Transfer Rumours transfer thread fact and fiction

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A lot of it goes back to the Yugoslavian system, or to be more specific where the academies were located

In what is now Croatia there were academies in Zagreb, Split and Osijek, which Dinamo, Hajduk and Osijek reaping the benefits ever since, while what is now Serbia had academies in Belgrade and Novi Sad which Red Star, Partizan and Vojvodina are reaping the benefits of - which is why Kosovo is probably doomed to be spoken of alongside San Marino, as any of their best players were moved into the academies in what is now either Serbia or Bosnia

Similar can be said of the former Soviet Union, as there were prolific academy systems in Moscow, St Petersburg, Kyiv and Minsk (to name but four) which is why Russia and Ukraine continue to produce talent and Belarus isn't too shabby either, but the likes of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Georgia etc etc etc don't have the infrastructure

it really sticks out when you look at the players some of those academies have produced
Dinamo Zagreb: Luka Modric, Zvonomir Boban, Robert Prosinecki, Mateo Kovacic, Niko Kranjcar, Milan Badelj, Vedran Corluka, Josko Gvardiol, Sime Vrsaljko, Dario Simic, Andrej Kramaric, Dejan Lovren, Igor Biscan
Hajduk Split: Alen Boksic, Igor Tudor, Stipe Pletikosa, Darijo Srna, Slaven Bilic, Milan Rapajic, Robert Jarni, Ivan Strinic, Nikola Vlasic
Osijek: Davor Suker, Donmagoj Vida, Robert Spehar, Jurica Vranjes, Nenad Bjelica, Borna Barisic
And just our luck to pick up a Romanian Vlad Chiriches
 
And just our luck to pick up a Romanian Vlad Chiriches
Napoli sold Chiriches for more money than we paid for him.
He's still playing in Serie A, too. Signed for newly promoted Cremonese recently:
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That is not a good look, though. They're going back down, aren't they?
 
And just our luck to pick up a Romanian Vlad Chiriches
Romania was similar to Russia, as the Bucharest teams got all the resources and the rest got trickle down, which makes Cluj's successes all the more remarkable

For reference, Dumitrescu came through at Steaua Bucharest, Popescu at (oh bugger...) Universitatea Craiova, and Chiriches at...Benfica?
 
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Romania was similar to Russia, as the Bucharest teams got all the resources and the rest got trickle down, which makes Cluj's successes all the more remarkable

For reference, Dumitrescu came through at Steaua Bucharest, Popescu at (oh bugger...) Universitatea Craiova, and Chiriches at...Benfica?
I know you're joking, but Cluj's success follows the Chelsea model.
Get taken over by a massive crook, spend big and then pretend that you were always successful.
 
I know you're joking, but Cluj's success follows the Chelsea model.
Get taken over by a massive crook, spend big and then pretend that you were always successful.
That doesn't necessarily work in leagues with an entrenched ecosystem, for example Dnipro and (oh no...) Anzhi Makhachkala tried to buy their way to success and rapidly learned that FFP rules actually apply to leagues outside those with G14 links

It went so bad in fact that Dnipro went bust in 2019 while Anzhi were dissolved last month
 
That doesn't necessarily work in leagues with an entrenched ecosystem, for example Dnipro and (oh no...) Anzhi Makhachkala tried to buy their way to success and rapidly learned that FFP rules actually apply to leagues outside those with G14 links

It went so bad in fact that Dnipro went bust in 2019 while Anzhi were dissolved last month
They both had the misfortune of being bought by billionaires with short attention spans.
Kerimov only bothered with Anzhi for two years.
Kolomoyski may have lasted a little longer at Dnipro, but their fall was even more spectacular.

A real pair of crooks and they both got sanctioned by the US.
Ended up on opposite sides of the war in Ukraine, though.
 
They both had the misfortune of being bought by billionaires with short attention spans.
Kerimov only bothered with Anzhi for two years.
Kolomoyski may have lasted a little longer at Dnipro, but their fall was even more spectacular.

A real pair of crooks and they both got sanctioned by the US.
Ended up on opposite sides of the war in Ukraine, though.
Harry ****espout presumably thinks both would be ideal for us, then...
 
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I think Spurf is right in that it really is a lottery most times as to whether a player will turn out good.

You can have the quality and skill and still be ****, just see Ndombele and Lo Celso.

You can have the attitude and work rate and still be ****, just see Winks and Soldado.

Feels like you need the perfect combination of quality, skill, attitude, work rate, mentality, tactics of manager, understanding of language, good surrounding teammates and likely many other factors in order to be a success. It’s where the good scouts/ DoF’s/ coaches get paid the big bucks to try and find or develop players perfect for their manager.
It's not difficult, there are three must haves.

First touch
Can Tackle
Gives 110%

In that order
 
The recent generation of Croatians are/ were just a different breed in general. For a relatively small country, they produced a national team of unreal ballers. From a technical aspect especially, some of the best around.

Modric, Kranjcar, Perisic, Rakitic, Brozovic… all just technically brilliant players.
Have you noticed that you get kicked ****less in the Croatian league unless your first touch is perfect, and you are skillful enough to get out of the way.
 
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Have you noticed that you get kicked ****less in the Croatian league unless your first touch is perfect, and you are skillful enough to get out of the way.

Modric also spent a season on loan in the Bosnian league.

From how it sounds, it's basically an 11vs11 MMA fight with a football chucked in for good measure over there.
 
Modric also spent a season on loan in the Bosnian league.

From how it sounds, it's basically an 11vs11 MMA fight with a football chucked in for good measure over there.
I would've thought being Croatian and about 3'4" probably added to it, too.
 
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Looking forward to the Seventh Sealed.

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I think transfers are always a bit of a crap shoot, but there are a very few people who really know what they're doing, and Paratici and Conte are two of them.

It's interesting to see Conte auditioning wingbacks, for example. He seems to want four good enough to compete for big trophies. He's got one now, Perisic, and is looking at whether Sessegnon, Emerson, Doherty, Moura and maybe Harvey White are good enough. If they are, fine. If they aren't, he'll press to get players who are, and move on anyone who didn't work out, as he did Reguilon. It's cold-blooded, especially in the case of Reguilon, who genuinely cared about Spurs, but it's what needs to be done to win things.
 
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Looking forward to the Seventh Sealed.

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I think transfers are always a bit of a crap shoot, but there are a very few people who really know what they're doing, and Paratici and Conte are two of them.

It's interesting to see Conte auditioning wingbacks, for example. He seems to want four good enough to compete for big trophies. He's got one now, Perisic, and is looking at whether Sessegnon, Emerson, Doherty, Moura and maybe Harvey White are good enough. If they are, fine. If they aren't, he'll press to get players who are, and move on anyone who didn't work out, as he did Reguilon. It's cold-blooded, especially in the case of Reguilon, who genuinely cared about Spurs, but it's what needs to be done to win things.
One thing to mention, Sess has spoken about how Perisic has already taught him a few things
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A little bit Football Manager that...