Gundogan’s departure accelerates the process of Kovacic’s arrival at Manchester City. The Croatian is one of the most reliable players in European football
Mateo Kovacic was the player with the most success in the pass (93.68%) of the season in Spain in LaLiga 2017-2018. He still had to go to Chelsea to play more
The case of Mateo Kovacic is peculiar. A footballer who has established himself as one of the best midfielders in Europe, but has not always had it easy. He came from the Dinamo Zagreb youth academy, a team that always tends to produce players with a high competitive load and that, in this case, has in Kovacic another example of improvement and perseverance. In 2013 he made the leap to Inter Milan where he began to build a reputation for himself as a total midfielder and had two top-level seasons in Serie A.
Shortly after, Kovacic’s great moment came at Real Madrid where he was between 2015 and 2019. The bad thing for the Croatian was coinciding with a team in which he had fierce competition with midfielders like Luka Modric or Toni Kroos. It is there when Kovacic decides to go to a place where he was the undisputed starter and arrived at Chelsea, first on loan and then as transferred until this summer.
A profile of Pep’s taste
The decline of Chelsea this season has coincided, paradoxically, with the good form of Kovacic who senses that he does not want a year without the Champions League. This nuance also coincides with the fact that City is looking for a central midfielder of his characteristics after the announced departure of Gundogan. Guardiola has asked for a total midfielder, from his court, strong and who has the leadership of the Croatian. Kovacic has already won two leagues, one in Croatia and one in Spain, as well as three Champions with Madrid, another with Chelsea, and several other titles.
Winning yet another title with the ‘sky blues’ doesn’t sound like a chimera, quite the contrary. Because City is the favorite to win the Champions League according to Betfair forecasts (odds 3.0) and also to lift (again) the Premier (odds 1.62). The signing of Kovacic could be the perfect icing on the cake for a midfield that could also lose Bernardo Silva. Without Gundogan and, probably without the Portuguese, the inclusion of players like Kovacic seems more than necessary to accompany Rodri or De Bruyne.
Some may think that the Croatian is not a footballer of the cut that Pep likes in that care to have the ball. In fact, quite the opposite happens. Worth the fact that Mateo Kovacic was the player with the most success in the pass (93.68%) of LaLiga 2017-2018, in addition to being the second with the best percentage of passes completed in the opposite field (91.67%).
Great numbers that are complemented, in addition, with other virtues, such as careful driving to break lines from behind or a nourished ability to step on the area without forgetting the defense. Kovacic begins to approach the virtues that make any player a total midfielder.
“He could have given me a chance& rdquor;
“I enjoyed it, we won three Champions League, but Chelsea is arriving at the best moment of my career. It has been the most important change for now and I am really satisfied with that,” the Balkan confessed when he arrived in London. “It was nice to play with Zidane, but I thought that he could have given me a chance that I deserved in the third final of the Champions League”Kovacic said at a press conference, adding: “That was the main reason for my dissatisfaction, but that’s football and we parted ways without bad feelings.” His evolution has been enormous and it will be a plus for City if he ends up taking over his services.
polyglot
Kovacic has stood out throughout his career for consistency and perseverance. In addition, he speaks Croatian, English, Spanish, Italian and German and that Jordi Alba even on his day accused him of speaking bad Spanish. Kovacic has been talking on the pitch for a long time. As a curiosity, Kovacic has learned from many coaches. He is the second player to score his first five Champions League goals under different managers. (Jurcic, Benítez, Zidane, Lampard, Potter), along with Luka Modrić (Redknapp, Mourinho, Ancelotti, Benitez, Zidane). Varied.