Jean-Philippe Krasso (foto: Uradni facebook profil kluba)
Ivorian striker Jean-Philippe Krasso remains a great enigma for fans, showing no impact even against the modest Vršac, while coach Vladan Milojević tries to "push" the talented forward to play as he did when he first arrived at Red Star.
Red Star Belgrade advanced to the semifinals of the Serbian Cup, defeating First League Serbia member OFK Vršac 3-0 at home with minimal effort. Red Star coach Vladan Milojević had the opportunity to rotate his squad, giving chances to several young players, with goals scored by Katai, Ndiaye, and Bukari, the team's top performers.
Interestingly, young Serbian forward Uroš Sremčević and Ivorian striker Jean-Philippe Krasso formed the attacking duo for the giants from Ljutice Bogdana in the Cup quarterfinals. It was an experiment that was supposed to open new possibilities for the attack spearhead for head coach Milojević. However, high traffic but low profit. Neither striker had any impact!
Jean-Philippe Krasso is particularly enigmatic! The Red Star attacker arrived last summer from Saint-Étienne, after an impressive season in the French Second Division. During the preseason and initial matches, it seemed he would be the team’s most potent weapon under Barak Bakhar. His performance was especially remarkable during a friendly match against Fiorentina at Marakana. Efficient, productive, motivated, and then - a drop-off!
Incredibly but true, Krasso's last goal in the Serbian SuperLiga was scored at the end of October. Since then, he has only netted against Radnički Niš in the Serbian Cup. In the meantime, he became the champion of Africa.
"We put Krasso to play for the first time together with young Uroš Sremčević, we wanted to play with two forwards for the first time. He has quality, we're trying to find the best position for him. We tried him on the right flank in Surdulica, today he was in the spearhead. The kid works hard, I can’t fault him. I expect a lot from him, and I believe he will return that," highlighted Red Star coach Vladan Milojević.
Jean-Philippe Krasso has played 27 matches for Red Star with a tally of eight goals and five assists. However, the numbers do not reflect the real situation. Indications that he might overcome his slump and play as he did at the season's start were shown in Surdulica, where he connected with Aleksandar Katai for the win against Radnik.
Realistically, it's too little, far too little!