Three 'n easy

Operating with one of the smallest budgets in the 1. HNL, Gorica continue to punch above their weight with three successive mid-table finishes since promotion to the Croatian top-flight.

Each summer transfer window the to-do list is the same, according to Head of Football Operations Igor Krlić: “Sell one or two players so we have financial stability for the full season, then find good players for the first team, in line with our budget, so that we are still competitive in the league and Dinamo Zagreb or Hajduk Split cannot be sure they will win against us.”

In their first full transfer window on TransferRoom, Gorica found success three times, selling striker Sylvanus Nimely to Ilves in Finland and replacing him with Vlatko Stojanovski (pictured in red) from Nîmes in France, and transferring defender Nasiru Moro to Örebro SK in Sweden.

In the space of two weeks, the Zagreb-based club had addressed issues over squad depth, financial constraints and player frustrations.

Pitch and Post - a problem solving platform

“We were pitching our players on TransferRoom for the positions needed by the clubs and we were posting player adverts for the players we needed for our team... In the end we made three deals through the platform,” explained Krlić. “The first contacts were always through the platform and then we exchanged phone numbers and continued the negotiations.”

With Moro fourth choice centre back, Gorica moved fast to react to Örebro's need for a defender.

Krlić continued: “He really wanted to play and we couldn’t promise him that. So after three years being with us he asked for a transfer. We started to find him a good club where everybody will be happy. I got the interest on TransferRoom from Örebro and everything was agreed very fast. Last time I checked he is playing there regularly so I believe him and the club are happy.

“Also we were missing a good striker but we couldn’t pay much money. So we placed an ad and very soon we were pitched by Nîmes who offered us Vlatko Stojanovski. One month later we signed him. With Vlatko and Nasiru, TransferRoom solved two problems for us.”

Doing business direct

Krlić works closely with club President Nenad Crnko and Head Scout Filip Selendic on recruitment with an annual mission to buy or loan in the best possible players for the lowest possible salary.

It is why open and honest conversations on TransferRoom, rather than through intermediaries, are paying dividends for the club.

He said: “The TransferRoom platform and events are good for us because we have a chance to explain to everybody our way of work. I need to show them how serious we are and that we will do our best to work with a loan player, to develop him and that for sure he will get a chance. And also, when we are selling a player I need to explain to the buyer what kind of a player they are getting, how we worked with him, what personality he has.

“In football there are a lot of liars and a lot of speculation, and sometimes false information about a player. I need to get information firsthand.”