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Croatian Spy Coach Confident

Posted: Mon Dec 04, 2017 6:02 pm
by niyi
Croatian coach Boris Pučić, who has close links to Football College Abuja, has provided vital information about the Nigerian national team that might come in handy to Croatian manager Zlatko Dalić ahead of the 2018 World Cup.

Pučić revealed that Chelsea's Victor Moses is the only star player on the Nigeria team, and the present squad cannot be compared to the USA 1994 and 1998 teams which paraded the likes of Nwankwo Kanu and Austin Okocha.

''They are not very pleased with the fact that they have drawn Croatia, but who would be. However, they are hoping that Nigeria will win, but I'm just waiting for a day to celebrate, I think we have no reason to be afraid,'' said Pučić to sportske.jutarnji.hr.

''Obi Mikel plays in China, Moses has been injured for some time and has just returned to Chelsea's first team, while others are all in some side-tiers.

''Iheanacho and Musa are in reserve in Leicester, Iwobi for Arsenal plays a bit more, but Nigeria is not the shadow of the national team that they once called 'African Brazil.

''Simply, there is no star player besides Moses in Chelsea and the team is not close to what we remember from the World Cup in the United States or France that played really well.''

Nigeria and Croatia will face off at the Kaliningrad Stadium, Kaliningrad on June 16, 2018 in both countries Group D opener.
http://www.allnigeriasoccer.com/read_news.php?nid=25695

A translation and short version of this article https://sportske.jutarnji.hr/nogomet/re ... e/6806166/

Re: Croatian Spy Coach Confident

Posted: Mon Dec 04, 2017 6:05 pm
by The YeyeMan
Good. I admire his confidence.

Re: Croatian Spy Coach Confident

Posted: Mon Dec 04, 2017 6:06 pm
by niyi
He also says "Discipline is their (Nigeria's) biggest problem. Physically they are strong and strong (jaki i snazni - strong and powerful?), they are fast with speed and this will be one of the elements on which to base their tactics and what attention should be paid to, but Croatia is an absolute favorite for me, I really mean it - Boris Pučić concluded.

I know some people think we shouldn't mistaken the attitude of non-team members for the team's attitude towards us but I can say 100% that these two attitudes are not that far apart.

Our attitude on the forum wrt the South African team was reflected in our player's attitudes on the field of play.

Re: Croatian Spy Coach Confident

Posted: Mon Dec 04, 2017 6:07 pm
by Bigpokey24
:lol:

Re: Croatian Spy Coach Confident

Posted: Mon Dec 04, 2017 6:34 pm
by ANC
I can't find any Full game Croatian matches. Help!

Re: Croatian Spy Coach Confident

Posted: Mon Dec 04, 2017 6:40 pm
by Mankinka
Football college Abuja? I have to ask does such a place exist?

Re: Croatian Spy Coach Confident

Posted: Mon Dec 04, 2017 6:48 pm
by truetalk
Mankinka wrote:Football college Abuja? I have to ask does such a place exist?
There were/are 7 Nigerian players on the books of the Croatian champions Rijeka. Most of them were from the Abuja Academy.

5 of them are out on loan though.

https://www.transfermarkt.com/hnk-rijek ... verein/144

Re: Croatian Spy Coach Confident

Posted: Mon Dec 04, 2017 7:02 pm
by Eaglezbeak
If that’s supposed to be a report I hope they keep believing,how basic!

Re: Croatian Spy Coach Confident

Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2017 3:28 am
by mate
Who's Boris Pučić ?

:)

Re: Croatian Spy Coach Confident

Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2017 7:24 am
by greg
Some people (me included) have been praying that we enter the world cup under cover, and it looks like this group of D is giving us some of it.

Re: Croatian Spy Coach Confident

Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2017 4:16 pm
by mate
Yujam can tell you that my Facebook Croatian friends are well aware of Nigeria and taking nothing for chance. Nigeria minimally is being described as the toughest African side. Like I said earlier, for once, Croatians are not being loud mouthed and showing a healthy amount of fear and respect...knowing we will need to be on our A game.

