Roma midfielder Nemanja Matić analyzed Serbia and Croatia.
Serbian football player and former national team member Nemanja Matić he spoke openly on numerous topics during his guest appearance on the show “The (failure) of the champion” led by former footballer Mario Stanić. Among other things, the Roma footballer spoke about the national teams of Serbia and Croatia, their qualities and frequent comparisons.
According to the former youth player of Crvena zvezda and Partizan, the football teams of Croatia and Serbia are not at the same level. He has been saying this for years, and previously he was often criticized for his attitude – although he claims that it is evident that Croatia has many more players at the top level.
“We, the Serbs, are putting pressure on, but we have no basis for it. We say we are the best… Why are we the best, who are we better than? I was criticized a little when I said in an interview what I thought about comparing Serbia and Croatia. That was even earlier (before the World Cup). I said then that Croatia and Serbia cannot be compared because at that moment we had three players at the top level, and the Croatian national team had ten. “Rakitić was in Barcelona, Luka in Real, Kovačić in Real, Perišić in Inter, Mandžukić in Juventus,” said Nemanja Matić.
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Who are we Serbs better than? Nemanja Matić’s brutal comment: Croatia has 10 top players, and our…
Serbia did not live up to expectations at the World Cup in Qatar, and Matić points out that it was not realistic to expect a great result since our players do not play for top clubs! “We had two players at the top level and everyone else played in some mediocre clubs. We put too much pressure on players who are not ready for it yet. No one who plays in Turin can express the same pressure as Modrić, who constantly plays at the top level and who constantly wins trophies. Before major competitions, Serbia must lower tensions“, concluded the Roma midfielder.
During the previous years, Matić had a turbulent career in the jersey of the national team. He played only 48 matches for the Serbian national team, he was a participant in the World Cup in Russia, but it is also remembered that he was not the first choice of several selectors, as well as that he retired early from the national team.