February 8, 2021 - Ante Rebic returned to the AC Milan squad after recovering from an injury, and after that from COVID-19. However, it didn't take long for him to become reacquainted with the goal. 

Namely, in his first game back, Ante Rebic scored two goals (in just one minute and 9 seconds, may we add) in AC Milan's 4:0 win against Crotone on Sunday. The remaining two goals were scored by Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who scored the 500th and 501st goals of his career.

Rebic was the highest to jump after the corner in the 69th minute and scored for 3:0. Rebic scored his second goal of the game and fourth this season in the championship only a minute later. Ibrahimovic shot on goal, Calhanoglu passed the ball to Rebic, who scored from a volley. The Turkish footballer assisted Rebic's first goal as well. 

After the match, Rebic appeared before the press in a live program and praised Ibrahimovic, whom he considers one of the best football players in history.

"I'm happy about the goals I scored. The last game against Crotone didn't end well for me, but today was great. I was unlucky for the first three or four months here because I got injured right away, and then I got coronavirus. Now I'm back and will be even better," said Rebic and continued to praise Ibrahimovic.

"He is a great professional. One of the best players in history. He is a real example to all of us," Rebic concluded.

With this win, AC Milan is at the top of the Serie A table with 49 points, just two ahead of Interr. 

Milan will play against Spezia in the next round. On February 21, they await the highly anticipated Milan derby against Inter, which could be crucial for the moment race for Scudetto.

Source: Index.hr

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page.  

January 19, 2021 - Exciting Croatian football transfer news, as Mario Mandzukic signs with AC Milan. 

Mario Mandzukic has become a player of AC Milan! This will be the case at least until the end of the current competition season, for which the former Croatia national team player will receive 1.8 million euros. If Milan qualifies for the Champions League, Mario will stay at San Siro next season, and should earn twice as much - 3.6 million, reports Jutarnji List.

"AC Milan is delighted to announce the signing of Mario Mandžukić. The Club and the striker have agreed on a deal until the end of the current season with an option to extend the contract for the next one.

Born in Slavonski Brod (Croatia) on May 21, 1986, Mario Mandžukić started his professional career in 2004 with NK Marsonia before joining NK Zagreb and GNK Dinamo Zagreb. In Summer 2010, he moved to Germany to play for VfL Wolfsburg (60 appearances and 20 goals) and Bayern Munich (88 appearances and 48 goals). In the 2014/15 season, he went on to play for Atletico Madrid, scoring 20 goals in 43 appearances before joining FC Juventus. In his five seasons with FC Juventus, he made 162 appearances and scored 44 goals. In January 2020, he joined Qatari side Al-Duhail with one goal in 7 appearances.

Mandžukić has won 24 trophies, including 1 UCL, 1 UEFA Super Cup, 1 FIFA Cup World Cup, 9 championships, and 12 between national Cups and Super Cups. He is the second-best scorer ever on the Croatian national team with 33 goals in 89 appearances.

Mario Mandžukić will wear the number 9 jersey," the club released in a statement on Tuesday morning.  

After arriving from Zagreb on a private flight on Sunday night, Mario spent Monday performing medical examinations and was flawless both at the doctor’s and in the physical endurance test. He spent the afternoon and evening in a hotel in Milan and left for AC Milan Tuesday morning to sign the contract. 

Recall, Mandzukic could not sign on Monday because Milan played (and won) a Serie A game away in Cagliari. After the match, Zlatan Ibrahimovic spoke about Mario's arrival:

"I am very happy. There will be two of us to scare the opponents now!"

Milan's next match is against Atalanta at San Siro on Saturday at 6 pm, which could be the debut match for Mario and his return to Serie A. Interestingly, Mario played his last minutes in the Italian championship against Atalanta, on May 19, 2019. Mandzukic scored 44 goals in 162 games for Juventus between 2015 and 2019.

Mandzukic will have his first training session in Milan immediately after signing the contract around 11:30 am. 

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

Could Luka Modrić see ending his career in the United States?