March 11, 2021 - Tottenham tops Dinamo 2:0 in the first leg of the Europa League round of 16 tonight in London.

The Croatian champion returned to Tottenham for the first time since 2008 when they lost 4:0 in Group D of the then Uefa Cup.

Jose Mourinho's side has been in great form lately with four consecutive championship victories and a 13:1 goal difference. Tottenham is now in the fight for the first four spots leading to the Champions League, which allowed Mourinho to rest some of his starters, even though Harry Kane and Heung-min Son began from the first minute on Thursday. Gareth Bale was on the bench.

Dinamo also came to London in great form and full of confidence after a great Europa League season thus far. Mamic's team finished the group stage undefeated and topped Krasnodar in the last 32. Zoran Mamić did not make significant changes to the starting 11.

Starting lineups

Tottenham: Lloris - Davies, Dier, Sanchez, Aurier - Ndombele, Alli, Sissoko - Son, Kane, Lamela

Dinamo: Livaković - Leovac, Theophile_Catherine, Lauritsen, Ristovski - Ivanušec, Ademi, Jakić, Majer - Oršić, Petković

Tottenham v Dinamo Recap

Dinamo entered the match with confidence, and even though Tottenham pressured Dinamo's defense more in the first 20 minutes, the Zagreb side held their own. 

That is, until the 25th minute, when Lamela danced through Dinamo's defense, hit the post, only for Kane to finish for 1:0 Tottenham. 

Tottenham ended the first half with 67% possession, though they had only two more shots than Dinamo (6/4), and Dinamo had more shots on goal (2/3). 

While Tottenham maintained their momentum at the start of the second half, Petković had Dinamo's best chance in the 59th minute, shooting just near post to keep Tottenham in the lead. 

Tottenham increased its lead in the 70th minute. Theophile-Catherine weakly cleared the ball out of the box to Kane who scored his second goal for 2:0. Dinamo was unable to come back. 

Dinamo and Tottenham will meet in the return match at Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb on Thursday, March 18. 

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February 26, 2021 - Dinamo draws Tottenham in the Europa League round of 16!

Dinamo will play against Tottenham in the Europa League round of 16 after they knocked out Russian club Krasnodar at the start of the knockout phase. Interestingly, Tottenham knocked out Austrian club Wolfsberg, who Dinamo played in the group stage. 

The matches are played on March 11 and 18, and the draw for the quarterfinals and semifinals is on March 19. Dinamo will host the club led by Jose Mourinho in the first game. 

There were no winners in this phase of the competition and clubs from the same country and clubs that played in the same group stage group could meet. Tottenham is one of four clubs with Manchester United, Ajax, and Arsenal that the Croatian champion wanted to avoid.

Mourinho’s side got off to a great start to the season and was at the top of the Premier League, but are in poor form in 2021. Namely, Tottenham has lost five of their last six games in the league and has been knocked out of the FA Cup by Everton. The winner of the Europa League will win a place in the Champions League next season. Winning Europa League is Tottenham's biggest chance for the Champions League, as they are currently in 9th place in the Premier League. 

Tottenham’s biggest stars are Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son. They have scored 13 goals each this season. Gareth Bale also returned to Tottenham from Real Madrid last summer.

According to Transfermarkt, Tottenham is worth as much as EUR 720 million, while the Croatian champion is exactly seven times less.

Last 16 Draw:

Granada - Molde

Slavia - Rangers

Manchester United - Milan

DINAMO - Tottenham

Olympiacos - Arsenal

Roma - Šahtar

Ajax - Young Boys

Dinamo Kijev - Villarreal

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February 25, 2021 - Dinamo advances to Europa League last 16 after defeating Krasnodar in the return match of the Europa League last 32 at Maksimir Stadium on Thursday.

In the first match played seven days ago in Russia, the Croatian champion won 3:2 and thus gained a big advantage before the return match in Zagreb.

