In the first minutes of Sunday, half an hour after midnight, the “fiery” ones arrived in Zagreb. While they didn’t get enough sleep, they had faced more sleepless nights in their careers.
Just 30 minutes before training started, a rookie with Dion Drena Beljo arrived by car. Although Dalić included him in the call-up, Dragan Skočić bypassed him, arguing that he did not play for the club. Beljo scored three goals for a third division team in a friendly match for Augsburg and went on holiday in Vinkovci. However, on Saturday evening, Dalić’s call came in – “We need another striker because we are left with only Budimir.”
The other players arrived by bus while Mandžukić and Ćorluka were looking for a field suitable for training. They decided to use Luka Modrić’s field since the assistant Hitrec-Kacian was in poor condition. The boys from Lokomotiva jumped on Mandžukić and Čarli for a photo while children from Dinamo’s open school lined the fence as the “hot guys” got off the bus and greeted Livaković and Modrić with loud cheers.
Ivica Olić announced that Vida missed the field and went to Hitrec! He added humorously, “Can you punish yourself anyway?” The coach has to work hard to reach the quality of the players they have, but he will not change the lineup. Everyone did well in Riga – nobody got a card, nobody got hurt or wasted. Kramarić was even kept on the field for 80 minutes despite being newly recovered.
Therefore, Livaković – Stanišić, Šutalo, Erlić, Gvardiol – Modrić, Brozović – Majer, Kramarić, Ivanušec – Budimir should start on Tuesday. And knowing that they have match-winners like both Pašalić and Baturina on the bench gives Dalić and fans great security.