The Hrvatski Dragovoljac Courier
Squad24 Jul 2028
A fracture rules Antonio Jakoliš out for 63 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Hrvatski Dragovoljac will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad24 Jul 2028
Iván Cartés keeps Hrvatski Dragovoljac in it on his own
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad24 Jul 2028
Luka Burić is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Match22 Jul 2028
Hrvatski Dragovoljac cannot stop winning
3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Squad24 Jul 2028
Tempers go at Hrvatski Dragovoljac
Domagoj Pavičić was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Boardroom24 Jul 2028
Graduation day at Hrvatski Dragovoljac
5 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
The terraces24 Jul 2028
Hrvatski Dragovoljac supporters have found a favourite in Josip Brkić
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Josip Brkić has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Market24 Jul 2028
Hrvatski Dragovoljac promote Tin Knezevic from within
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Tin Knezevic has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Market24 Jul 2028
Marcelo Simunovic steps up from the Hrvatski Dragovoljac academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Marcelo Simunovic has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
In brief
- Market Ante Babic steps up from the Hrvatski Dragovoljac academy
- Market Bojan Corluka steps up from the Hrvatski Dragovoljac academy
- Match Hrvatski Dragovoljac get the job done against Sibenik