Yes I noticed how quick Kova was to get out the Croatian flag for the CL photo shoot. 

On 15/07/2021 at 18:06, Gol15 said:

Wonder how he feels about Djokovic being one of the best ever considering the rivalry that the two countries have...

He feels great! Djokovic is extremely well-disposed towards Croatia including the football team. He vocally supported them in 2018 and took a lot of heat from some corners of the local media and right-wing politicians. He has Ivanisevic as a coach. I imagine pretty much all the Croatian players think he’s an absolute ledge, and some (Rakitic) said so openly back in 2018.

On 12/07/2021 at 06:41, EdinburghBlue said:

Sorry mate, tend to take the summer off the forum and missed this amongst all the CL stuff.

How about 8 points? Means it’s within 3 results which I’d argue is relatively close. 
 

If we’re talking being an important player in a title challenging team, I’d say 70% of minutes across the league season? 50% I’d expect of a squad player which I have no doubt he’s more than capable of.

Sounds about right. I guess we can iron out further details/make adjustments for injuries as the season gets started.

7 hours ago, Dean said:

He feels great! Djokovic is extremely well-disposed towards Croatia including the football team. He vocally supported them in 2018 and took a lot of heat from some corners of the local media and right-wing politicians. He has Ivanisevic as a coach. I imagine pretty much all the Croatian players think he’s an absolute ledge, and some (Rakitic) said so openly back in 2018.

That's a good sign for Croatia.

On 19/07/2021 at 12:34, Dean said:

Sounds about right. I guess we can iron out further details/make adjustments for injuries as the season gets started.

Sounds good! Team selection tonight has me worried for the season ahead and this bet😂

I thought he was really poor against Villareal.

He has now a lot of silverware won, I think I saw somewhere 18 trophies won, if there is a lucky charm he has it or he is one, at one point the ref did him wrong and it was a good counter that he was pushing for but it didn't matter in the end.

 

I remember that, An obvious foul from behind on Kovacic, possible yellow card offense, was not called by the ref and when Kovacic falls down on the ball due to the non-called foul, the ref calls handball on Matteo.  Kind of nuts!

Edited August 12, 20214 yr by Phillip

22 hours ago, Gol15 said:

He has now a lot of silverware won, I think I saw somewhere 18 trophies won, if there is a lucky charm he has it or he is one, at one point the ref did him wrong and it was a good counter that he was pushing for but it didn't matter in the end.

17 trophies. Man is a trophy magnet.

1. Prva HNL (2010/2011) = Dinamo Zagreb
2. Croatian Cup (2010/2011) = Dinamo Zagreb
3. Prva HNL (2011/2012) = Dinamo Zagreb
4. Croatian Cup (2011/2012) = Dinamo Zagreb
5. Prva HNL (2012/2013) = Dinamo Zagreb
6. Champions League (2015/2016) = Real Madrid
7. Super Cup (2016) = Real Madrid
8. Club World Cup (2016) = Real Madrid
9. La Liga (2016/2017) = Real Madrid
10. Champions League (2016/2017) = Real Madrid
11. Supercopa de Espana (2017) = Real Madrid
12. Super Cup (2017) = Real Madrid
13. Club World Cup (2017) = Real Madrid
14. Champions League (2017/2018) = Real Madrid
15. Europa League (2018/2019) = Chelsea
16. Champions League (2020/2021) = Chelsea
17. Super Cup (2021) = Chelsea

He's been at the right place at the right time.

Our new number 8! If reports are to be believed, surely Barkley is leaving if this is true which makes sense since he wasn't in the super cup squad.

Funny enough of all the players in the squad Kova was high up on my list to take that number, Mason, Ruben or Mateo would have been my choices. The fact he's played under Lamps and won the player of the year under him just makes this sweeter.

3 hours ago, LongtimerLurker said:

Our new number 8! If reports are to be believed, surely Barkley is leaving if this is true which makes sense since he wasn't in the super cup squad.

Funny enough of all the players in the squad Kova was high up on my list to take that number, Mason, Ruben or Mateo would have been my choices. The fact he's played under Lamps and won the player of the year under him just makes this sweeter.

I personally always thought that the number 17 should be used for like a backup right winger or defender, Nani and Bosingwa come to mind before any central midfielder. This is a proper number for him.

On 13/08/2021 at 13:33, Jezz said:

17 trophies. Man is a trophy magnet.

