Last week Croatia’s Danijel Subašić was named the best goalkeeper in the French league this season, and now Croatia also has the best goalkeeper in Belgium.

On Monday night Lovre Kalinić was named Best Goal Keeper in the Belgium league for the 2016/17 season.

What makes the award even more impressive is Kalinić only played half a season in the league after arriving in January to Gent from Hajduk Split.

Lovre at Gent after his signing
Kalinić, who will be in goal for Croatia against Mexico this weekend in Los Angeles, was last week named by Gent fans as their player of the year. According to UEFA’s coefficient, the Belgium first division is ranked the 9th best league in Europe.

(photo: HNS)
Kalinić played in 19 matches this season for Gent, conceding 17 goals and winning the man of the match award in four matches.

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«Είμαι πάρα πολύ χαρούμενος που είμαι εδώ. Θέλω να ευχαριστώ όλους τους ποδοσφαιριστές. Είναι πολύ τιμητικό για μένα. Θέλω να πω ένα μεγάλο ευχαριστώ σε αυτούς που με βοήθησαν να βρεθώ σε αυτή τη θέση. Όταν υπάρχει μια ατομική διάκριση μέσα από μια ομαδική δουλειά, πάντα  υπάρχουν κάποιοι άνθρωπου που μέσα από ομαδική δουλειά βοηθούν στο να προκύψει η ατομική διάκριση. Ευχαριστώ τον πρόεδρο του ΠΑΣ Γιάννινα που μου έδωσε την ευκαιρία να εργαστώ σε αυτή τη σπουδαία ομάδα. Τους συνεργάτες που δεν φαίνονται αλλά και όλους τους ποδοσφαιριστές που βοήθησαν την ομάδα μας να κατακτήσει την έκτη θέση και να προκύψει αυτή η διάκριση για μένα. Οι ποδοσφαιριστές είναι οι πρωταγωνιστές, εμείς πρέπει να τους κάνουμε καλύτερους» δήλωσε εμφανός συγκινημένος ο Έλληνας τεχνικός.

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Diaz, 18, has joined Madrid from Cerro Porteno in a reported €6 million deal having gained a big reputation as an emerging star in Paraguay.

Interviewed at the airport on his way to a medical at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, the teenager said that he is delighted to be joining Madrid but is yet to be told what the club’s immediate plans for his development are.

“I am coming to the most powerful club in the world to help show the talent I have and what there is in Paraguay,” Diaz said. “I will give everything possible to do well. I still do not know who I will be doing preseason with, I guess they will tell me in the coming days.”

Another young Madrid attacker unsure of his future ahead of the new season is young playmaker Marco Asensio, who was excellent on loan at Espanyol last year and made his full Spain debut in a friendly ahead of the European Championship.

The €3.7m signing from Mallorca is due at the Bernabeu for preseason in the coming weeks, but has told reporters that he is not yet sure if he will stay with the first team beyond that.

“I am comfortable as I know I am doing preseason with Real Madrid and I’m not thinking of leaving,” Asensio said. “Then the decision will be made about what is best for me.”

Asked about a potential return to Espanyol, who have a new owner in Chen Yansheng and a new coach in Quique Sanchez Flores, Asensio suggested he would not be against that idea.

“Espanyol could be an option, I was very comfortable there,” he said.

Another Blancos youngster, centre-back Diego Llorente, appears set to go out on loan for another 12 months. Llorente impressed last season while at Rayo Vallecano and almost joined Villarreal recently, but Marca reports that Malaga are in pole position to sign the Spain under-21 international for the upcoming campaign.

With Castilla playing in the third tier next year having missed out on promotion, the future plans of Martin Odegaard, 17, are also yet to be decided. The Norwegian youngster has been linked in recent weeks with a loan move to Real Betis.

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Marjan Jugovic emerged as an unlikely hero in Bengaluru FC’s dramatic 1-0 victory over Aizawl FC, in an I-League encounter at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium here on Sunday.

With the match heading to a goalless draw, Jugovic found the net deep into injury-time to send the home fans into a tizzy. Jugovic, who had looked unimpressive until this point, met a free-kick from Sunil Chhetri with a neat header to defeat the Aizawl FC custodian. Just a few minutes earlier, the Serbian forward would have wished the ground swallowed him whole, when he missed a simple tap-in.

This win has breathed life into a stuttering BFC (21 points) campaign, even as the side made no upward movement from a mid-table fifth-spot.

It was an improved show by the home side, which played as a cohesive unit. The midfield – manned by Cameron Watson, Lenny Rodrigues and Eugeneson Lyngdoh – controlled the pace well.

A tense period of play marked the first-half, when Aizawl FC coach Khalid Jamil – no stranger to confrontation, as witnessed in previous encounters at this venue – got into a verbal duel with Chhetri. The spectators – they directed unparliamentary chants at Jamil right from kick-off – now voiced their displeasure that much louder. To his credit, Jamil did not react to unrelenting provocation from the vociferous section of the crowd, which was seated right behind him.
After the outing, a diplomatic Jamil said, “It was nothing. All this happens in football.”

Aizawl FC defender, Ashutosh Mehta, nearly pulled off an incredible strike, at the stroke of half-time. From way outside the box, Ashutosh sent in a rifle with his right foot, only to see the ball deflect off
the side-post. The visitor came mighty close on more occasions, but BFC managed to survive the scare.

“I applaud my team. We have not had a great run in the I-League so far, but that gave us extra motivation to do well. We fought hard throughout the match. We wanted to make our fans happy. This is a happy occasion for us,” BFC coach Albert Roca said.

The result: Bengaluru FC 1 (Marjan Jugovic 90+4) bt Aizawl FC 0.

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