Re: Croatian Spy Coach Confident

Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2017 4:21 pm
by Prince
mate wrote:Yujam can tell you that my Facebook Croatian friends are well aware of Nigeria and taking nothing for chance. Nigeria minimally is being described as the toughest African side. Like I said earlier, for once, Croatians are not being loud mouthed and showing a healthy amount of fear and respect...knowing we will need to be on our A game.
Come on they must be quietly confident, its natural you have some of the best mid fielders in the world, even my 9 years old son was rolling out the names of your players trying to scare me.

Re: Croatian Spy Coach Confident

Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2017 4:26 pm
by mate
Believe me Prince, we REALLY got lucky to qualify from an easy group. We started dropping points at the end. On late breakdowns in defense. The players revolted against a truly horrible coach.

Our fans, players, and coaches shot their mouths off last WC against Mexico. We got annihilated. Dying for fitness in that Brazilian heat. As usual, getting crushed in the last 20 minutes, after having foolishly pressed up to that point...finally exposing our lack of program management, namely in top fitness.

Our players are good. I actually do think they're on paper heavier than Iceland or Nigeria. If we bring our A game, I think we're favored. Not by much.

But it's refreshing to see some humility. And increases the chances our program management is up to speed. Once club season is over, these clowns have 1 month to screw around and lose fitness. We're not Germany here.

I'm hoping all the teams play their best...and may the best team win.

Re: Croatian Spy Coach Confident

Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2017 5:45 pm
by pasamu
mate wrote:Believe me Prince, we REALLY got lucky to qualify from an easy group. We started dropping points at the end. On late breakdowns in defense. The players revolted against a truly horrible coach.

Our fans, players, and coaches shot their mouths off last WC against Mexico. We got annihilated. Dying for fitness in that Brazilian heat. As usual, getting crushed in the last 20 minutes, after having foolishly pressed up to that point...finally exposing our lack of program management, namely in top fitness.

Our players are good. I actually do think they're on paper heavier than Iceland or Nigeria If we bring our A game, I think we're favored. Not by much.

But it's refreshing to see some humility. And increases the chances our program management is up to speed. Once club season is over, these clowns have 1 month to screw around and lose fitness. We're not Germany here.

I'm hoping all the teams play their best...and may the best team win.
Does that mean better because if it does i think the croats are in for a very nasty surprise. I think we are actually stronger on paper man for man and we go into a world cup for the first time with real depth. Even in the keeping position where we really were looking threadbare we now have a genuine spider keeper ie all arms and legs and agility like Buffon and the german keeper his name has slipped my mind. We have individual game breakers like Moses and Mikel who can open up a game with a moment of magic, all sorts of midfielders (defensive, attacking, two way) a solid defence and real confidence. Mate all the talk is of our threat on the counter due to our pace but to be perfectly honest we dont really play that way. We are now a possession team. We like to control the ball but we can counter and counter with real pace. Most significantly we now play with real discipline. Against Algeria our last WCQ the team were without the talismanic Mikel and Moses and yet we went to Algeria and controlled a motivated fired up Algeria. They tried to press the ball and did this well, but despite like all North African teams them playing lots of nice give and go football, they really did not threaten our goal. We only got a draw in that game because the ref must have an Algerian landlord and his rent is due (that or he is dating some really hot Algerian chic cos even the recipient of the penalty Braihmi did not initially believe he had been awarded a penalty). That took real discipline which from a young team that could afford to go out and just do their own thing was impressive. Against Argentina the albeceleste squeezed the pitch and attacked the ball holder with numbers in typical Sampaoli style. (Algeria's press involved closing off the passing options and having the nearest player shadow the ball holder) It meant nigeria was starved of space and time and the ball for long periods of time, yet it took a secret santa gift from our goalkeeper to crack Nigeria's defence. And even in the press, Nigeria did not look to boot the ball long to relieve the pressure, they were trying to play the ball out from the back and did it reasonably well. So if Croatia is filled with young talent, that can knuckle down and take a beating and still strike back while also having experienced game breakers then i will agree with you. Oh and by the way dropping only two points in a group comprising of Zambia, Cameroon and Algeria with their contrasting styles and pedigree is as we would say "no be beans".