1. Prva HNL (2010/2011) = Dinamo Zagreb
2. Croatian Cup (2010/2011) = Dinamo Zagreb
3. Prva HNL (2011/2012) = Dinamo Zagreb
4. Croatian Cup (2011/2012) = Dinamo Zagreb
5. Prva HNL (2012/2013) = Dinamo Zagreb
6. Champions League (2015/2016) = Real Madrid
7. Super Cup (2016) = Real Madrid
8. Club World Cup (2016) = Real Madrid
9. La Liga (2016/2017) = Real Madrid
10. Champions League (2016/2017) = Real Madrid
11. Supercopa de Espana (2017) = Real Madrid
12. Super Cup (2017) = Real Madrid
13. Club World Cup (2017) = Real Madrid
14. Champions League (2017/2018) = Real Madrid
15. Europa League (2018/2019) = Chelsea
16. Champions League (2020/2021) = Chelsea
17. Super Cup (2021) = Chelsea

He's been at the right place at the right time.

He’s catching up with Pedro!

He's a fabulous player to watch, very pleasing on the eye, reminds me of Gazza or the old Boro Brazilian Juninho as he just glides on grass..

He is one of the tidiest players on the ball. Him and Jorgi made the Palace midfield look like training dummies

4 hours ago, Deino said:

He is one of the tidiest players on the ball. Him and Jorgi made the Palace midfield look like training dummies

Kovacic  did okay vs CP. However they are a potential relegation team. Kovacic is quite poor playing in the final 1/3  of the pitch  with poor passing and finishing skills. Chelsea need a midfielder such as Carnavinga or Tchouameni this transfer window. 

7 hours ago, Ballack & Blu said:

He's a fabulous player to watch, very pleasing on the eye, reminds me of Gazza or the old Boro Brazilian Juninho as he just glides on grass..

For me the most underrated player in the team. His close ball dribbling, balance and ability to draw himself out of tight places is amazing. 

On 15/08/2021 at 17:01, TheGreatestGame said:

Kovacic  did okay vs CP. However they are a potential relegation team. Kovacic is quite poor playing in the final 1/3  of the pitch  with poor passing and finishing skills. Chelsea need a midfielder such as Carnavinga or Tchouameni this transfer window. 

Personally I've accepted his weaknesses because his strengths are vital to the way we play. 

We need a midfield that is able to recycle possession, beat the press and able to move the ball forward at will. 

We need him to improve more than we need to replace him. A return of 5 goals and 5 assists per season is good enough if our forwards are scoring

Edited August 16, 20214 yr by Deino

On 16/08/2021 at 10:27, Deino said:

Personally I've accepted his weaknesses because his strengths are vital to the way we play. 

We need a midfield that is able to recycle possession, beat the press and able to move the ball forward at will. 

We need him to improve more than we need to replace him. A return of 5 goals and 5 assists per season is good enough if our forwards are scoring

Kovacic has 1 goal in 91 PL matches. He is also not a very good passer. There is a clear need for a midfielder who can finish and pass with better accuracy.  Kovacic would be a nice player for depth off the bench when needed. 

Outstanding today, world class assist which reminded me of a Fabregas pass and a very well taken goal.

 

It seems the no.8 shirt possessed him with them today. A couple of sloppy moments in the second half as he tired when he messed up a couple of through balls but overall a great performance.

His best performance in a Chelsea shirt. And IMO many more to come like this since he's now in his best years. MOTM!

The most underrated player in the league. I love watching him play. He glides past opposition players with the ball so easily. A real unsung hero. He oozes so much quality but is criticised for his lack of goals/assists. Well already 1 goal and 2 assists this season, eh. Not bad.

His long passing and vision has improved and long may it continue. 

Masterclass in midfield today. 

Finally! However, I can’t say I’m at all surprised. As I’ve said before, more than once (and sorry to harp on still now), he’s always had goals and assists in his locker. He’s played many great throughballs since joining Chelsea, it’s just that the recipients weren’t scoring. As for goals, although shooting is never going to be his forte ( we saw some of this too today), he should probably be scoring about 3 a season on average and it’s the dearth of goals (really since joining Real) that’s the bigger anomaly than his scoring one today. 

2 hours ago, Dean said:

Finally! However, I can’t say I’m at all surprised. As I’ve said before, more than once (and sorry to harp on still now), he’s always had goals and assists in his locker. He’s played many great throughballs since joining Chelsea, it’s just that the recipients weren’t scoring. As for goals, although shooting is never going to be his forte ( we saw some of this too today), he should probably be scoring about 3 a season on average and it’s the dearth of goals (really since joining Real) that’s the bigger anomaly than his scoring one today. 

He was really good for Croatia as well in there qualifying games. Did not score or assist but most of the goal scoring chances came through him. I think maybe hitting his prime years and we see the best of him now. 

Was brilliant, almost a complete display just mucked up by a couple of Underhit passes that broke down attacks he started by brilliantly winning the ball.