CHEQUERED Career
Now that he is free of injury and has become a fixture in the Celtic team, super-confident Simunovic is setting his sights on becoming a first pick for Croatia
FULLY fit and established as Celtic’s first-choice centre-half, Jozo Simunovic is now targeting an international breakthrough with Croatia. Dogged by knee problems during his first season in Glasgow, he has been nursed back to full fitness by Brendan Rodgers and has been an ever-present as the Premiership leaders have chalked up four consecutive wins in the wake of the winter break.
Simunovic looks strong and composed and, having previously captained his country at Under-21 level, is intent on dislodging veteran Vedran Corluka from Ante Cacic’s team.
As things stand, he is not in active dialogue with his national coach. And there’s mystery as he alludes to, then fails to explain, an issue that saw him excluded from a recall for the Under-21 team as they bid to qualify for the European Championships last autumn.
However, he remains relaxed about his prospects.
‘I don’t know what the national manager thinks of me right now because no one has phoned me from Croatia,’ he said. ‘Last September, there was a chance for me to play for the Under-21s. We had a good chance to qualify for the Euros but I was very sad because the call didn’t come. I know why it didn’t but I’ll keep that to myself for now.
‘Of course it’s my ambition to play for Croatia and be one of the main players for my country. That will always be my goal.
‘I couldn’t expect that while I wasn’t playing for my club. The first thing for me has to be Celtic. I have to be playing here to have a chance of being selected for Croatia.’
If Simunovic has struggled for fitness since completing a £3million transfer from Dinamo Zagreb in August 2015, his levels of self-belief have never wavered.
It took a while for Rodgers to be convinced — the manager sanctioned a move to Torino before the transfer collapsed when the Serie A side tried to alter the structure of the deal — but Simunovic has more than proven his credentials since completing his rehabilitation.
Alongside Erik Sviatchenko, he played in Celtic’s final two Champions League group stage games against Barcelona and Manchester City and impressed.
Having proven he can operate at such a high level, he hopes Cacic will react when he names his squad for Croatia’s next World Cup qualifier against Ukraine in March.
‘I feel I have put myself in with a chance of playing,’ he said. ‘I believe in that but we’ll need to wait and see what the manager thinks.
‘The current centre-backs for Croatia are Corluka from Lokomotiv Moscow, Domagoj Vida at Dynamo Kiev and Dejan Lovren (of Liverpool).
‘With all the club matches I’ve had, I feel I’m ready to step up. I’m sure that will happen in the future — I’m expecting the call. Corluka is almost 31 now and maybe I can be the man to replace him in the future. I believe that.
‘Playing for my country means a lot to me. I was captain of the Under-21 side and I expect to continue with the full team.
‘I signed for Celtic because I felt it would help me with that.’
Simunovic has had a new central defensive partner since the season’s resumption and admits he has been impressed with how seamlessly Dedryck Boyata has slotted into the team after months in the wilderness.
Not only has Boyata helped Celtic keep the opposition out, he has proven a threat at the other end, netting his second goal in three league games to secure the 1-0 win over Aberdeen in midweek.
The pair are set to continue at St Johnstone this afternoon and Simunovic feels comfortable with the combination.
‘Dedryck has proved he can score goals but I’m waiting for the Scottish Cup games to do it,’ laughed Simunovic, who scored his solitary goal for the club against Dundee United in January of last year. ‘Seriously, the most important thing is not to concede. That’s our job. Anything else is just a bonus. ‘The partnership with Dedryck has been very good. We’ve shown that we can work very well together but it was the same before with Erik. ‘There is competition but I have to believe I deserve to start with someone else beside me.’
While Simunovic has dreams of national service, he also knows that history beckons at Celtic. Rodgers’ team are now 28 games unbeaten in domestic matches, a run that has exceeded the record set by Jock Stein’s Lisbon Lions in their European Cup-winning season of 1966-67.
Fifty years on, Rodgers stands to become only the third Celtic boss after Stein and Martin O’Neill to win a domestic treble.
Simunovic would love to be associated with such a feat and, while Cacic may be quiet, Celtic’s progress has not gone unnoticed in his homeland.
‘The people in Croatia are talking about the unbeaten record,’ he said. ‘A lot of my friends have called me to speak about it. My ex-team-mates too. They’ve congratulated me.
‘Is there a pressure that comes with the record? I don’t think so. The pressure is always on us because we’re the leaders in the league.
‘One day the call will come for me internationally. It will happen but right now the most important thing is Celtic, playing well, breaking records and taking everything possible.
‘Whether it’s tomorrow, two months, two years, it doesn’t matter — the national team will come for me.’