Setback, Outbreak

Lock, Stock and Two Freaking Crossbars. That there’s a thin line between bliss and agony we were once again convinced on Saturday, when in the dying seconds of what was a fairly even contest we managed to hit woodwork twice. In. The. Same. Freaking. Spot. If only one of those made it into the back of the net, today we’d be reading about a magnificent fightback starring “The Bilic Boys“. But instead what we have on our hands is a nationwide outbreak of skepticism regarding our chances to qualify for South Africa next year.

A couple of words about the match itself. It started beautifully, with Petric slotting in a rebound after Srna’s free kick could only be parried. And with what should of been a catalyst for a glorious Saturday evening, we went on to play pretty much the worst game at Maksimir – ever.

Why? The absurd phrase “We scored too soon” comes to mind. The fact is, we lacked aggression and flair to be anything more then a modest sparring partner to a more fresh and determined side which was Ukraine that night. We had to concede twice to see our side spark a resistance. Bilic substituted the disappointing duo of Rakitic and Juric at halftime, bringing in a more aggressive solution in Leko and Vukojevic.

And with a combination of our cojones reinstalled, and the visitors backing down under pressure, we managed to equalize and make the push towards the winner, only to be denied by the two crossbars mentioned earlier in the rant. But truth be told, 2:2 was a fair result given our approach to the thing. As for players standing out, frankly there’s not much complimenting I can do. Criticizing though, hell yeah. But I’ll just bring out the main issue.

Frankly I’ve no idea why after retiring Niko Kovac the person we chose as his heir is at 34 (come August) actually just 3 years younger and arguably brings less to the table then some players Bilic has already had at his disposal. I’m talking mainly about Vukojevic here, who’s just had a great first season with Dynamo Kiev and possesses just enough bite to efficiently partner Modric at the center of the pitch. A more aggressive, more versatile, and what’s most important, an option for the future.

And as if his inclusion in the team didn’t cause enough confusion, in an interview given just days before the crucial kick off, Juric was quoted saying: “Croatia ain’t a top team, we’ve a few good players”; basically saying what we’re doing all these years is overachieving. While he did talk with an (un)healthy amount of self criticism, his description of Niko Kovac as a “limited” player who had a great career, was ill timed at least, if not lacking in sportsmanship. I’m sure the intent had no malice and while his honesty is appreciated, there’s a time and place to say things like this out loud. And it ain’t when talking to a news hungry reporter in the eve of what’s probably the most important game of the whole qualifying cycle.

But. What’s done is done, let’s see where we go from here. While it’s not looking exactly peachy at this moment in time, the fact is we still have our fate in our own hands, and grabbing 6 points in our 2 match face off with Belarus come late summer, would be just the right remedy to help us bounce back from this setback. Bilic? I trust the guy. It was a vow of trust he and the public took a few years back, to go through thick and thin together. Nothing better than a few bumps on the road to show us all what we’re made of.