I’m definitely putting him down for a hat trick now :wink:
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Not sure if this is tongue in cheek, but can't see anyone getting too worked up, just some pointing out that Rijeka would be clear favourites against us based on comparative participation and results in Europe in recent years. We'd have a chance but would need an awful lot to fall our way to progress IMO.
Good day to everyone here.
I am a Croat and Rijeka supporter.
I have noticed that You do not know much about Croatian football league and Rijeka as a club. So, I am registered here not to provoke but to discuss since there is a good possibility that we will play against each other next week and week after.
After these matches, I will be gone from this forum.
So, we can start a discussion if You are willing to do so.
Welcome to the forum. A few questions:
Who are the star players in your team?
How do Rijeka fans view playing against Hibs? Is it seen as an easy draw?
You've faced Aberdeen in Europe twice in recent years, with mixed results. Was being knocked out by Aberdeen seen as a shock?
Thanks for welcoming me.
Ok, after the draw we were not very happy with Hibs, not because we do not believe that we can't beat You, but we do not like to play against Your type of football which is more physical then we usually play. So, as per our opinion better choice would be Aarhus, Puskas and even Luzern. Nevermind, we are here now so we can not change it.
Rijeka has experience with two recent clashes with Aberdeen so we are confident that we can go through.
Rijeka as a club - ok, first short info. It is not HMK Rijeka as in thread but HNK Rijeka which means Croatian football club (Hrvatski Nogometni Klub).
Rijeka is only Croatian club in private hands, we have an owner with 70% stocks. But, since situation in Croatia with financing is very different comparing to Scotland or England (no big sponsors, no money from TV rights etc), majority of Croatian clubs are forced to survive by selling players. It means that we do not spent much money for incoming transfers and wages, policy is buy cheap, sell expensive.
Last season was very hard from financial aspect and despite finishing as third in Croatian championship and playing group stage of EL, neither management neither fans were satisfied with the season. So, some changes are applied, we have a new sport manager and new coach (actually came late last season, but now applying some new ideas in style of play). Team has been changed, style of play is changed. To be honest, we are not sure about strength of current squad comparing with last year squad but for now we like what we see.
Bottom line is that we can not be 100% sure that we will beat You, but we surely do not see You as favourites.
Star player is definitely Drmic. Technically best players midfielder Pavicic and winger Muric.
I already answered second one. We are not afraid, but we would prefer some softer team.
Aberdeen - first clash was a shock, we lost first leg at home 0-3, but we missed some very good chances in first 15 minutes, and Aberdeen scored 3 goals from 3 kicks. Definitely bad luck. Second leg in Scotland 2-2, but we already wrote this off.
Second clash with Aberdeen, two wins 2-0, Aberdeen did not have a slightest chance for winning in both legs.
My question: Hibs/Aberdeen comparison?
I think the Hibs/Aberdeen comparison is an interesting one and you might find some people disagreeing.
The Aberdeen team you faced found a way of being quite effective. They knew how to win games ugly and were effective from things like set pieces and scoring scrappy goals. First and foremost they were difficult to beat. I think Hibs last season were trying to be a wee bit like that. Defensively very sound, hard to play against and there were a number of complaints from some fans (not all) that we were boring to watch. Where we are better than Aberdeen though is that we have some good attacking players who can cause problems on the counter attack. I think we were third top scorers in the league behind Rangers and Celtic but it didn’t feel to me anyway we played attacking football.
In comparison Aberdeen went 10 games without scoring last season.
Just my opinion, others may disagree 😂
Yes, we also expect this.
Comparing with last season we are definitely playing faster and more direct. We brought faster attacking players in the squad by coach wishes.
Last year we mostly played 3-5-2, now we prefer something like 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3. However, last game at home we played 3-5-2 because we missed some players, we can still play this system if needed.
Some bad memories:
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2y9otl
Zdravo Rijeka fan. We are *****. We only finished third in the league because all the other teams were even more *****. We could also quite easily lose 4-0 on Thursday to the third best team in Andorra and be knocked out. But if we manage to get through to play Rijeka, you will win very easily. It will be like playing a pub team who have drunk too many beers and eaten too many pies. Nothing to worry about.
And some good ones:
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7fi88x
If You noticed, two clashes with Aberdeen are not on the same stadium.
We are now playing on new stadium, Rujevica, capacity is 8.000 people and this is type of stadium with people very near the pitch. At the moment, we do not have restrictions with number of people allowed on stadium so You can expect very hot atmosphere.
Aberdeen were , for a Scottish team anyway, exceptionally well organised, good defensively, physically strong and knew how to win a game (time wasting or "game management" as their manager used to say). I'd agree with the above poster that they were better than us (as in when you played them, not now) defensively and especially as an overall unit.
Hibs - We have some very good attacking players. Kevin Nisbet is probably the best Scottish born striker at the moment (the other two strikers in the Euro squad were born in England and Australia). Martin Boyle is probably our best player and is one of the best forward players in the Scottish League. We have some good, but by no means outstanding, midfielders and defenders.
I actually think you'll find our style of play easier to play against than the Aberdeen team of a few years ago as we are more of a technical team (though I suspect you'll be better than us).
I'd make Rijeka favourites for the tie, probably about 70/30 75/25 in your favour.
Call me suspicious,but this poster with the handle Rijeka fan might actually be the Rijeka coach who’s found a quick way for .net members to do his research for him.Hmmm.
:wink:
There is no rijeka.net.
You have two active forums of Rijeka supporters. I do not know whether this is helpful because both are in Croatian.
http://www.forza-fiume.com/forum/
http://www.hocuri.com/
If Mr. Ross wants to apply, I am a moderator on second one so tell him to contact me.:greengrin
Can we start a Rijeka fan out poll? He hasn't made a big post yet