Bruno Petković was brilliant with two goals, and the winning goal was the work of Iyayi Atiemwen. Marcus Berg and Victor Claesson scored for Krasnodar, though Berg did not arrive in Zagreb and did not play tonight.

Dinamo has been waiting to play a 'European spring' for 49 years. Now, for the second time in the last three seasons, they have reached the round of 16.

Recall, two years ago, Dinamo knocked out Victoria Plzen in the last 32, and then lost to Benfica in the round of 16.

Even with the advantage going into Thursday's return match, relaxing was not an option for the Zagreb club. Dinamo came out aggressively in the first half, with both dangerous attacking plays and solid defense. But Krasnodar maintained the same momentum, and possession was 50/50.

Krasnodar's keeper was brilliant in goal to keep the Russian side's net clear for most of the first half, while Livakovic was put to work, too. 

But Dinamo got their chance in the  31st minute. In a brilliant attacking play, Jakić found Oršić who scored from ten meters for 1:0! It was Oršić's 14th goal in European matches for Dinamo. 

The second half started with no changes for either side. Dinamo maintained their advantage in the second half, even though Krasnodar seemed to have more ball in possession. The Russian side, however, could not find the way to Livakovic's net.

The ref added three minutes to the end of the match, in which neither team was able to score. With this victory, Dinamo advances to the round of 16!

The last 16 draw will take place on Friday, February 26 in Nyon at 1 pm. 

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February 18, 2021 - Dinamo Zagreb tops Krasnodar in the first match of the Europa League round of 32. 

Dinamo and Krasnodar met for game one of the Europa League round of 32 in the Russian city of Krasnodar on Thursday evening. 

The Croatian champion arrived in a snowy Russia on Wednesday, where temperatures were around -10 degrees Celsius. The temperature during the match was expected to drop to -11 and even -13, though commentators said it was -6 in the first five minutes of the match. 

Recall, Krasnodar finished third in the Champions League group behind Chelsea and Sevilla and ahead of Rennes. Dinamo, on the other hand, was undefeated in their Europa League group and finished on top ahead of Wolfsberg, Feyenoord, and CSKA Moscow.

Dinamo entered this match without any surprises in the starting 11, while Krasnodar's starting lineup was without Wanderson, their best player. 

Lineups

Krasnodar: Gorodov, Smolnikov, Kaio, Martinovič, Černov, Olsson, Cabella, Vilhena, Sulejmanov, Berg, Claesson

Dinamo: Livaković, Ristovski, Theophile-Catherine, Lauritsen, Gvardiol, Majer, Jakić, Ademi, Ivanušec, Oršić, Petković

Krasnodar v Dinamo Recap

Dinamo was fierce at the start of the match, forcing plays up the wings for an early and dangerous corner kick. Without letting Krasnador taste too much of their half, both teams maintained much of the match in the middle of the pitch. 

It didn't take long for Dinamo to find the back of the net. In the 15th minute, Mislav Orsic's cross eventually found the head of Bruno Petkovic for 0:1.

Dinamo couldn't hold onto their lead for too long, and just under 15 minutes later, Krasnador's Berg equalized for 1:1, which was the halftime result. 

Krasnodar welcomed Wanderson to the starting lineup of the second half, though that didn't help their chances much. Eight minutes into the second half, Orsic nailed a corner to Petkovic, who scored his second goal of the match for the Dinamo lead (1:2). 

Krasnodar dominated in the minutes that followed and threatened Dinamo's goal more than a few times. They even scored from offside. 

But Krasnodar's moment finally came in the 69th minute when Claesson equalized for 2:2. 

Dinamo led for the third time of the match in the 74th minute thanks to the fancy footwork of Ivanusec and brilliant goal by Atiemwen (2:3). 

Four minutes were added by the ref at the end of the match, though neither team was able to score. 

Dinamo and Krasnodar will meet in Zagreb next week. 

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December 14, 2020 - Dinamo Zagreb meets Krasnodar in the last 32 of the Europa League competition. 

