Tag: Croatia

Why Joško Gvardiol is the complete package for Manchester City

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Centre Backs, Fullback, German Bundesliga, Masterclasses, Player Analysis, Premier League, Recruitment & Scouting

Manchester City don't usually splash the cash for massive, absurd fees, unless they are 100% confident that the player has the potential to be transformative. That's already a compliment to the quality of their latest signing - Joško Gvardiol, who's just signed for a reported fee of £77.6 million. Sure, it's less than Manchester United spent on Harry Maguire. But it's still a massive fee for a centre-back, even despite his age, profile, potential and future. Nevertheless, the massive fee looks to be justified for City, giving Guardiola exactly what he's looking for from the left-side of his defensive set-up. Here is why Joško Gvardiol could be the complete package for City.

Niko Sigur – Player Analysis

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Canadian Premier League, Fullback, Player Analysis, Recruitment & Scouting, Subscriber Exclusives, Winger

Niko Sigur is a 19-year-old Canadian/Croatian currently playing right-back for Hajduk Split. After moving away from York University and Vaughn Azzurri, he chose to represent Croatia at international level. Since then, he's risen through their youth ranks and is now having a great time in Hajduk's first-team. This means his market value is currently listed at 700k, so the most likely scenario I see would be a loan.

Reflections from Canada’s loss to Croatia – 2022 World Cup

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Match Analysis, Most Recent, World Cup 2022

After taking a few days to reflect on Canada's disappointing loss against Croatia, I have been able to take away many positives from the performance. Kamal Miller won't get much in the way of praise after being hung out to dry at the end of the game, but he had another brilliant performance at the back. Alphonso Davies meanwhile bagged the nation's first goal at a Men's World Cup inside just two minutes of action, waking my neighbours up as I yelled of joy. But in dissecting the game further, it's clear to see that Croatia operated at a higher level, with their fanciful one-touch triangulations causing chaos for Canada every time they had the ball. For what feels like the first time ever, a few things will need to drastically change from a tactical standpoint heading into the next fixture from John Herdman's team. Here are my reflections on Canada's 4-1 defeat to Croatia.