Mario Carević has been walking with difficulty for some time due to hip problems, and after postponing the procedure, surgery is expected in the coming weeks. Stjepan Babić will temporarily take over as coach.
According to SportNews.hr, Mario Carević (44), coach of Gorica, will undergo hip surgery. He has been experiencing hip issues for a while, which have made it difficult for him to move around, and he had been putting off the procedure. However, he now faces surgery in the coming weeks, followed by a recovery period during which he will not be able to directly lead the team.
Gorica has prepared for Carević's absence in advance. Stjepan Babić, a new member of the coaching staff from Velika Gorica, will temporarily take on the role of head coach. His arrival was not coincidental, as the club knew that the surgery would have to be done and had already accounted for the possibility that Carević would need to take a break due to health issues.
Gorica has entered the new HNL season in the worst possible way. They have lost all three matches so far and sit on zero points. The most recent defeat came on Sunday at home against Hajduk, with the Turopoljci having previously lost to Osijek (2-0) and Lokomotiva (3-1).
The coach's health condition was evident during Sunday's match against Hajduk. Carević watched the game with visible difficulty walking, and his team was defeated. SportNews reports the score as 1-2, while Tportal writes 2:1, but the loss is undisputed in both cases.
During Carević's treatment and recovery, Gorica will have to operate under Babić's leadership, while the coach will aim to return to daily work with the players after rehabilitation. Although the start has been poor, the players have shown fight on the pitch, but they will soon have to endure several weeks without their head coach.
In the match against Hajduk, Gorica took the lead with a penalty goal from Bruno Bogojević and were close to earning their first point of the season, but the Split side turned the game around, with Marko Livaja scoring the winner. After the match, Carević congratulated the opponent and stated that he had no complaints about his players. "I congratulate Hajduk on the win. We are left with regret that we lost this way. I think we were really good in the second half in pressing and we pushed high. We had several situations that we should have handled better," said Carević. He highlighted the action that led to Hajduk's goal as the key moment: "We have a clean ball that we really don't clear, but instead push into pressure, and from that situation you concede a goal. Hajduk punishes that because they have enormous individual quality." Despite the defeat, he was satisfied with the team's approach: "It's not easy to press Hajduk because they have excellent mechanisms in the first phase of buildup, they really look for the extra man and find him. I can't fault my boys for anything. We gave the maximum of maximums, and in the end we were left with nothing."
Gorica now faces a demanding run of matches: an away trip to Koprivnica to face Slaven Belupo, followed by encounters with Rijeka, Dinamo, and Varaždin, teams that are near the top of the table.