The Europa League round of 32 draw was held in Nyon on Monday, in which Dinamo drew Russian club Krasnodar as its opponent in the knockout phase of the competition.

As the winner of Group K, Dinamo had the seeded-status along with the other 11 group winners and the four best third-placed teams from the Champions League. As a seeded team, the Croatian champion will have the home-field-advantage so that the first match will be played in Russia on February 18, and the return match on February 25 at Maksimir Stadium.

Krasnodar is currently the eighth-ranked club in the Russian league. Krasnodar found a spot in the Europea League's round of 32 by finishing third in Group E of the Champions League, behind Chelsea and Sevilla, and ahead of Rennes. They won five points in that group, which was not enough for them to be seeded in today's draw.

This season's Europa League final is on May 26 in Gdansk.

Seeded Clubs: Roma, Arsenal, Bayer Leverkusen, Rangers, PSV, Napoli, Leicester City, Milan, Villarreal, Tottenham, DINAMO, Hoffenheim te Manchester United, Club Brugge, Shahktar, Ajax

Un-seeded clubs: Young Boys, Molde, Slavia, Benfica, Granada, Real Sociedad, Braga, Lille, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Royal Antwerp, Wolfsberger, Crvena zvezda te Krasnodar, RB Salzburg, Dynamo Kijev, Olympiakos

Round of 32 draw:

Wolfsberger - Tottenham
Dinamo Kijev - Club Brugge
Real Sociedad - Manchester United
Benfica - Arsenal
Crvena Zvezda - Milan
Royal Antwerp - Rangers
Slavia Prag - Leicester
Red Bull Salzburg - Villarreal
Braga - Roma
Krasnodar - Dinamo Zagreb
Young Boys - Bayern Leverkusen
Molde - Hoffenheim
Granada - Napoli
Maccabi Tel Aviv - Šahtar
Lille - Ajax
Olympiacos - PSV

Source: UEFA

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November 27, 2020 - In the 4th round of the Europa League on Thursday, Dinamo tops Wolfsberger AC and Rijeka falls to Napoli. 

Dinamo Zagreb is one step closer to placing in the Europa League round of 16. In the 4th round match of Group K as guests in Klagenfurt, they defeated Austrian club Wolfsberger 0:3 and thus stand out at the top of the table.

The scorers were Lovro Majer in the 60th minute, Bruno Petković in the 75th, and Luka Ivanušec in the first minute of the referee's added time.

Dinamo has yet to concede a goal, even after four rounds, and with eight points they lead this group. In the other match on Thursday, CSKA and Feyenoord played 0:0 in Moscow.

Nikola Vlašić played the whole match for CSKA, while Kristijan Bistrović entered the game in the 71st minute.

Two rounds before the end of the group competition, Dinamo is at the top of the table with eight points, in second is Feyenoord with five, Wolfsberger has four in third, and in last is CSKA with three.

In a week, Dinamo will play against Feyenoord in Rotterdam, while at the same time, CSKA will host Wolfsberger in Moscow.

Rijeka suffered their fourth defeat in Group F, losing 0-2 (0-1) away to Napoli in Naples.

Napoli came to victory with a goal by Politano in the 41st minute and onel by Hirving Lozano in the 75th minute.

With this defeat in Naples, Rijeka lost its theoretical chances of winning one of the first two places in the group leading in the round of 16 and remains in last without points. Rijeka will remain in last place at the end of the competition.

Rijeka played in Naples the day after the death of the great Diego Maradona, who was most responsible for the club's only two Italian championship titles (1987, 1990). Napoli came out on the pitch adorning the number 10 on their backs to honor the Argentine football legend. 

The second match of Group F between AZ Alkmaar and Real Sociedad ended without goals. Two rounds before the end, Napoli leads with nine points, followed by AZ and Real with seven points each, while Rijeka is last without points.

In the 5th round match in one week, Rijeka will play against Real Sociedad in San Sebastian, while AZ and Napoli will play in Alkmaar at the same time.

