In a friendly match, last Thursday (12/11/2020), Croatia was 2-1 behind from Turkey until 53 minutes. Zlatko Dalic’s foster children pressed the opponent’s defense. On the right, Croatia’s young winger, Josip Brekalo, moves forward asking for the ball. The VfL Wolfsburg player then sent a cross that outwit the Turkish defender. The pass was completed perfectly by Mario Pasalic.
After two minutes, it was Brekalo’s turn to put his name on the scoreboard. The Zagreb-born striker was clever at reading the situation. Brekalo takes a swing into the penalty box. Mislav Orsic, seeing Brekalo’s movements, sent him a gastric bait. Brekalo broke the Turkish offisde trap and stood unattended. His header from close range beat Ugurcan Cakir and put Croatia ahead.
Vatreni failed to win the match after Cengiz Under equalized. However, Brekalo’s genius in the Croatian attack was one of the highlights of the match. Even though he is still young, the former Dinamo Zagreb player shows maturity in his game which explains why Dalic regularly calls him.
This performance is even more special considering that Brekalo had to fight against Covid-19 at the end of last October. Josip did not take long to recover and put on his best game.
The name Josip Brekalo is indeed familiar to Bundesliga fans. The 1.75m forward has introduced himself at the top level of German football when he was loaned to Stuttgart in 2017/18. Brekalo scored his first Bundesliga goal against Borussia Dortmund which sealed a 2-1 win for his team.
His fine form in Stuttgart led Wolfsburg to recall him for Rueckrunde (second half of the Bundesliga). Die Wolfe need Brekalo to fight to avoid relegation.
The decision proved correct. The reason is, Brekalo played an important role in Wolfsburg’s survival in 2017/18. He scored one goal and an assist against FC Koln in the Wolfsburg deciding match in spieltag 34. His contribution made Die Wolfe secure a place in 16th place, the relegation play-off zone.
During the play-offs, Brekalo was again brilliant against Holsten Kiel. He scored one goal from two legs against the promotion candidate 2. Bundesliga. Wolfsburg won the play-offs 4-1 on aggregate, securing a place in the Bundesliga.
Before starting in Germany, Brekalo was known as a talented player while still at the Dinamo Zagreb academy. His ball skills and speed have earned Brekalo the nickname “the Croatian version of Arjen Robben”.
“I hope I can help VfL with speed, dribbles and one-on-one duels, with good passes into the box and with my shots. I am capable and want to show something, “said Brekalo when interviewed by SportBuzzer.
Speed is a natural talent that Brekalo has. However, the luxury of talent did not make him lazy to study. Under Oliver Glasner’s tutelage, Josip thrived. Now he is able to play either as a left, right or second striker.
“Josip is no longer playing on the sidelines, but deeper. This is a role in which his goal-scoring ability, dynamism and strength in one-on-one situations can be honed. That’s the idea, ”said Glasner.
Brekalo has also transformed into an important Wolfsburg player in the last three seasons. This season, he has appeared in six Bundesliga matches. Glasner often counts on him as a left winger in a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 formation.
Brekalo Actions with Wolfsburg
From Wolfsburg’s left wing, Brekalo’s speed often made things difficult for the opponent’s defense. He is listed as the Die Wolfe player with the most number of successful dribbles (11) in the Bundesliga. Brekalo also regularly opens opportunities, making nine key passes (the most among Wolfsburg’s squad), 14 passes to the final third and 11 passes into the penalty box so far.
Brekalo failed to be involved when Croatia reached the World Cup final in 2018. Now, Brekalo is routinely included in the Vatreni squad. The young Wolfsburg striker will become a mainstay for Vatreni when he wading through the upcoming UEFA Nations League and Euro 2020.
ASL
