I simply said that he played brilliant. Lazio played very defensive when they were down men, so its not that easy to play against, but he made things happen all the time. And he played brilliantly last time when they played Lazio as well, at home, he seems to always be the most intelligent player on the field, even if his teammates cant always follow him.
Mateo Kovačić
- Thread starter RedMadridista
- Start date
I simply said that he played brilliant. Lazio played very defensive when they were down men, so its not that easy to play against, but he made things happen all the time. And he played brilliantly last time when they played Lazio as well, at home, he seems to always be the most intelligent player on the field, even if his teammates cant always follow him.
I dont think consistency is a major problem for him considering his age. He always seem to be one of the best players whenever I watch him play at least. Besides, he often plays out wide, and is therefore not always able to be part of the game as much as he wants to sometimes. But still he plays great IMO.
Leo_Messi
New member
Yes, you wrote that he "bossed it" to which I replied that this happened in the second half under the circumstances in that game (Lazio playing with 9 men). I even gave you an link of the grades he received by Italian papers after his first and second half performances. Let's not discuss this for an eternity as this is highly irrelevant and it's getting tiring too.
I am not sure what you are "arguing" against because as I already wrote I have not said anything about him not being an talented or a intelligent player. Read my reply to [MENTION=16942]BBZ8800[/MENTION]
Also I forgot to mention the mental prat of his game. From what I have read from people that follow him each game he can have games where he totally disappears and plays horribly due to a lack of confidence. Both for club and country. My impression is also that he is very much a player that thrives when in a good mood. On the other hand a player like Torres rarely ever has such games much like Verratti and that's personally why I and many other Barça fans would like to see those players instead, even on this forum. They are simply much more consistent as of now. Since we won't buy Verratti, Torres will IMO be the best option should we want to buy a talented midfielder that has high football IQ.
Gaudi
Senior Member
Very true...actually one international game was the time I trully liked Halilovic, he had been called only so he would be Croatia bound (Bosnia was option) and he was good, great in the first half not so good later onj. But I liked his movement, he beat his guard every time, cretaed chances, even trying some shoots. everything still can go wrong for him, I see he is not even regular in B team, and he has questionable attitude...but when I was watching Kova in Dinamo for the first time and now I just don't see any progress. He looks talented when on the ball, has this soft touch talented players tend to have, but he is not inserting him self in the game. For example Coutinho wasn't that good for Inter now he looks miles ahead of Kova if you ask me. Of course same thing can happen to Mateo as well if he would come here but I'm not sure is the risk worth while?
Let's be clear I see him as Iniesta replacement not Xavi, so I want to see some movement, dribbling, vision...those whaauuu moments. Rakitic is a type of player that suits our current system but he is alsno not that "magic" type of player, so do we need two players of that kind? Rakitic brings balance and stamina, and a lot of other things but for that other midfielder I would look somewhere else.
In Halilovic I see that magic but he has a looooong way to go. I would rather get Thiago back if you aks me, he has that magic as well.
Some say Olicer Torres, maybe, can't tell...coutinho, Veratti...maybe someone else. Of course if we could get Kovacic for 20 mil I would be for that, but if Inter aksk for 30-50 then look somewhere else.
No, I didnt say that he "bossed it".
But lets leave that nonsense. He is a great player, thats all. Is he inconsistent? Maybe, although he always seem to play great whenever I watch him, he is such an intelligent player that I'm not worried about that. Especially since players who play out wide when they prefer to play more in the middle can often go missing at times. In Barca, he would play more centrally all the time, not just sometimes.
Leo_Messi
New member
You wrote brilliant which does not change my arguments in any way. Anyway let's leave it. Too many posts have already been written about this.
I am once again not denying his talent. I just don't think that him playing well against a 9 man Lazio team and against Juve's reserve team should be any deciding factor in us buying him or not. I also believe that there are better options out there as written before and that I would not be against us buying him provided that we buy a more experienced and consistent midfielder to accompany him.
In short Kovacic would be an "experiment" that has the potential to end really well (he fulfills his potential and bosses it or as you prefer plays brilliantly) or he never fulfills that potential for whatever reasons. Now if we are truly interested the board and Lucho will have to decide whether such a gamble will be worth it and how much it would cost.
I think that Óliver Torres would be a better gamble. That's all.
In any case we can all agree that we could do with a young emerging midfield talent and Kovacic might become such a player for us.
As I also wrote then I would be very surprised if Inter manages to sell him for more than 30 million euros. 40 millions would be the absolute maximum. Could we buy him for such a sum of money and still be able to buy an experienced midfielder like most users here want to? That's the question. I have my doubts.
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BBZ8800
Senior Member
But Kovacic has way more "woow" moments than Modric and Rakitic (together), probably.
He dribbles a lot around the box, and has a lot of insane "woow" assists to his (crappy) teammates who don't score/move too well at all.
Yes, Kovacic has that Barca style that will suit him well for us IMO. He is intelligent, composed with the ball, moves well, sees easily what goes on around him and passes quickly. He can also easily get past a player simply by a quick turn of pace. Its the type we need in my opinion. And if he is allowed to play more centrally together with his compatriot Rakitic, I think it can only do him well, making it easier to adapt to us.
Topolino
Gemusesuppe
To me, the only player that looks like a GOAT in those videos is Messi.
Up your highlights standards mate.
dakt
Active member
If you like Verratti or Iniesta, you'll like Kovacic. His first touch is brilliant, perfect vision, elegant dribbling....consistency will come with experience in better team. Inter is just shitty. I mean Palacio level shitty and even Iniesta in his prime wouldn't be able to do anything there. If we can get him, we should get him. He's more prosperous than Modric or Rakitic were in their 20s. Kovacic to Barca!
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What about his defensive skills? We need an all around player not just someone who is good at offensive duties.
dakt
Active member
Defensive wise, he's better than Iniesta, but don't expect such players to do heavy load like Rakitic.
In midfield terms he's Messi and Rakitic is Suarez. )
blaugrana1987
New member
Thats true, majority of people in Croatia think Kovacic is more talented then Modric was in his early 20s, let alone Rakitic. He is quite shy though, really like carbon copy of Iniesta. Very religious and level headed, I think he would succeed at Barca. When I see his passes to the likes of Palacio my gut turns upside down, its embarrassing to watch the guys around him. Whole Inter forum is cursing the board for even thinking about selling him, I think they know good enough what kind of player Mateo is.
Anyway, I would take Mateo before Halilovic everyday of the week.
Anyway, I would take Mateo before Halilovic everyday of the week.
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