Source: HRT

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ZAGREB November 12, 2020 - Just two days ago, he spoke at the commemoration of Dinamo Zagreb's Slaven Zambata. Today, the saddening news of his death was announced. Krasnodar Rora will be remembered as one of the greatest Dinamo players of all time.

As 24sata reports, in less than two weeks, football club Dinamo Zagreb has lost two legends who are credited with the club’s greatest successes. Following the death of Slaven Zambata, a former Dinamo football player and member of the Yugoslav national team, who died two weeks ago, the club announced today that Krasnodar Rora has also passed away.

Zambata and Rora used to be teammates, and just two days ago, Rora said goodbye to him at Zambata's commemoration in Maksimir Stadium and the Mirogoj Cemetery with an emotional speech.

"I was speechless when my wife told me. We were wedding godparents. He was our godfather," Rora told 24sata recently on the occasion of Slaven Zambata's death.

Rora died early in the morning on Thursday 12 November 2020, at the age of 75. He will be remembered as the popular left-wing of Dinamo's blue jersey from the end of the '60s to the beginning of the '70s when he played 459 games and scored 90 goals in 10 years. He took part in the club's greatest success in history in 1967 when Dinamo Zagreb won the Fair Cities Cup by defeating Leeds in the final. Rora was therefore one of the symbols of the 1967 generation.

Born on March 23, 1945, on Vis, he made his first footballing steps at the age of 14 in Šibenik. There he spent his childhood in the "football district" of Šubićevac, known for its football stadium. In 1964, he came to Dinamo Zagreb, where he inherited the number 11 jersey. Later, he played for Belgian team Standard Liège, then for Nancy Lorraine, where he played alongside legend of French and world football, Michel Platini. Platini himself, during his visit to the Croatian Football Association, pointed out: "I would not have become such a player if I had not stayed to work with Rora after training."

After his career as a football player, Rora was a coach at Dinamo's football school and held the position of assistant head coach. As an expert commentator, he also excelled in journalism.

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October 30, 2020 - The 2nd round of the Europa League was played on Thursday evening, in which Dinamo and CSKA Moscow drew, and Rijeka suffered a tough defeat to AZ Alkmaar. 

In the 2nd round match of Group K, Dinamo played 0-0 against CSKA in Moscow, while in the second match of Group K, Wolfsberger surprised by beating Feyenoord 4-1 in Rotterdam.

A week ago, Dinamo played 0-0 against Feyenoord at Maksimir Stadium, and the Blues' visit to Moscow ended with an identical result.

CSKA completely outplayed Dinamo, but was unable to score. Dinamo had another bland performance and can be happy that they won a point mostly thanks to the excellent Dominik Livaković who had a number of excellent saves in goal. 

How harmless Mamic's side was is shown by the statistics - they had only one shot on goal. 

Even after their second group stage match, Dinamo has a goal difference of 0-0 and with two points takes third place in the standings. CSKA has the same number of points, but with a goal difference of 1-1.

In the second match of this group, Austrian club Wolfsberger surprisingly defeated Feyenoord in Rotterdam 4-1 (2-0) and thus took the lead with four points, while Feyenoord is in last with one point. The triple scorer for Wolfsberger was Liendl (6-11m, 13-11m, 60), and one goal was added by Joveljić (66-11m), while the goal for Feyenoord was scored by Berghuis (54).

Dinamo will host Wolfsberger in the 3rd round in one week.

Rijeka suffered a heavy 1-4 (0-2) defeat away to AZ Alkmaar in their 2nd round match of Group F. 

The scorers for the Dutch team were Koopmeiners (6-11m), Gudmundsson (20, 60) and Karlsson (51), while Rijeka's Kulenović (72) slightly reduced the result. 

Rijeka quickly fell behind in Alkmaar, and after 20 minutes, it was 2-0 for the home team, who then calmly held the advantage. With two more goals at the beginning of the second half, they convincingly reached the victory. 

Kulenović's goal was Rijeka's first goal in the group competition this season. Recall, in the 1st round a week ago at Rujevica, Rijeka lost to Real Sociedad 0-1.

