Sport

August 4, 2020 - Former Croatian President Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic spoke to Croatian Radio about becoming a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which values she would promote during her tenure and the future of Olympism and sport amid a pandemic. Jutarnji List writes that several months have passed since she was nominated, and she was confirmed as an IOC member by video conference two weeks ago. "IOC President Thomas Bach called me shortly after the end of his presidential term and suggested it. I accepted the proposal with enthusiasm. Before it passed the candidacy and ethics committee and before…

August 4, 2020 - Croatian tennis player Donna Vekic (WTA - 24th) became the first winner in the continuation of the season on the WTA Tour, defeating Dutch player Arantxa Rus (WTA - 70th) 6-1, 6-2 in the 1st round match of the WTA tournament in Palermo, Italy. Vekic defeated Rus in 75 minutes of play. HRT reports that in the 2nd round, Vekic will play against Italian Elisabetta Cocciaretto (WTA - 156th), who defeated Slovenian Polona Hercog (WTA - 45th) on Monday.  It took just over half an hour of play for the 24-year-old from Osijek to win the first…

August 3, 2020 - In the first match of the playoffs for the Croatian First League, Istra 1961, as a guest at Kantrida stadium, defeated Orijent 3-0 (1-0) and took a big step towards remaining in the company of Croatia's football best. The first two goals in the match were scored by Grzan, the first in the 8th minute from a penalty kick, the second in the 64th minute, and Maganjic secured the final result in the third minute of the referee's added time. Istra gained the advantage very early after Smolcic clumsily and unnecessarily knocked down Guzina in the penalty…

August 2, 2020 - Rijeka celebrated the Croatian Cup on Saturday, defeating Lokomotiva 1:0 in the final in Sibenik. Tibor Halilovic scored the winning goal in the 76th minute. This is Rijeka's sixth cup title, while Lokomotiva is still without a trophy, suffering two defeats in the final. Rijeka celebrated in a hard game with a goal by Halilovic, although Lokomotiva had better chances throughout the match. However, the club that has won the cup three times in the last four years proved once again they know how to seal the deal in crucial moments.  In a very careful first half,…

July 30, 2020 - Last week, the HNS Executive Board concluded a long-running saga about the Junior Champions League at a session of the Executive Board. They decided that the Dinamo juniors would go to the elite competition, even though Hajduk was in first place at the time the Junior First HNL was suspended. Hajduk had two more points than the second-placed Dinamo at the time, though Dinamo had played one game less. Namely, when the junior championship was interrupted in March due to the coronavirus epidemic, Hajduk had 42 points, but also a game more than Dinamo, which collected…

July 29, 2020 - Just 20 days after the end of the 2019/20 season, the new Croatian First League (HNL) season will begin. On Wednesday, in the presence of all clubs and the commissioner for the competition Josip Brezni, the draw of the competing pairs of the Croatian First League for the 2020/21 season was held, which determined the schedule of matches in the 30th Croatian Championship, which will begin on Friday, August 14. The draw determined that the champion Dinamo and runner-up Lokomotiva will meet in the 1st round, while the other pairs of the 1st round are Osijek…

July 27, 2020 - After six years in Liverpool, Croatian stopper Dejan Lovren has agreed on a transfer to Zenit Saint Petersburg, the English club announced on Monday. Message from Liverpool "Liverpool Football Club can confirm Dejan Lovren has joined Zenit Saint Petersburg in a permanent transfer.  The centre-back’s six-year spell with the Reds has come to a close after he signed a deal with the Russian Premier League side. Lovren made 185 appearances for the club following a transfer from Southampton in July 2014, scoring eight goals. The most famous of those was arguably the historic stoppage-time header against…

July 27, 2020 - For the third time in history, Croatia will have two clubs in the Champions League qualifiers. HRT reports that in the two attempts so far, Croatian clubs have not managed to win group competitions, and it will not be easy for Dinamo and Lokomotiva this season either. Croatia had two clubs in the qualifications of the elite competition for the first time in the 1999/2000 season when the Croatian colors were defended by Dinamo, i.e., the then Croatia, and Rijeka. The Zagreb team was successful, while Rijeka was not. The Blues had only one obstacle; in the…

July 27, 2020 - The 36th round of the Croatian First League was held on July 24 and 25, 2020. The final round of the 2019/20 season secured Dinamo, Lokomotiva, and Rijeka's place in the top 3, while Osijek and Hajduk finished 4th and 5th.  Dinamo v. Varazdin (2:0) Dinamo and Varazdin opened the 36th round on Friday, July 24, 2020, at Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb.  Mayer scored in the 9th minute for the 1:0 Dinamo lead, and Cuze increased the lead to 2:0 in the 42nd minute for the final result.  Dinamo finished the season in first place…

July 24, 2020 - As expected, the Executive Board of the Croatian Football Federation (HNS) at its session on Thursday confirmed that Zlatko Dalic had extended his contract until the 2022 World Cup. His existing contract expired this summer, but HNS president Davor Suker and Dalic officially agreed on a new contract for two years and five months. Their agreement was confirmed by the HNS Executive Board, but it was only a formality. The Executive Board of the Croatian Football Federation confirmed the agreement between HNS President Davor Suker and Croatia national team coach Zlatko Dalic on extending cooperation until the…