As Josip Juranovic’s star shines brightly, the decline and fall of Borna Barasic

Performances in Glasgow Derbies can make or break a player’s reputation and confidence, and that goes for whatever side of the divide you ply your trade.

Borna Barasic prior to this season had been heralded as one of the Ibrox club’s impressive performers and was predictably linked with multi-million-pound moves to several clubs – mainly it must be said from a compliant mainstream press looking to drum up interest and inflate potential transfer fees, with a view to ensuring the latest club to play out of Ibrox may one day turn a profit after ten years of falling deeper into the red.

Yet two Glasgow derbies where Barasic was caught sleeping on the job at Celtic Park – allowing first Liel Abada to score in a 3-0 ‘skelping in February and again in the last derby of the season when Jota mugged the Croatian left back in much the same way – saw theRangers full back’s confidence drop off a cliff – and with it his transfer value follow suit.

Abada and McGregor will be noted in the next set of Sevco’s financials as a factor in Barisic’s value dropping from £20m to 76p pic.twitter.com/qQpo3Z46ZV

— RhebelRhebel (@RhebelRhebel) February 3, 2022

Add to this a viral video of Celtic’s captain questioning, shall we politely say his bravery, during that first Derby of 2022 and Barasic found the reputation he had built in a theRangers shirt dissipate under the harsh assessment of his minerals and abilities in a Glasgow Derby.

Now to add insult to injury for Borna Barasic it appears his international spot as Croatia’s left back may too be influenced by the title winning club across the city.

Josip Juranovic has predominately played as a right back for his Croatian national team, yet in the last two internationals against Denmark and against France Juranovic, much like he did ably for Celtic at times this season, has moved across the pitch to fill in at left back.

And it seems this may now be no temporary arrangement with Croatian national coach Zlatko Dalic as reported in Croatian publication Sportske Novosti quoted as saying Juranovic has become a solution for Dalic to a Barasic sized problem.

“Both stoppers and Stanišić played very well [against France], but not only them but also Juranović at left back.

“We don’t care anymore [about injuries at left-back]. Sosa and Barišić are constantly injured, but I will not worry much about that anymore. We have Juranovic, we have a solution.

“Great praise for Juranovic and Brozovic because they played all the minutes in four games. They endured and ran. Brozovic covered 13 kilometers in Copenhagen and was at a high level again. Juranović on both sides, wherever you put him is silent, works and plays. I have to appreciate that.”

It must be said that Juranovic whilst able to show the versatility to play left back always looked far more comfortable in his natural position on the right-hand side. Yet for the Croatian boss to still be satisfied with a right footer playing left back, rather than a natural left sided full back in Borna Barasic, shows just how far theRangers man’s reputation has fallen in recent months, and much of that can surely be linked directly to failing to pass muster in the heat of the Glasgow Derby.

It’s all fine and well looking like a stand-out performer against the smaller sides in the Scottish Premiership, but reputations are forged as well as dismantled based on how you perform in the big matches when the pressure is on. Josip Juranovic has performed in both whilst Borna Barasic appears to have been found wanting when the pressure builds.

And now after a season he’d rather forget – and after having his weaknesses exposed by Celtic – it now seems Borna Barasic’s international shirt – and with it a place at the World Cup – may well go to Celtic’s right back, who now appears to be a more trusted option to the Croatian national manager than a player who plays the left back role week in week out.

It’s quite the fall from grace for a player the mainstream media would have had us all believe could wipe out the financial worries of theRangers with one stroke of an EPL chairman’s pen. And if it had been a Celtic player suffering a similar fall from grace at the hands of a rival from theRangers the mainstream media would have been all over this story, would they not?

Same as it ever was…

☘️☘️☘️☘️ pic.twitter.com/f10Nh0MLno

— Willie Collow (@CollowWillie) June 15, 2022

Niall J

🇭🇷 Josip Juranović against France:

🔘 66 Touches
🔘 40 Passes
🔘 87% Pass Accuracy
🔘 1/1 Crosses
🔘 1 Chance Created
🔘 4/4 Ground Duels
🔘 6 Clearances
🔘 3 Tackles
🔘 2 Interceptions

Brilliant. #NationsLeague #FRACRO #Croatia #Hrvatska pic.twitter.com/teoO5db1px

— Mozo Football (@MozoFootball) June 13, 2022