August 22, 2020 – Everything is ready for Sunday’s tense clash at City Garden Stadium in Osijek, against an always interesting opponent – Hajduk.
There is a lack of recently sold strikers, especially Mirko Maric, who now defends the colors of Monza, but also Antonio Mance, who was loaned to the Hungarian Puskas Academy. Coach Ivica Kulesevic has not yet decided whether Ante Erceg will play against Hajduk from the first minute. However, the blood count has improved because the recovered Petar Bockaj is returning to the team, and Laszlo Kleinheisler has trained all week, so he is expected to perform much better than in the first round match against Slaven Belupo when he played the last ten minutes.
“Erceg is physically good, he probably lacks competitive matches and training with the team, but we will bridge that quickly. His arrival gives us a wide range of possibilities when it comes to attacking because he can play in more positions,” says Kulesevic.
Slobodan Kadic
Although practically all the good that Osijek currently has will run on the pitch, there will still be no captain Mile Skoric who was suspended due to a reckless move and exclusion from the beginning of the match against Slaven Belupo. By the way, Skoric recently received a pre-invitation from Zlatko Dalic, the coach of the Croatia national football team for the Nations League matches against Portugal and France, which are scheduled for September 5 and 8 in Porto and Paris. However, he is not in the best shape at the moment.
Osijek residents have high hopes for Erceg, a former Hajduk player who did not really play in Brondby, Denmark. To acclimatize to Osijek, his former teammate from RNK Split, who plays for Osijek – Ante Majstorovic – will come in handy.
Slobodan Kadic
“My first wish is to win against Hajduk. I am really glad to be in such a club that is ambitious and growing in every segment. Regardless of the opponent, I now play for Osijek. If I get the chance, it is only logical to do everything I can to make Osijek more successful in that derby in the end,” Erceg pointed out.
Ramon Mierez is expected to arrive in Osijek, and sports director Alen Petrovic is constantly looking for new names. He is interested in Kristijan Kahlina, the goalkeeper of Gorica, but also another back midfielder and left-back to strengthen the competition in the team further.
Slobodan Kadic
The Osijek pitch will burn on Sunday, and whether the home team will manage to overcome the always challenging Hajduk players who will present themselves in Osijek with a new coach, will be seen soon.
All that remains for Ivica Kulesevic is to arrange the dice together until the end.
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