Dejan Lovren Called Up For Croatia

Dejan Lovren hasn't had a great few seasons at Liverpool. He started off slowly under Brendan Rodgers, and after several disappointing performances, fans and the press both began to turn on him. Despite his struggles, Lovren showed signs of coming alive under new manager Jürgen Klopp.

To compound his problems, back in March, Lovren had a row with Croatia manager Ante Cacic that kept him out of the squad that played at the Euros this summer in France. He was asked to warm up to enter a friendly against Hungary as a substitute. After stretching out on the touchline, the defender sat back down on the bench without permission.

This struck Ante Cacic as ego, and he responded strongly, saying, "I will not tolerate such behaviour because no one is more important than the team. Lovren made a step backward, away from our squad."

It seems that those problems have been put behind them, however, because in addition to his improved Liverpool performances, Lovren has now been recalled to play for Croatia.

2018 World Cup Qualifiers will begin in just a few weeks, and Ante Cacic's team is part of Group I, along with Finland, Iceland, Kosovo, Turkey, and Ukraine. On 5th September, qualifying kicks off with Croatia hosting Turkey in Zagreb. Lovren will be one of the 23 men set to battle it out for a place in Russia in two year's time.

While the international break isn't the favorite time for any club football fan, there's no doubt that returning to the team will be a confidence-booster to a player who is finally finding his footing.