Livakovic heading back to Dinamo Zagreb after bizarre Girona stint
Croatian keeper Dominik Livakovic ends his loan spell at Girona without playing a single minute, returning to former club Dinamo Zagreb ahead of the World Cup.
A loan move that’s turned out to be a proper waste of everyone’s time is finally coming to an end as Croatian goalkeeper Livakovic packs his bags for Zagreb.
Gone without a trace
As quick as he arrived, he’s off. Dominik Livakovic is set to terminate his loan agreement with Girona, having arrived from Fenerbahçe in the summer transfer window. The Croatian international hasn’t even bothered showing up for training recently, instead hopping on a flight back to Zagreb to complete a new loan move to his former club, Dinamo Zagreb.
The 30-something keeper’s brief Catalan adventure has been, quite frankly, a bit of a dog’s dinner from start to finish. Brought in during the final hours of the summer window after Juan Carlos Martín suffered a long-term injury, Livakovic was expected to challenge Paulo Gazzaniga for the number one shirt.
World Cup worries
However, Míchel never seemed convinced by the Croatian’s suitability for his system. The manager was looking for specific attributes in his goalkeeper that Livakovic apparently didn’t possess.
For his part, Livakovic grew increasingly anxious about his World Cup prospects with Croatia. The situation was complicated by a bizarre technicality - having already played official matches for Fenerbahçe (including Champions League qualifiers under Mourinho), appearing even once for Girona would have prevented him from moving elsewhere this season.
Refused to play
The goalkeeping situation at Girona became increasingly tense, especially after third-choice keeper Vladyslav Krapyvtsov also picked up an injury. Things came to a head last month when Míchel publicly revealed that Livakovic had refused to play, citing the Croatian’s “different timeframe” from the club’s as he prioritised his World Cup ambitions.
With the recent arrival of Marc-André ter Stegen, Livakovic’s presence at the club had become even more redundant. His delayed departure even forced Girona to assign ter Stegen the number 22 shirt for his debut against Getafe - a number typically reserved for outfield players.
The Croatian’s departure now leaves both the number 1 and number 10 shirts vacant at Girona - not exactly your bog-standard squad numbers to have up for grabs mid-season.