Irish be warned, Srna the real deal

Niko Kranjcar is in no doubt — Darijo Srna must be the most underrated player in Europe.

There might, of course, be a bit of bias to the Tottenham playmaker’s proclamation. He has, after all, roomed with Srna for the Croatian national team.

But there’s also a fair bit of evidence backing him up. It is by no means unreasonable to argue that, pound for pound, Srna might well be one of the finest right-sided players in the world at the moment. And that’s in attack and defence.

It’s just that, for all his relentless movement, Srna hasn’t exactly appeared in the right places in terms of gaining widespread recognition. On this side of Europe, at least, the perception is that he’s spent most of his career on the fringes of football’s consciousness.

You generally hear his name most when giants like Chelsea and Bayern Munich are looking to solve a problem on the right flank. The two clubs have seriously pushed to bring Srna in over the past few years but one of the obstacles for both has been that Shakhtar Donetsk have been capable of matching them for clout. The Ukrainian club were already paying him around €80,000 a week before then setting his asking price at €25m.

Because it shouldn’t be forgotten that Srna is already at one of the most ambitious, cash-fired projects in Europe. What’s more, he captains both club and country. As he says himself, “I have developed here. There is a magnificent stadium, there are big ambitions.”

The only problem is that they haven’t fully been paid off yet. Rather than regularly reach the latter stages of the Champions League — as billionaire owner Rinat Akhmetov is desperate to do — Shakhtar have only won a Europa League, in 2009. And, as seems to reflect Srna’s entire career, that achievement is much more respected on that side of the continent than this.

But then, it’s possible that Srna will come in from the fringes to command attention this summer. On the actual pitches, after all, that is exactly what he has done.

Take the very play-off against Turkey. Throughout the qualifying campaign, Croatia’s previously fluid 4-2-3-1 formation offered more frustration than flourish.

So, against Guus Hiddink’s Turkey, Slaven Bilic decided to switch to a 4-4-2. In the current context of international football, that’s often a risk. It puts undue pressure on the wide players since the opposing central three tend to dominate the ball (see Ireland-Russia). Except, in the first leg in Istanbul, Srna proved well capable of rising to that pressure. In fact, he proved the most important player on the pitch.

Through his unquenchable energy, Srna ate up the extra space between Turkey’s midfield and defence while both pinning them back and piercing them. In the 32nd minute, most tellingly, he gave a devastating illustration of his crossing ability by delivering for Mario Mandzukic to score the crucial second away goal.

And that quality also feeds into his expert dead-ball execution, which has played a significant part in his record of a goal every four games for his country. If Srna is standing over a free-kick, be afraid.

Such attacking contributions are all the more impressive given that Srna’s day job is as a defender. He generally plays right-back for Shakhtar, even if coach Mircea Lucescu allows him regular forays forward. As the Ukrainians reached their first Champions League quarter-final in 2010-11, Srna provided more assists than everyone except Mesut Ozil and Andres Iniesta and was subsequently named in UEFA’s team of the tournament.

Of course, against Ireland, much of Srna’s effect will depend on the type of team Bilic himself puts out. Against Giovanni Trapattoni’s rigid 4-4-2, the Croatian coach will be unwilling to mimic.

But, even in such a congested scenario, Srna may prove even more decisive than Luka Modric. Stephen Ward will have to be on his guard against that direct running. Richard Dunne will have to marshal the defence against his deliveries and Shay Given will have to be alert to those dipping dead-balls.

Certainly, Trapattoni could have a bit of trouble if he underrates Srna. No doubt about that.