The four-day camp brought together goalkeepers from the U-15 to U-18 age groups, with a focus on technical and tactical training, as well as mental preparation and analysis of the World Cup.
For the second consecutive year, Osijek has become the center for the development of young goalkeeping talent. The Croatian Football Federation organized a four-day camp for 16 goalkeepers representing the U-15, U-16, U-17, and U-18 national teams. Four goalkeepers with the highest development potential were selected from each age group.
The camp program was far from a routine training session. The young internationals underwent intensive work covering technical and tactical elements, physical conditioning, and also mental development and cognitive skills. The goal was to approach each individual personally and foster their progress through various aspects of the game.
The young goalkeepers were coached by four goalkeeper coaches: Hrvoje Sunara, Matteo Žugaj, Tomislav Balagović, and Borna Žitnjak. Alongside them, the program was led by fitness coach Hrvoje Ajman and analyst Filip Lekić. A special feature of this year's camp was the visit from Switzerland by Tomislav Drvoderić, a neuroathletics coach for sports performance, whose participation was highlighted in the HNS's post on Twitter.
Considerable attention was also given to the psychological component. Mental coaches Ana and Igor Čerenšek held workshops with the participants and created their psychological profiles, aiming to further enhance the individual approach to their development.
Camp participants did not only train on the field. Goalkeeping performances from the recently held World Cup in Canada, Mexico, and the USA were analyzed in detail. A review was also made of the individual and team performances of the young goalkeepers themselves during the past season.
Technical Director of the A and U-21 national teams, Stipe Pletikosa, expressed gratitude to the hosts on that occasion. "First of all, I want to thank NK Osijek, as well as the club's president, Alexandra Vegh, with whom the chief instructor Petar Krpan and I had a very productive and constructive meeting, as well as the Academy director Miroslav Žitnjak. They welcomed us wonderfully and provided us with top-notch working conditions, from the pitches to all the accompanying facilities," Pletikosa said for HNS.
"It is a real pleasure to follow these young goalkeepers year after year because their progress is more than evident. We believe that such camps and this way of working, through the development of technical, tactical, physical, mental, and cognitive abilities, will significantly contribute to their further development. It remains for us and their coaches to continue monitoring their progress, and I am confident that Croatian football will greatly benefit from this in the future," Pletikosa concluded.