In the second match of this group, Napoli defeated Real Sociedad 1-0 in San Sebastian, and the only scorer was Politano in the 56th minute.

After two rounds, AZ is at the top of the group with a maximum of six points, followed by Napoli and Real Sociedad with three points each, while Rijeka is in last without points.

For the 3rd round match in one week, Rijeka will host Napoli, and at the same time, Real Sociedad will host AZ Alkmaar.

Source: HRT

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September 17, 2020 - Big Croatian football news as Ferencvaros knocks out Dinamo in the 3rd qualifying round of the Champions League. 

Dinamo Zagreb will not play in the Champions League this season after they lost in the third qualifying round in Budapest to the Hungarian champion Ferencvaros 1:2. Dinamo will continue their European path in the final round of the Europa League qualifiers.

Ferencvaros took the lead in the 80th second of the game with a goal by Gerg Lovrencsics. Still, Dinamo equalized in the 23rd minute after an own goal by former Lokomotiva player Myrt Uzuni. Ferencvaros reached a new advantage in the 65th minute with a goal by Uzuni, who redeemed himself for Dinamo's equalizer.

The Hungarian champions retaliated against Dinamo for last season's defeat, also in the 3rd qualifying round of the Champions League.

Recall, Dinamo was knocked out by a Hungarian club for the first time in their European history. Until Wednesday night's match, Dinamo played against Hungarian clubs seven times and passed all seven times. Three times they knocked out MTK, twice Ferencvaros, and once ZTE and Gyor.

With the victory against Dinamo, the Hungarian champion advanced to the Champions League play-offs in which they will play against the winner of Karabakh - Molde, but also secured European autumn. If they win in the final round of qualifications, Ferencvaros enters the group-stage competition of the Champions League, while with a defeat, they move to the group-stage competition of the Europa League.

With this defeat to Ferencvaros, Dinamo dropped out of the Champions League qualifications, and their European story will continue in the playoffs or the last qualifying round of the Europa League.

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Friday, 4 September 2020 - Dinamo Zagreb's loss is NK Osijek's gain, as the rising Slavonians make a surprise start to the new season, lead by the best coach in the Croatian first league Nenad Bjelica

There has been a taste of optimism in the air of Osijek for a while now. And much of it has been centred around the city's NK Osijek football club. However, expectations have flown through the roof this week as it has all but been officially confirmed that the team will start the impending season under the guidance of the best coach in the Croatian first league Nenad Bjelica.

It is the most surprising move within the Croatian first league since Niko Kranjčar left his boyhood club Dinamo for bitter rivals Hajduk Split in 2005. At the start of last season, Bjelica was the coach of Croatian champions, Dinamo Zagreb.


The best coach in the Croatian first league Nenad Bjelica, pictured during his time at FK Austria Wien © Steindy

But, this time, there can be no bitterness directed towards the moving man, no anger assigned to Bjelica for seeking a job in his hometown after his dismissal from Dinamo. Even if you attribute blame to those running the farce that Dinamo Zagreb has become, this latest shame for the club comes at the end of a very long list of grievances. Grievances that Dinamo supporters have proven all too quick to forgive, as soon as their wealthy club again win the league or lift the cup.

In recent years, Osijek has suffered more than any other major Croatian city from population decline. The streets of its westerly lying centre are often deserted in comparison to how the city was 20 years ago. And that's not just because of out-of-town shopping centres. Many young people born here, unable to find work for their considerable talents and skills, can now be found in Germany or Ireland. An accepting but unhappy resignation lies with those who've remained. It shouldn't be like this. Those emerging from the city's excellent university are among the best educated in Croatia. The computer sciences and programmers who graduate from Osijek are second to none.


