Raymond Anderson4 said:Hmm...
But aren't Štrlek and Čupić having solid seasons over at Milwaukee right now?
Buntić and Masa? Not really... especially Mus, whose offensive impact is maybe just one goal per game at most.
Duvnjak, Gojun, Kopljar, Bičanić... well, I guess you can't say Bičanić is playing poorly based on his stats in Chambery... he usually puts up 3, 4, or 5 goals a game.
They aren't playing poorly. But they just don't have the caliber of that 2003 generation.
Here is how it looks to me.
Šola was a better keeper than Alilović. When he got hot, he’d go on runs of 15 saves. I guess someone remembers that 2003 game against Denmark. Matošević was also better than Alilović. And even Losert, during his prime, was right there with Alilović, maybe even better.
In his day, Džomba was arguably the best right wing in the world alongside Christiansen. Čupić just isn't on that level.
You can't even compare Metličić and Kopljar. Pero was an absolute beast for that team—the kind of guy who stepped up in the darkest moments without ever hesitating.
At his peak, Lac was incomparably better than Bičanić.
Balić wasn't just good; he was a global maestro. Duvnjak is a worthy successor, I guess, but he can't carry everything alone. He just can't.
As for Kaleb - Štrlek, I don't even know what to say. Kaleb used to have those massive scoring runs.
And then there's the pivot position. Vori is still around. Sulić was our primary pivot during his prime. But Vori is getting old, so he won't be playing for the national team much longer.
Besides, we used to have guys like Dominiković and Špoljarić in the defense. They went toe-to-toe with heavyweights like Knudsen and Dinart.
Who do we have today? Just Gojun and Buntić.
Maybe I shouldn't even bother writing this.
And honestly, mentality is huge. I’d bet my life that this current squad doesn't have the mental toughness to pull off a 6-goal comeback from halftime against Spain like they did back in 2003. That seems to be the core issue.