The legend is back. It is not very advisable to christen players who are still active with that name, but in this case everything is clear. Once when Mislav Oršić says “enough is enough” and finishes his work experience on the football pitches, he will find his place in the maximir pantheon. However his second era in Dinamo ends, Oršić will remain one of its greats. With 28 goals, how many did he score and Bruno Petkovicis ZG-club’s best scorer in European matches, and in each of the four complete seasons spent in his jersey, he was the club’s best scorer. He was close even in the last, half-time, when he scored 13 autumn goals, a total of only one less than Petković and Josip Drmić. Oršić is coming from Paphos for new trophies, he has already won eight with Dinamo, and he comes with great statistics of 91 goals and direct participation, assists or penalty kicks, in another 48, in 216 official competitive matches.
Oršić is back and is coming to help his favorite club become even more powerful. When he came for the first time in 2018, he succeeded, although the public’s expectations were not high. He spent three and a half years in the Far East, in South Korea and China, and there were few who expected him to become the leader of one of Dinamo’s strongest generations in history. Oršić and those close to him knew what was in his legs, and the rest of us soon found out. He was one of the key generators of the “atomic” Dinamo, which Nenad Bjelica shaped.
Eight years have passed since then, and Oršić is not coming to prove himself in the most beautiful environment, but is arriving as a proven class with 28 appearances for the Croatian national team behind him. But, on the other hand, time is going well for him too. The first time he came at 25, today he is 33, and on December 29 he will be 34. Is it still Oršić who can carry Dinamo? We’ll find out soon enough.
Mario Kovacevic in his first season, he managed to put together a team that, with only one serious crisis period, strolled through the championship and the Cup, and achieved a solid result in Europe. On the left wing, Oršić’s position, he used a total of six players as starters, but two were his serious choice. In order for Oršić to break into Dinamo’s starting line-up again, he will have to threaten two competitors, if they are still there when the new season starts. And one, it’s absolutely certain, it won’t be…
A duo born in Germany, Arbër Hoxha and Gabriel Vidovićwere the players that Kovačević relied on on the left side of the attack. Vidović, an offensive midfielder, started as the first left wing, but already in September, after unconvincing presentations, he gave the place to an Albanian, who was so good that Kovačević did not remove him until the end of February, when Vidović was again enthroned. The Croatian born in Augsburg was much more successful in his second term on the left wing last season than in his first, and we no longer write about the 22-year-old’s return to Maksimir as Dinamo’s failure, as was the case last fall. Hoxha (7 goals, 9 assists) and Vidović (7 goals, 6 assists) combined for 14 goals and 15 assists.
It is clear that Oršić’s arrival would not make sense if both of them stayed in Zagreb, and the space should open up with the recent exit transfer of Hoxha. Apparently, Vidović is not going anywhere yet, and new battles await him for a place under the sun. He received top status, so he completely fell into the background and then managed to emerge again. Is he ready for another such venture now that his new competitor is a player whose name and surname sound significantly stronger than the previous one? For Vidović, the B‑option is the midfield, but they firmly hold their places there Josip Mišić, Miha Zajc and Luka Stojković. Dinamo will play more games than last year because he has a long, warm summer ahead of him in the European qualifiers, which he didn’t play last year, Kovačević will need width, but he taught us that when he chooses those he trusts the most, he usually doesn’t touch them. Vidović started last season as a starter, and with the arrival of Oršić, he could open the upcoming season as a wild card. At least that’s how his shares stand 40 days before the first game of the new season. Assuming, of course, that the “real” Oršić landed in Maksimir…
He was the third option for the left wing last season Cardoso Varelawho with 726 minutes was 23rd in minutes in Dinamo’s ranks. The Portuguese comes of age in October and certainly wants more, much more, but the arrival of Oršić definitely does not suggest that his wish will come true. Potentially another problem that Kovačević will have to solve…
