After a gap of 845 days,Nicocaticis finally back in a Rangers shirt on Saturday. The combination of events from the pandemic to the brutal knee injury means that the person who was rapidly appearing as a cult hero in Ibrox before Covid released the shutter is now back in one of the squares. To do.
3-2 The Big Defender's 45-minute runout in the training ground bounce game was the first time he had pulled a blue jersey since the Dingwall duel with Ross County. March 2020. But it was also the first opportunity to show what his new bossGio van Bronckhorstwas made of when he returned from the Croatian 12-month loan spell.
Valdas Dambrauskas, the boss of Hadjuk Split, was the man who spent most of last season as a 25-year-old coach. And he believes Van Bronckhorst is regaining a much more rounded catic than Steven Gerrard cultivated last summer.
Dambrauscus tellsRecord Sports: The most powerful parts of Nico's game are his physique, his headlines, and defenses in the box.
"Niko has a huge presence, so it's great when you have to defend deeply. He loves to fight powerful and powerful enemies, but highline. Playing in and passing the ball out from behind is probably not the strongest part.
"But he's improving and working like hell to get stronger in those areas. Before and after training he stayed in the task of passing the ball to create an angle for passing the ball. If you do, you really have to improve I really I believe. Your confidence comes from preparation, and I was very happy to welcome him.
"In my opinion, he is more mature, stronger, It's back better. Now it's up to him to prove to theRangersthat he's ready to fight for his place. "
Old Farm It is often said that the easiest way for new hires to get fans is to score with derby action. However, by the time the December 2019 Parkhead winner was brought home, Katik had already established himself as a solid favorite of the Iblocks Panthers.
There is no doubt that he had some rough edges, especially when it comes to playing from behind and staying focused.
However, his passion for defending under pressure was as highly valued by the Light Blues Corps for supporting him in his predecessor as Split Ultras. rice field.
And Dambrauscus was prepared for the fight, with the same determination that helped him recover from the horror knee ligament laceration, taking the chance to take part in the Rangers' 2021 title push. He says he will be fired when he is. Connor Goldson, Calvin Bassey, John Souttar and Filip Helander have joined Van Bronckhorst's team.
"It's his personality that can't be robbed of Nico," said the Lithuanians. "You can write down this guy, but it will make him even more determined to prove himself.
" It's really great for a coach to have such a character. Because he's the man who looks in the mirror first whenever something goes wrong.
"He never blames others. He gets angry with his shortcomings, The next morning, the first thing he does is work on them.
"Last season wasn't easy for him because he had healed a year from his injury, so to this level I'm sure some players are wondering if they can return to the same level after such a long time in order to play back.
"But he's this Having one season under his belt, I really believe he has something to offer. I'm not sure if he's better than any other Rangers defender, but I One thing I know is that Nico always gives more than 100%. Always.
"Did he talk about the love that Rangers fans had for him? They were mutual. I think. All players love to play in big clubs like Rangers and Celtic. These are big clubs.
"Rangers areEuropean LeagueFinals It speaks for itself, of course, he's passionate about the Rangers, and I really understand why the fans there love him. The fans are here. For the same reason he loved him in. He devotes everything. He has a big heart and a big character. He puts his body on the line. "
Katitch is a Hajuk Enjoyed the best campaign in almost 10 years, so he recorded 27 appearances last year and finished second after champion Rieka. Did. Dambrauscus should have welcomed him this season, although Split was denied the start of the Croatian Cup final by knocking after 17 years of waiting for silverware.
"Maintaining Nico was an option," he said. "As far as I know, there was some kind of buyout clause, which was probably too big for our club.
" But Nico is very important to us and last year's progress. I just came to the club in November in the middle of the season. We weren't that good and we were in 4th place.
"But the second half of the season was good. Style. Improved, played better football, finished second and won the cup. This was the best result the club has had in the last decade.
"Nikola is us One of the most important players for, players, staff and fans all praised his personality and personality. He was a very important part of our team and will miss this season. I'm sure you will feel it. "
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