Re: Croatian Spy Coach Confident

Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2017 8:41 pm
by mate
Pasamu, I'll be watching all I can of Nigeria to get more familiar with the team. I'm curious, especially on the ball possession angle. Again, I'm ultimately going with names on paper...weighting our midfielders more heavily exactly because they're on big clubs playing big roles.

Perisic, Modric, and Raketic are important players on some of the best European club teams. Kovacic is at Real Madrid, young and emerging. Again, Croatia pretty much dominated possession in the qualifiers, even when we lost.

Perhaps Nigeria will dominate possession against Croatia. I just don't expect it. But, we'll have fun finding out.

:)

One last thing. Would you really at this time compare Modric and Mikel? There has to be a difference playing on Real Madrid and in the CL versus China.

Re: Croatian Spy Coach Confident

Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2017 12:13 am
by pasamu
mate wrote:Pasamu, I'll be watching all I can of Nigeria to get more familiar with the team. I'm curious, especially on the ball possession angle. Again, I'm ultimately going with names on paper...weighting our midfielders more heavily exactly because they're on big clubs playing big roles.

Perisic, Modric, and Raketic are important players on some of the best European club teams. Kovacic is at Real Madrid, young and emerging. Again, Croatia pretty much dominated possession in the qualifiers, even when we lost.

Perhaps Nigeria will dominate possession against Croatia. I just don't expect it. But, we'll have fun finding out.

:)

One last thing. Would you really at this time compare Modric and Mikel? There has to be a difference playing on Real Madrid and in the CL versus China.
Those are big boy names u have pointed out mate, class performers who will not be intimidated by the arena of world cup. But please understand, Nigeria's players will match them if they are not overawed by the platform. I personally would not expect them to be, Nigerian footballers have gone through a lot to get to play in Europe in the first place, most wont just grab their chance in the spotlight, they will take yours as well if you are not careful. Oh and Nigerian footballers as a whole are very very underrated. Even the established names like Mikel and Moses are not fully appreciated. Mikel was never seen as more than a big strong defensive midfielder in England but he has always been one of the most skillful attacking players in any team he plays at. Moses bounced around the premiership until he found a manager that placed real trust in him even though it meant him learning to play in a position he was completely unfamiliar with. What did Rodgers at Liverpool not see in him that Conte did? And if Kelechi was brazilian or argentine dare i say it Croat even, do you really think he would be sharing bench time in Leicester? And those are just the players in the premiership. Ndidi is quietly turning into a beast in the premiership but outside of Leicester is anyone aware of it? Etebo is in my opinion the most complete Nigerian midfielder i have ever seen. He attacks, he defends, he scores goals, he can sit in front of the defence, he is quite skillful, he can and will rough you up, he can spot a pass, i have seen all these things in him and yet he is stuck in the portuguese second division. Azubuike is one of the most polished passers of the ball we have and yet he cannot even get into the squad, and watch Shehu our rightback and then ask yourself why is he plying his trade in cyprus. Hey Nigerian players are underrrated, even WE Nigerians do not fully appreciate them!
As for the highlighted question, well Modric is a don, Mikel is a don. Mikel has reached that point in his career where he KNOWS what he can do and he does not really need to be at a top club to produce it. The only disadvantage of playing in China is game speed fitness ie the extra speed and mental strength needed to play at the higher levels is key. He will handle it. Mikel has quietly transformed into a real leader. and he leads by example. He oozes a calmness which is based on real top level experience. Where hasnt he been, what hasnt he won, who hasnt he faced up to, which victory defeat hasnt he experienced, no like Modric he has seen it all and ask him to face Brazil or Belize he will not be fazed, He knows what he kin do

Re: Croatian Spy Coach Confident

Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2017 12:24 am
by ikemba_nacho
niyi wrote:
Croatian coach Boris Pučić, who has close links to Football College Abuja, has provided vital information about the Nigerian national team that might come in handy to Croatian manager Zlatko Dalić ahead of the 2018 World Cup.

Pučić revealed that Chelsea's Victor Moses is the only star player on the Nigeria team, and the present squad cannot be compared to the USA 1994 and 1998 teams which paraded the likes of Nwankwo Kanu and Austin Okocha.

