With Benfica v Casa Pia looming, Franjo Ivanovic’s situation sparks debate | OneFootball

Franjo Ivanovic is a highly regarded athlete in the current Eagles squad, however, he has been losing his place. The Croatian forward has not yet managed to establish himself at Benfica, and the task has become even more challenging since José Mourinho took over as the head coach of the Reds, giving fewer playing minutes to the number 9 of the Glorious.

The situation, according to the newspaper Record, became even more 'serious' after the Special One chose not to use Ivanovic in the recent matches, against Vitória Guimarães and Bayer Leverkusen. This was a situation that had never occurred under the previous coach, Bruno Lage.

José Mourinho even tried to adapt the Croatian to the left wing, however, he later publicly admitted that the footballer 'had difficulties in that position'. Thus, the Special One sees Ivanovic only as a number 9, however, his preference for using three midfielders to support Vangelis Pavlidis means the Croatian remains on the bench.

On the other hand, the lack of opportunities for the forward may also be related to the problems he has faced in integrating into Benfica. The same source reveals that the striker also went through a similar situation when he joined the Belgians of Union St. Gilloise. Thus, it is only a matter of time before Ivanovic starts to meet expectations.

Franjo Ivanovic - currently valued at 20 million euros - is in his first months with the Sacred Mantle. In the current sports season, the Croatian has already played 17 official matches: eight in the Liga Portugal Betclic, seven in the Champions League, one in the Portuguese Cup, and one in the League Cup. In the 786 minutes he was on the pitch, the number 9 contributed with four accurate shots.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.