Dinamo Zagreb manager Ante Cacic always knew that Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic would make it all the way to the top as the Croatian international was heavily praised ahead of the UEFA Champions League Group E opener.
For most of the Blues' travelling squad, this is just a regular Champions League trip abroad but for the 28-year-old, this game is special in the fact that it is against a Croatian club and it is being played in his homeland. Despite missing early parts of 2022/23 with an ongoing injury that impacted his pre-season schedule, Kovacic is now at a point of being able to play consistently and build up the minutes on the pitch in an attempt to build up his fitness.
With N'Golo Kante's injury in mind, it has been vitally important that the Croatian international has been able to contribute and play in recent games after the double pivot experiment of Jorginho and Conor Gallagher failed.
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Since coming back, Chelsea's midfield woes have been fixed by the class of Kovacic and the importance of such a player like the former Real Madrid man isn't a surprise to opposition manager Cacic, who knew the player in question would make it right to the top from his early days back in the Eastern European country.
"I was leading Kovacic in the championship, he was 10 years younger, he was 9 years younger than Modric," the Zagreb boss said in his pre-match press conference. "Even then I could see Mateo was very talented, that he has a very shiny career in front of him and he is one of the main factors in Chelsea's game.
"I cooperated with Mateo for more than two years in the national team so yes, we have some contact."
Thomas Tuchel heaped on further praise when posed a question about his midfielder, who also spoke at the press conference at the Stadion Maksimir. He said: "Kova is a fantastic player but on top of it he is a fantastic player and personality. Unbelievable team player, it's a pleasure for everyone to be his teammate. He is very happy to be back here, it is city, it is his country for which he plays with a lot of pride. He is back, he is finding his shape and we are happy that he back on the pitch and training.."
As well as Kovacic, other topics of discussion popped up during Cacic's press conference. As well as realising the underdog label his side have in Group E, Cacic made a joke about Chelsea's transfer comparison to his side, with the Blues' spending around £247m more on transfers this summer than their opponents for the Tuesday clash.
"Of course, the gap is huge. To try to compare these two leagues isn't even appropriate. But in football or in a match, money is not important where there are many rounds everything comes to where it should be," he said.
"In one or two matches I think Dinamo has it's chance but when we talk about budgets, we can't even compare it."
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