I don't mean to diss the guy, he's playing great and certainly deserves a friendly call up, but a spot on the 22 man squad for the WC? I dunno about that.

Simunic is still young, he's got plenty of time to make an impact.

spwolf

January 19th, 2002, 07:19

ero: well he played for under 21... but yes, if no1 calls him, he wont play

:-)

Tommy

January 19th, 2002, 10:15

spwolf- Seric is on loan at Verona at the moment from Parma and is having a pretty good season from what i hear and he would be ideal to be understudy for Robert Jarni again at the WC.

As for Simunic we must take one sweeper at least to the WC so i guess its between Stimac and Simunic for that spot ;)

As for Maric if the guy is still inform coming at the WC time and has proven himself in our friendly game then why not pick him because come World Cup time i would like to see the players picked more on form rather than reputation just like Balaban for eg. I mean if Maric is playing more regularly and scoring frequently and has proven he is more than capable of playing well at International level then by all means pick him ahead of Balaban even if he was our top-scorer in qualifiers.

IVO

January 19th, 2002, 21:20

Keep in mind guys, this is only a team picked by sportnet and just because they're reporters, doesn't mean they know any better than any of us.

I think Seric should be there as a back up for Jarni. He's doing well at Verona and he seems to be the type of player that would do well as a sub. I don't see a superstar in him in the future, but a very useful nonetheless.

spwolf

January 19th, 2002, 22:25

ivo: most of the reporters know less than this bunch of boards...they are just humans with annoying quality of exaggerating every single sentence they write.... I remember how every1 was sayin/writing in press how Jozic wants to stay with current squad and then jozic gave interview to slobodna dalmacija where he said how he finds that funny since he makes an effort to follow many of our players and their current form which is of great importance

;)

trikky

January 24th, 2002, 02:22

Aside from Pletikosa and Butina there will have to be at least another player taken from the league.

Simunic should be selected. Tall, skilled, excellent sweeper. Doing phenomenal work for Hertha. They value him highly.

Maric, is a good question. I'd like to see him in a friendly or two before the WC. Obviously if he scores 20 goals in the Bundesliga he'll be on the team. Because Balaban is not playing at all for the first team at Villa, his sharpness is in question. Add another player not seeing any time is Biscan. Sure, supposedly he's one of the best on the reserve squad, but that doesn't equal many real starts.

Should a player like Olic be considered? A mix of younger players is necessary. We need to give them some experience for the next WC and the EC.

I would personally love Vlaovic to be a starter. The guys obviously has ability. But how many times have you seen him screw up a beautiful opportunity? Over and over again. It's frustrating as hell.

Ero

January 24th, 2002, 03:18

welcome to the board Trikky ;)

I'm sure Boka and Vlaoic will get the start, at least in the first game. Mexico is a slow team, and Vlaovic is a fast and nippy forward. Many overlooked his tremendous contribution against Belgium. They just remember that failed lob attempt, that my granny could have put away. But he had an excellent game, he had the Belgian defense worried every time he touched the ball. A great shot in the first half, maybe half a foot wide, the penalty was on Vlaovic, and they fouled him in the middle out of frustration.

He's having a killer couple of seasons for PAO, and scoring regularly.

As much as his misses hurt, and as much as he's no superstar, I like Goran's contribution.

CroatTommy

January 24th, 2002, 05:04

WELL SAID ERO:D

trikky

January 24th, 2002, 18:25

Fair enough. He did have a good game against Belgium, I agree. And I do respect his ability. I think he should get a start. Hopefully, he comes through. He just seems a little unsure in his finishing for the national side, unlike in Greece where he seems more confident.

I would also really like to see Vugrinec starting. I think his contribution in Italy over the past two years, plus the fact that he we could use his playmaking ability, should warrant starting.

Are any of the friendlies going to be televised in North America? So far I haven't seen anything regarding the Bulgaria friendly.

Ljubuski

January 24th, 2002, 21:20

------Pletikosa----

Simic----Tudor-----SImunic-----Jarni

Stanic--------Soldo----------Rapaic

---------------Prosinecki--------

-----Boksic--------------Suker

I couldn't resist.

I'm known for advocating a 5-3-2 wingback formation but since the consensus on the forum is for a 4-4-2 I've decided to conform to ye.

trikky

January 24th, 2002, 22:27

I'm glad that Jozic likes to change to formations depending on the type of opposition. I think our squad is very flexible in that way.

Maybe we should try to field a time like Zagreb does and try to score 4 or 5 a game. :)

BOban_2

January 25th, 2002, 00:29

no R. Kovac????

spwolf

January 25th, 2002, 00:33

lo, just noticed that... put in kovac instead of simunic and vlaovic (for now) instead of suker and you have my current team

Ljubuski

January 25th, 2002, 02:04

wolf you surprise me.

you would actually start Prosinecki? (you didn't mention him)

or are you conforming as I am?;)

ps. I like Goran but Suker always complimented Boksic better, and I've said earlier I've never liked the Kovac boys for the vatreni. That being said I know they'll probably have a role to play and I pray that they can impress me.

trikky

January 25th, 2002, 06:15

Suker definitely complements Boksic better. Prosinecki should see the start. Who else will make plays? Although I am not really satisfied with Rapajic. I would rather see a midfield with Vugrinec. He's just better.