RB Leipzig and Croatia defender Joško Gvardiol will be one of the world’s best defenders according to his former Dinamo Zagreb coach, Fredo Milin.
Gvardiol has played a crucial role in the Vatreni’s success at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, playing on the left side of a back-three that have conceded just three goals in five matches during the tournament.
The 20-year-old has made 32 clearances during the tournament (the most of any player) and nine of them came during Croatia’s crucial 0-0 draw against Belgium which saw them qualify for knockout stages as runners-up in Group F.
Milin worked with Gvardiol at Dinamo Zagreb in 2021, just before the defender moved to the Bundesliga, and says he is unlike any young prodigy he has seen before.
“I worked with him only for a few months, but he’s a machine,” Milin exclusively told Park Life Sport.
“You see on the field and at training his knowledge of the game, and that is why I am not surprised by his performances.
“He’s better than [Virgil] Van Dijk. If you compare Van Dijk at 20 years old, and where Gvardiol is at 20 years old, you see Gvardiol is at a better level already.”
As well as Gvardiol, Dinamo Zagreb themselves are responsible for the careers of Luka Modric, Matteo Kovacic and Dejan Lovren, and Milin explains how a nation of just four million people have had such great success in producing talented footballers.
“Dinamo Zagreb and Hajduk Split will find great young players and buy them from the small clubs for their own team,” said Milin.
“If you are talented, and have good character, you will be pushed at just 17 years old to play for the first team, and by 19 or 20, you are at Tottenham or RB Leipzig.
“In England, the academies play up to under-21, whereas we only go up to under-19, so here if you are not good enough, you go on loan to a small team and then maybe if you do well, you can come back to first team
“I can only remember Marcus Rashford at Manchester United, and maybe Phil Foden under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City who got the support from their clubs to play in the first team at 17 years old.
“That is the best way, the only way.”
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So now Gvardiol has made the step up to the major European leagues, where can we expect to see him in the near future? Well, Milin is confident a big money move will come soon.
“Two or three months ago, everybody says he will go to Chelsea, but now I am not so sure.
“What I read today in Croatian media is that he will go to maybe Manchester City or Manchester United, and they even talk about Real Madrid.
“These are clubs with big, big money, so it’ll be whoever pays the most.”
But for now, Gvardiol will no doubt be focusing on his immediate future, and the tough task of stopping Messi and Argentina in the hope of reaching the World Cup final.