''They are not very pleased with the fact that they have drawn Croatia, but who would be. However, they are hoping that Nigeria will win, but I'm just waiting for a day to celebrate, I think we have no reason to be afraid,'' said Pučić to sportske.jutarnji.hr.

''Obi Mikel plays in China, Moses has been injured for some time and has just returned to Chelsea's first team, while others are all in some side-tiers.

''Iheanacho and Musa are in reserve in Leicester, Iwobi for Arsenal plays a bit more, but Nigeria is not the shadow of the national team that they once called 'African Brazil.

''Simply, there is no star player besides Moses in Chelsea and the team is not close to what we remember from the World Cup in the United States or France that played really well.''

Nigeria and Croatia will face off at the Kaliningrad Stadium, Kaliningrad on June 16, 2018 in both countries Group D opener.
http://www.allnigeriasoccer.com/read_news.php?nid=25695

A translation and short version of this article https://sportske.jutarnji.hr/nogomet/re ... e/6806166/
I pray to God that they think Vic Moses is the only one they need to be worried about and this is their sentiments.

Re: Croatian Spy Coach Confident

Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2017 6:46 am
by Odas
The YeyeMan wrote:Good. I admire his confidence.
Me too! We go sorprise-am wen tiam rich :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: The man go see pepper

Re: Croatian Spy Coach Confident

Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2017 6:57 am
by Odas
Eaglezbeak wrote:If that’s supposed to be a report I hope they keep believing,how basic!
I am hoping they keep believing such as well. Though anything can happen, but based on what the Croatian said (if true), we are clearly the "underdog" in our match against them - a position I prefer to be in.

Re: Croatian Spy Coach Confident

Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2017 8:44 am
by Cellular
pasamu wrote:
mate wrote:Pasamu, I'll be watching all I can of Nigeria to get more familiar with the team. I'm curious, especially on the ball possession angle. Again, I'm ultimately going with names on paper...weighting our midfielders more heavily exactly because they're on big clubs playing big roles.

Perisic, Modric, and Raketic are important players on some of the best European club teams. Kovacic is at Real Madrid, young and emerging. Again, Croatia pretty much dominated possession in the qualifiers, even when we lost.

Perhaps Nigeria will dominate possession against Croatia. I just don't expect it. But, we'll have fun finding out.

:)

One last thing. Would you really at this time compare Modric and Mikel? There has to be a difference playing on Real Madrid and in the CL versus China.
Those are big boy names u have pointed out mate, class performers who will not be intimidated by the arena of world cup. But please understand, Nigeria's players will match them if they are not overawed by the platform. I personally would not expect them to be, Nigerian footballers have gone through a lot to get to play in Europe in the first place, most wont just grab their chance in the spotlight, they will take yours as well if you are not careful. Oh and Nigerian footballers as a whole are very very underrated. Even the established names like Mikel and Moses are not fully appreciated. Mikel was never seen as more than a big strong defensive midfielder in England but he has always been one of the most skillful attacking players in any team he plays at. Moses bounced around the premiership until he found a manager that placed real trust in him even though it meant him learning to play in a position he was completely unfamiliar with. What did Rodgers at Liverpool not see in him that Conte did? And if Kelechi was brazilian or argentine dare i say it Croat even, do you really think he would be sharing bench time in Leicester? And those are just the players in the premiership. Ndidi is quietly turning into a beast in the premiership but outside of Leicester is anyone aware of it? Etebo is in my opinion the most complete Nigerian midfielder i have ever seen. He attacks, he defends, he scores goals, he can sit in front of the defence, he is quite skillful, he can and will rough you up, he can spot a pass, i have seen all these things in him and yet he is stuck in the portuguese second division. Azubuike is one of the most polished passers of the ball we have and yet he cannot even get into the squad, and watch Shehu our rightback and then ask yourself why is he plying his trade in cyprus. Hey Nigerian players are underrrated, even WE Nigerians do not fully appreciate them!
As for the highlighted question, well Modric is a don, Mikel is a don. Mikel has reached that point in his career where he KNOWS what he can do and he does not really need to be at a top club to produce it. The only disadvantage of playing in China is game speed fitness ie the extra speed and mental strength needed to play at the higher levels is key. He will handle it. Mikel has quietly transformed into a real leader. and he leads by example. He oozes a calmness which is based on real top level experience. Where hasnt he been, what hasnt he won, who hasnt he faced up to, which victory defeat hasnt he experienced, no like Modric he has seen it all and ask him to face Brazil or Belize he will not be fazed, He knows what he kin do
Excellent summation.

