Cliff Pavlovic » Sports

Soccer we will not see at the 2010 World Cup

Cliff — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:55:49 +0000

Here is a video of the nice goals from the friendly between Croatia and Lichtenstein this past weekend (which Croatia won 5-0).

A shame Croatia did not qualify. Hopefully there will be Euro 2012 to look forward to.

The Habs are out of the playoffs…

Cliff — Sun, 04 May 2008 02:59:39 +0000

The Habs have been eliminated from the playoffs…
Was a good run…
Would have been nice to bring the Cup back to Canada (last time was ’93, by the Habs)…
But as Loto-Quebec so eloquently puts it: “Meilleure chance la prochaine fois!”

Euro 2008 qualifier: Croatia 3 – 2 England!

Cliff — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 00:53:06 +0000

Croatia had already qualified for Euro 2008, but England needed a tie or a win to also qualify. This was sudden death for England and it was at Wembley, the shrine of soccer (remember, the English did invent the sport). Wembley, the place where England went down only once before (in the 1950s against Hungary). On paper, the advantage was for England. What happens? Croatia wins!

It was a very good game and Croatia showed why it deserves recognition as an important force in the soccer world. England was a little too cocky before the game and in the end they lost. They lost because they were beaten by a better playing team. They lost because their manager made some weird and wrong decisions (for example: let’s put the inexperienced keeper for the key game!). They lost because they played with no fire. All of which Croatia did. I’m happy, not just because Croatia is in the Euro next year, but because even I did not expect the outcome of this game at all.

Euro 2008 qualifier: Croatia 2 – 1 Macedonia!

Cliff — Sun, 25 Mar 2007 01:23:25 +0000

Darijo Srna and Eduardo da Silva lifted Croatia to a 2-1 victory over Macedonia. Croatia is still at the top of its qualifying group for Euro 2008. They had to come from behind to get the win (Srna in the 58th minute for the tie and another goal in the 88th minute by da Silva. Thank you, Eduardo, thank you . Croatia kept up the attack (and Macedonia was getting tons of cards, culminating with the loss of a man) and got the win, now sitting nicely at the top of group E.

UKSoccerShop.com – A great place to get soccer jerseys

Cliff — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 00:21:52 +0000

Well, got my hands on a soccer jersey I was looking for via UKSoccershop.com and I can say I’m impressed. Shipped from the UK to Canada, cheaper than here in Montreal (even with the exchange rate between the British Pound and Canadian Dollar) and I got it in excellent condition. Plus, since I got a jersey with name printing, I was amazed with the impressive quality of the letters and numbers (again, better than some shops here in Montreal). I fully recommend them if you are looking to get your hands on a soccer jersey from your favorite team or country.

Euro 2008 qualifier: Croatia 4 – 3 Israel!

Cliff — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 21:14:24 +0000

Croatia is now at the top of its qualifying group for Euro 2008 , with a 4-3 victory over Israel. Eduardo got a hat-trick and Runje did a good job replacing Pletikosa (who was out with the flu). Still, I find Croatia plays better with Pletikosa as keeper. It was a hard fought match and Croatia prevailed.

Euro 2008 qualifier: Croatia 2 – 0 England!

Cliff — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 03:23:01 +0000

Croatia got past England, 2-0, in their Euro 2008 qualification match! Croatia (for) now sits at the top of its group (remember that the 2 first teams in each group automatically qualify for Euro 2008). Croatia worked hard for the win (even if the second goal was an English own goal) and is definitively a much better team than the one for World Cup 2006 (just a few months ago). I’m really happy with the outcome and how the team has played so far in qualifications matches.

Bilic is showing he’s got what it takes to be the national team’s manager. As for England, a lot of criticism will be leveled against their manager and coaching staff but I have one comment: What happened to the team that showed true grit in the face of adversity during the World Cup 2006 quarter-final match against Portugal, even playing a man down and getting all the way to penalties? That was a team I respected and admired. That team did not show up for the game… I wonder if the English players forgot the concept of playing as a team. Meanwhile, the Croatian players have figured that out.

Links to articles about the game:
UEFA.com -
CNN – BBC Sports – The Daily Express – Index.hr (in Croatian) – Vip.hr (in Croatian)

Hajduk at the top of the 1.HNL!

Cliff — Sun, 17 Sep 2006 04:27:49 +0000

Hajduk is at the top of the Croatian Premier League (Prva Hrvatska Nogometna Liga, 1.HNL), undefeated since the start of the season! Seven wins in seven games, which is a far cry from last season’s dismal performance (in which they finished 5th, barely). Niko Kranjcar was sent to Portsmouth with no-ill effect to the team (and I hope that he will grow more as a player, now he’s in the English Premiership, for the benefit of the Croatian National team). Looks like they (the team management) have found the winning mix yet again (and got out of last season’s rut). Let the good times roll!

Italy – World Cup 2006 Champions!

Cliff — Mon, 10 Jul 2006 00:39:49 +0000

Congratulations to Italy for winning the 2006 World Cup! I would have liked it to be settled during regulation time (I find there were quite a few games decided via penalty shots during this year’s tournament), but that does not take away the fact that they are the champions (they made up for the 1994 World Cup loss, in penalty shots, to Brazil). Now time for some soccer-withdrawal syndrome

Croatia: On the Road to Germany 2006!

Cliff — Sun, 09 Oct 2005 03:29:55 +0000

With the 1-0 victory over Sweden in Zagreb, Croatia has qualified for the World Cup in Germany in 2006! With the qualifications completed, they have a chance to do better than in World Cup 2002 and Euro 2004 (in both cases, they never went passed the group stages of the tournament), and that should be easy enough (the question remains: Who will be in the same group for the tournament? This can make a big difference when it comes to chances to advance out of group play). This time around they have a good team and a good coach. Time will tell, and that time will be next summer. Ah, able to get my soccer dose again.