Ivor Pandur’s goalkeeping coach, Erbil Bozkurt, admits seeing Ivor Pandur at the World Cup is a great source of pride, though he admits it’s not a surprise.
Pandur will be part of the Croatian squad that kicks off their World Cup campaign against England in Arlington on Wednesday evening, looking to get their campaign off to a winning start against one of the pre-tournament favourites.
The 26-year-old stopper joined up with the national team in the USA on the back of keeping three clean sheets in the play-offs to help City win promotion to the Premier League.
For Bozkurt, Pandur’s involvement at the World Cup comes as no surprise, given how hard he’s seen the goalkeeper work since the pair came together two years ago.
JOIN US ON FACEBOOK! Latest Hull City news and analysis on our Hull Live FB page
“Two years ago, when I came to the club, I sat down with Ivor, and we put a little project in place,” Bozkurt revealed in conversation with Hull Live. “We set targets, we set three-month targets, six-month targets, 12-month targets, long-term targets, and the long-term target for him was to be part of the Croatian national team.
“I thought it was achievable. I thought he was good enough to do it. He believed he was good enough to do it, and he’s done it, so for him to be part of the national team going into a World Cup with Croatia, who are a really strong side, it’s so good. To see him every day working the way he does, being part of the team, he’s always wanted the best for the team; he’s always wanted the best for himself.
“Sometimes he’s been quite critical in terms of himself, which is a completely different sort of area to manage with goalkeepers, because sometimes you can care too much and you can overthink things.
“Ivor’s always had the best thoughts about the team and about himself, and he’s always wanted the best, so for him to achieve something like that, to go to the World Cup with his national team, is something to be proud of.
“He’s played a big part last season for us to stay up, and also this season. There are a lot of games this season where he’s made a lot of important saves, and he’s been part of it.
“Maybe at the start of the season or halfway through the season, you look at the penalty save against Sheffield United, it’s crucial, Wrexham (Kieffer Moore penalty). All these things add up. It’s the little things I think for a goalkeeper and defenders that go a big, big, big way, and sometimes you don’t get credit for it, or it’s easy to get criticised for things, but both Ivor, the defenders, everyone, they work so hard and the lads deserve it.”
City’s dressing room has been hailed time and time again for its strength of character, and proved crucial in fighting back to earn a play-off place, and then going on and completing an historic promotion.
“You see them every day working hard, the changing room atmosphere, the characters, the personality, it’s amazing,” he continued. “Before the final, Lunny’s speech, Crooksy’s speech, Oli’s speech, Egan, Coylely, they’re basically, whatever we think of stuff, they say it.
“In the changing room, it’s so important, and although it’s a massive achievement, it’s not a surprise to me that we’ve achieved what we’ve achieved this season.”
Here at Hull Live, we are dedicated to bringing you the best Hull City coverage and analysis. Make sure you don’t miss out on the latest City news by joining our free WhatsApp group.
You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe. You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here to be sent all the day’s biggest stories.