Coach Kovačević: Now it's most important to show true character

The most important challenge is to show a strong character after the defeat against Celta in Maksimir, to try to overcome new obstacles in the domestic league with a strong defense, and continue the hunt for the title of champions... The goals set by Dinamo's coach Mario Kovačević for his players ahead of the trip to Pula are clear. The Blues will face Istra 1861 on Sunday at 4 pm in the 13th round of the SuperSport HNL, followed by a two-week break in the league due to national team matches. However, Dinamo will still play an official match during that two-week league break, as they will visit Karlovac on November 19 in the round of 16 of the Cup.
- I am glad that we have a new match coming up quickly, I would have preferred it to be scheduled for the next day after Celta... It's true that we didn't have much time to prepare Matches in Pula, but the most important thing is to show real character. I believe it will be so. We will not be able to count on captain Josip Mišić due to yellow cards, and earlier Moris Valinčić, Moreno Živković, and Ronaël Pierre-Gabriel are out of operation. Everyone else is available - emphasized coach Kovačević.

 Will there be significant changes in the composition and system compared to the match against Celta?
- I wouldn't go into detail about tactics now, there will be changes regarding players. In the system itself, there shouldn't be. I say, it is important for us to be real and show character, everything else is less important.
Istra stumbled in the Cup round of 16 in the middle of the week where they were stopped by Kurilovec.
- That doesn't have to mean anything in the context of our Sunday match, we know that Istra is
a quality, good team. You yourselves know that last season they caused a lot of problems for Dinamo. We respect them, but we only think about being good ourselves.
Will young Noa Mikić be in contention for this match?
- Yes, he was already brought up from the junior team earlier and is in contention for the match.

Journalists were interested in whether, in the context of negative comments after the Celta game, the reports in some media about crisis meetings at the club were true.
– We won't dwell on negative comments now, and it doesn't make sense to keep repeating. Those who understand football, fine, and those who don't understand... We will analyze what wasn't good from the first half and do our best to fix it. I don't want to comment on the latter anymore.
How beneficial is it for Dinamo that a league break follows after the match against Istra?
- First and foremost, we need to play a proper match. I think the break will be good for the players to rest a bit both physically and psychologically. During that period, we also have a cup match ahead of us, but I believe the break will do us good. The most important thing is to win against Istra beforehand - concluded coach Kovačević.