On one side, there are world champions, a Golden Ball winner, and experts brought in to create a change in Croatian football, while on the other, a coach independently leading his team for the first time this season.

Radomir Đalović, the Montenegrin coach, continues to perform miracles with Rijeka despite losing several key players during the winter.

The former striker known as the “Falcon” recently delivered a stunning football performance by defeating Fabio Cannavaro and Dinamo 4-0 in the league, and then overcame Gennaro Gattuso and Hajduk 3-1 at “Poljud,” securing a place in the Cup semi-finals.

In the words of Bernard Jurišić, a Croatian journalist for the “Telegram.hr” portal, “In just ten days, Radomir Đalović has outsmarted the costly Italian football minds.”

Prior to defeating Cannavaro and Gattuso, Đalović also claimed victory against Osijek, another side managed by an Italian coach, Federico Kopitelli.

“In just ten days, Đalović has triumphed over the Italians… a feat not even achieved by the Partisans in 1943. Hats off to him and the Rijeka team,” remarked Joško Jeličić, a sports analyst with Max Sport.

Born in Bijelo Polje, the coach took over Rijeka at the start of the season, succeeding Željko Sopić.

His popularity at “Rujevica” has been long-standing, enhanced by his goal-scoring days as a player and his decision last year as an assistant to remain, refusing to join Dinamo with Sergej Jakirović.

Now, he is on a promising path to make history by leading Rijeka to both the championship and the Cup, currently holding a one-point lead over Hajduk at the top of the table, and seven points ahead of Dinamo.

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