Mateo Kovačić

[Tanel]

Taider, Alvarez, Kovacic... I think the word for this is spoilt for choice. What talent in the central midfield for us!

I said in the match thread: Kovacic changed the match. Hopefully he'll do it again against Cagliari. Go on boy!

Edit: Tbh I'm still bloody drunk, but still... all love to Kova!

 

[Nero Indigo]

Player Highlights from the Fiorentina match:

[youtube]iu825HTwP3I[/youtube]

The way he brings the ball forward and draws defenders towards him is a spectacle. I really like the kid; I truly hope he reaches the next level (with us though )

 

[Devious]

Edit: Tbh I'm still bloody drunk, but still... all love to Kova!

Juan?

 

[Karim]

This kid is a good player, and I think he be an icon for the club (unlikely) or at least a great player (highly likely). He just needs to develop at his own pace in his own position. The problem with managers nowadays is that they always like to tinker with a potential star claiming they are doing it for the better of the player and to suit their tactical needs. This has been the downfall of many potential stars because managers wnat them to play a certain way and if they don't they sit in the bench, get less minutes, and rot in despair. I hate to see this with Kova.

 

[wera]

yes but u have to understand that Mazzarri gave Kova a chance, but it was too soon, still wasn't 100%, so he gave him baby steps to get ready for another start in the first 11

he will not forget about Kova, so don't make drama out of it

 

[stanko 05]

Think he was our 2nd best player behind Nagatomo today.

Our driving force on offense with his simply ridiculous dribbling ability. He really is one of the best dribblers in the world. It's breath-taking at times.

He must add a shooting element to his game though, or it will be for nothing. He needs to learn to become a goal-threat from outside the box consistently in order to take his game to the next level.

Right now he does a lot of nice stuff but hardly with any purpose. It's ok now due to his age, but he must start producing goal situations and goal threats on his own.

Creating for others he's ok although not optimal, but for me the worry is his shooting and ability to threat from the outside. His shot never looked really good to me, and it seems he's aware of it too as he's so reluctant to take it - and he has many occasions to do so in a game with his dribble and ability to carve space for himself deep in the heart of the opponents territory.

 

[Suraj]

yea his dribbling is amazing! it's like no one can take the ball off him.But I agree he needs to be more aggressive and attack more. It's just his nature I think cause cambiaso and guarin just go forward and he stays back. He needs to be the one taking it to the opponents and moving forward.

 

[CoolMan44]

I agree that he needs to work more on his shooting and that final ball. Otherwise, he did well today. It wasn't easy with the pitch conditions for a player recently back from injuries.

 

[Ed.]

He deteriorated a lot in the second part of second half. He ain't fit yet for full 90 mins.

 

[sanka]

Dr Combi spoke, ehh sorry Dr Ed. respect.

 

[Ronaldo]

I was checking Fourfourtwo And it had some interesting stats about Kovacic's game today.

Most successful passes in the game, Kovacic highest with 56/59
Attacking third passes 18/19
Take ons 8/11


Ball recoveries:
Nainggolan 9
JJ 8
Cambiasso and Kovacic 7


He can pass, take on players and tackle. That is impressive for a 19 year old coming off an injury in an away match in Serie A.

 

[.h.]

Think he was our 2nd best player behind Nagatomo today.

Our driving force on offense with his simply ridiculous dribbling ability. He really is one of the best dribblers in the world. It's breath-taking at times.

He must add a shooting element to his game though, or it will be for nothing. He needs to learn to become a goal-threat from outside the box consistently in order to take his game to the next level.

Right now he does a lot of nice stuff but hardly with any purpose. It's ok now due to his age, but he must start producing goal situations and goal threats on his own.

Creating for others he's ok although not optimal, but for me the worry is his shooting and ability to threat from the outside. His shot never looked really good to me, and it seems he's aware of it too as he's so reluctant to take it - and he has many occasions to do so in a game with his dribble and ability to carve space for himself deep in the heart of the opponents territory.

I said this a while ago and got flamed. Now you get thanks.

 

[pencilpal]

Think he was our 2nd best player behind Nagatomo today.

Our driving force on offense with his simply ridiculous dribbling ability. He really is one of the best dribblers in the world. It's breath-taking at times.

He must add a shooting element to his game though, or it will be for nothing. He needs to learn to become a goal-threat from outside the box consistently in order to take his game to the next level.

Right now he does a lot of nice stuff but hardly with any purpose. It's ok now due to his age, but he must start producing goal situations and goal threats on his own.

Creating for others he's ok although not optimal, but for me the worry is his shooting and ability to threat from the outside. His shot never looked really good to me, and it seems he's aware of it too as he's so reluctant to take it - and he has many occasions to do so in a game with his dribble and ability to carve space for himself deep in the heart of the opponents territory.

Yes, but keep in mind this has been a problem for him since his days in Croatia, so it's not as easy as it may seem.

He was touted as the "Croatian Messi" but hype significantly died down due to a lack of end product.

In fact, I'd say that he was considered to be even more wasteful than Guarin at times with Dinamo, always looking to go for the spectacular.

 

[xik]

According to whoscored.com, he was the MotM, a bit ahead of Nainggolan.

http://www.whoscored.com/Matches/758049/Live

 

[Ed.]

I said this a while ago and got flamed. Now you get thanks.

:browhmance:

 

[Wings]

I'd prefer Kovacic to work on his through-balls and passing more than finishing. Not that scoring goals isn't important, but we don't really have that many creative players.

 

[Handoyo]

His dribbling is good, and it's necessary in order to free up some space up front. But he just needs to be careful. It's ok to fail when you try a dribble but he has to make sure that it's not at a dangerous spot, or that he has team-mates who's ready to back him up and prevent a rapid counter attack from the opposition.

 

[Choppin Onions]

His dribbling is already world-class. His football intelligence seems very high. His passing and vision is steadily improving. Shooting is weak but that's something that can be worked on. Not sure if he'll even be a goal-scoring threat though. Especially if he develops as a regista. Sky's the limit however. He's one hell of a footballer at only 19 that's for sure.

 

[Fapuccino]

motherfucker only misplaced 3 passes the whole game, in a fucking waterlogged rice field. I remember he gave this long range pass to pereira, it was beautiful, but a puddle of water stopped it, and pass got almost intercepted. I can't wait to see him in an actual field. he should work on his over dribbling though. world class dribbler, but he's got to learn when to stop, and not overdo it.


I honestly haven't seen a player that can dribble like Kovacic through the middle of the pitch, since Messi. Iniesta can weave in and slalom too, but Kova does it AND he's fast.

When you dribble through the middle, you attract opposition towards you, and make a lot of space for your teammates, something that has become Messi's signature move.

 

[Adriano]

i get distracted by his cuteness when he plays, i'm not sure how good he is, i just get stuck looking at his dreamy face