Gradski Vrt, on the border of Sjenjak, in Osijek. It is the current home of NK Osijek. It will be used for the B team when the new stadium is finished © NK Osijek

One of the chief mood lifts for the men deserted by old school friends has been the attendance of Gradski Vrt, which currently remains NK Osijek's home ground. Not so long ago, it was a visit that only added misery. Though they are one of only four clubs never to have been relegated from the Croatian first league, NK Osijek was facing financial ruin as recently as 2016. But, then, Hungarian businessman Lőrinc Mészáros and Croatian Ivan Meštrović bought majority shares in the club.

Under the new regime, the squad was improved and a can-do spirit returned to the stands at Gradski Vrt. The club finished 4th in the league in 2017, just after celebrating the 70 year anniversary of playing under the name NK Osijek. It was their highest league finish in nearly 10 years and took them to qualifying matches for the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League. There, they beat Santa Coloma, Luzern and even former European champions PSV before their run was halted by Austria Wien. It hardly mattered. The ambition and optimism had returned for good. You could feel it throughout the city, not least when rumours of a brand new stadium began to filter through the stands.

Securing fourth in the domestic league the next year again took Osijek to the UEFA competition and in April 2018, plans for the impressive new Pampas Stadium were revealed. A state of art UEFA category 4 stadium for 12,000 rain-shielded fans, the new ground will be fully compatible with televised coverage of international competitions. This is an indicator of Osijek's ambition. Not a day goes by when football fans from the city - indeed, from all over Croatia - check on the progress of construction.


The progress of construction of Osijek's new ground is being watched by football fans across Croatia. it is a fitting home for the best coach in the Croatian first league Nenad Bjelica © NK Osijek

That the team should be starting the new season with the best coach in the Croatian first league, Nenad Bjelica, is yet another measure of that ambition. But, unlike the visible rise of the new stands, few saw this one coming. After the mess of his departure from Dinamo Zagreb, it had been anticipated that Bjelica might go to La Liga or Serie A. He's certainly good enough.

A former player for NK Osijek, Bjelica spent four early seasons at his hometown club before moving to Spain to play for Albacete Balompié, Real Betis and Las Palmas. Following a spell of injuries, he returned to Osijek for two seasons and featured for them in the UEFA Cup competition. He played the last eight years of his career as a professional in Germany and Austria, before retiring in 2008. He bowed out after having represented Croatia nine times as part of the national side.

He began his managerial career at the same club from which he retired as a player, Austria's FC Kärnten, but by 2013 had moved to Austria Wien where he helped secure their qualification for the Champions League group stage. He spent time in Italy and Poland before returning to the Croatian first league Nenad Bjelica signed for Dinamo Zagreb in 2018.

After a successful first year in charge, most were of the opinion that in the Croatian first league, Nenad Bjelica was the best coach. After guiding the team through a good Europa League campaign, Bjelica's successes resulted in attaining the highest number of qualifying places ever for Croatian domestic teams in European competition. He returned Dinamo Zagreb to the Champions League for the first time in three years before his winning run at the club was halted by their latest debacle.


How NK Osijek's new Pampas stadium complex will look when complete © NK Osijek

How they could have let him slip through their fingers is eye-raising and yet, at the same time, not surprising. This is Dinamo Zagreb. Their supporters are resigned.

“Honestly, I am so happy for Osijek,” frustrated Dinamo Zagreb supporter David Kutleša told TCN upon hearing of the appointment.

“He accepted Osijek? What a legend!” said another, Martin Žunec. “This next season is going to be sick (great).”

For too long have the tarnished successes of Dinamo Zagreb taken the full limelight in Croatian domestic football. Though eminently predictable, their lifting of consecutive cups has nevertheless brought cheer to supporters of a club riddled with trouble. Such domestic achievements may not immediately follow Bjelica to Slavonia. But, it barely matters right now. NK Osijek will start the new season with the best coach in the Croatian first league, Nenad Bjelica. In his acceptance of this appointment, it is to a building momentum of optimism that Bjelica is contributing. And nowhere is that more needed than Osijek.

The official announcement of the Croatian first league Nenad Bjelica's appointment to NK Osijek is expected on Saturday 5 September 2020

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