The team I am more worried about is Iceland not Croatia or Argentina. We will be up for Croatia and Argentina... our guys will want to test their mantle against the best. It is funny that Croatia thinks they will overwhelm us with their superior midfield play/personnel. LOL. They better find cover for their fullbacks. They won't be able to defend us one-on-one. And if they make the mistake of pressing and it becomes a footrace they will surely lose. Any team that plays Naijaria and attacks will lose. You would want us to press up high and live gaps... but if you think you can pass us to death or camp in our own half... well, good luck with that.

Re: Croatian Spy Coach Confident

Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2017 9:19 am
by Odas
pasamu wrote:
mate wrote:Pasamu, I'll be watching all I can of Nigeria to get more familiar with the team. I'm curious, especially on the ball possession angle. Again, I'm ultimately going with names on paper...weighting our midfielders more heavily exactly because they're on big clubs playing big roles.

Perisic, Modric, and Raketic are important players on some of the best European club teams. Kovacic is at Real Madrid, young and emerging. Again, Croatia pretty much dominated possession in the qualifiers, even when we lost.

Perhaps Nigeria will dominate possession against Croatia. I just don't expect it. But, we'll have fun finding out.

:)

One last thing. Would you really at this time compare Modric and Mikel? There has to be a difference playing on Real Madrid and in the CL versus China.
Those are big boy names u have pointed out mate, class performers who will not be intimidated by the arena of world cup. But please understand, Nigeria's players will match them if they are not overawed by the platform. I personally would not expect them to be, Nigerian footballers have gone through a lot to get to play in Europe in the first place, most wont just grab their chance in the spotlight, they will take yours as well if you are not careful. Oh and Nigerian footballers as a whole are very very underrated. Even the established names like Mikel and Moses are not fully appreciated. Mikel was never seen as more than a big strong defensive midfielder in England but he has always been one of the most skillful attacking players in any team he plays at. Moses bounced around the premiership until he found a manager that placed real trust in him even though it meant him learning to play in a position he was completely unfamiliar with. What did Rodgers at Liverpool not see in him that Conte did? And if Kelechi was brazilian or argentine dare i say it Croat even, do you really think he would be sharing bench time in Leicester? And those are just the players in the premiership. Ndidi is quietly turning into a beast in the premiership but outside of Leicester is anyone aware of it? Etebo is in my opinion the most complete Nigerian midfielder i have ever seen. He attacks, he defends, he scores goals, he can sit in front of the defence, he is quite skillful, he can and will rough you up, he can spot a pass, i have seen all these things in him and yet he is stuck in the portuguese second division. Azubuike is one of the most polished passers of the ball we have and yet he cannot even get into the squad, and watch Shehu our rightback and then ask yourself why is he plying his trade in cyprus. Hey Nigerian players are underrrated, even WE Nigerians do not fully appreciate them!
As for the highlighted question, well Modric is a don, Mikel is a don. Mikel has reached that point in his career where he KNOWS what he can do and he does not really need to be at a top club to produce it. The only disadvantage of playing in China is game speed fitness ie the extra speed and mental strength needed to play at the higher levels is key. He will handle it. Mikel has quietly transformed into a real leader. and he leads by example. He oozes a calmness which is based on real top level experience. Where hasnt he been, what hasnt he won, who hasnt he faced up to, which victory defeat hasnt he experienced, no like Modric he has seen it all and ask him to face Brazil or Belize he will not be fazed, He knows what he kin do
Pasamu! The only problem I have with your post is the "non-paragraphing", else my HAT goes off to you. Good write-up indeed. :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

Re: Croatian Spy Coach Confident

Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2017 1:25 pm
by cchinukw
Opposition scouting. That is alien to Nigeria.

If we don't have that function, we need to start getting briefing papers ready by whatever means possible osiso.