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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August 27, 2020 -  Dinamo is in the third qualifying round of the Champions League. The Zagreb club celebrated in Romania against Cluj on Wednesday after a penalty shootout.

After 120 minutes, the match ended 2:2, and all Dinamo players scored penalties except Amer Gojak, while the home team missed two.

Goals for the Croatian champions, who played 70 minutes with a player down thanks to Theophile's red card, were scored by Gojak and Lirim Kastrati. Dinamo led twice, but the home team managed to come back both times. It was especially painful for Dinamo when Debeljuh scored in the 92nd minute for extra time.

During the penalty shootout, Dinamo won 6:5. Interestingly, this is only the second time that penalties have decided Dinamo's fate in the Champions League. The first time the Zagreb club was eliminated by Sheriff in the 2010 Champions League.

Match recap

Cluj entered the match better, but Dinamo soon found their rhythm and in the 14th minute, the "Blues" took the lead. After a short tussle with the defender, Ivanusec shot, Balgradean defended, but Gojak rebounded to find the back of the net.

Cluj had their first big chance in the 20th minute, but Deac shot high. Five minutes later, the host threatened again, this time in front of Dinamo's goal. In the 36th minute, Cluj had another chance. Deac shot from a free-kick, the ball bounced off the wall to Chipciu who shot brilliantly into the near corner, but Livakovic was ready.

In the very end of the first half, Dinamo had two great opportunities, but failed to succeed - Orsic and Dilaver both hit the crossbar.

Unfortunately, the second half brought big problems for Dinamo. The crucial moment happened in the 51st minute when Theophile-Catherine earned a red card. The French stopper committed a foul on Debeljuh by pulling him from behind, which the Portuguese referee rewarded with a penalty kick and exclusion.

Deac took the penalty, but Livakovic defended brilliantly. Unfortunately, the home team equalized in the 64th minute, anyhow. Pereira shot from 25 meters, and Livakovic reacted badly by receiving a goal for 1-1.

In the 78th minute, Dinamo took a new lead. Kastrati scored for the 2-1 lead.

In the remaining minutes, Cluj rushed for an equalizer and extra time, and when it already seemed that Dinamo would celebrate, the host equalized in the second minute of the referee's added time. The goal was scored by 23-year-old Croatian striker Gabriel Debeljuh.

Petkovic lost the ball in the middle of the pitch, after which Cluj sprinted for the counter. The ball came on the wing to Rondon who sent a great ball into the penalty area where Debeljuh scored for 2-2 and extra time.

In extra time, Dinamo coped very well with the player less and managed to bring the match to penalties.

Two Croatian football players played for Cluj - Gabrijel Debeljuh and Damjan Đoković. Both the whole game.

Dinamo will be the leader in the third qualifying round as well, and they will certainly not play against Young Boys, Red Star, Qarabag and Maccabi. Potential rivals for the Croatian champion are Molde, Midtjylland, Ferencvaros, Omonia and Dinamo from Brest.

The draw for the third qualifying round is on August 31, and one game will be played on September 15 or 16. The playoffs will be played in two games on September 22/23 and September 29/30.

Lokomotiva failed to advance for the 3rd qualifying round of the Champions League after losing to Vienna's Rapid 0-1 in the 2nd qualifying round at Kranjčevićeva Street Stadium. The only goal of the match was scored by Ercen Kara in the 32nd minute.

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August 19, 2020 - Dinamo Zagreb released a statement Wednesday morning that one player tested positive for coronavirus, but did not reveal the identity of the player.

We have transmitted the club's press release in its entirety below:

"We hereby inform the public that one player from the GNK Dinamo system is positive for COVID-19. Pursuant to the Personal Data Protection Act (GDPR), we cannot disclose the identity of a person positive for the coronavirus.

The player who had symptoms immediately informed the GNK Dinamo medical service about his condition, which informed the competent epidemiological service about the situation in accordance with all prescribed measures. Today, the player received a positive result and was given a measure of strict self-isolation, in accordance with the recommendations of the Civil Protection Headquarters of the Republic of Croatia and the working group of the Croatian Football Federation.

According to the assessment of the medical service of the club and the epidemiological service at this time, there is no need for self-isolation of other players or members of the professional staff, given that the infected player was not in close contact with other people indoors, within the confines of the stadium.

Clubs participating in the UEFA competition are required to perform COVID-19 tests before each match in accordance with all prescribed measures, twice before the match. All members of the first team will be tested on COVID-19 on Thursday, August 20, and a few days later, the second test will be done.

GNK Dinamo will carry out intensified supervision in the coming days and will closely monitor the situation within the club in order to protect the players, the professional staff and all employees."

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August 10, 2020 - A draw was held for the second qualifying round of the Champions League. Among the names were Croatian clubs Dinamo Zagreb and Lokomotiva.

Index.hr reports that the Croatian champion was the top seed in the draw for the champions and drew the winner of Romanian club Cluj or Maltese club Floriana. Lokomotiva, which participated in the draw of teams that did not win national championships, drew Vienna Rapid, the easiest possible rival in the competition of Plzen and Besiktas.

Dinamo was unlucky in the home draw, too, and will play away on August 25 or 26, because only one game is being played at this stage of the competition. Lokomotiva will host its rival.

The new season starts in Romania on August 22. Cluj won the title for the third year in a row last season, this time with a five-point advantage after losing just one game in the Champions League play-offs. The team's top scorer is 34-year-old Ciprian Deac, who scored 18 goals in 42 games.

This season, as the second-placed team, Cluj passed the Europa League group, which included Lazio, Celtic and Rennes, and was eliminated by Seville in the knockout phase thanks to an away goal.

On the eve of the draw, Lokomotiva had two wishes - to draw Rapid and be the host. Both wishes came true for the Croatian runner-up, so at the end of the month in Kranjceviceva, they will be chasing a spot in the third qualifying round of the Champions League. By eliminating Rapid, Lokomotiva would secure at least the group stage of the Europa League.

The night before the draw, Dinamo found out about its potential rivals - Romanian Cluj, Maltese Floriana, Hungarian Ferencvaros, Swedish Djurgarden, Slovak Slovan or the representative of the Faroe Islands KI. Cluj, Ferencvaros and Slovan were at the top or in the top half of the clubs, meaning that the Zagreb club could not get tougher rivals.

In the third qualifying round, one game will be played. Dinamo would be the leader in that phase, as well as in the play-off, which is played in two games. Clubs that are eliminated in the Champions League qualifiers continue to compete in the Europa League.

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July 7, 2020 - After Jovicevic was sacked on Monday, the Zagreb club announced that Zoran Mamic would lead Dinamo Zagreb until the end of the season. Mamic is the club's sports director, the brother of the infamous Zdravko Mamic, and former Dinamo captain and coach. Two years ago, he was sentenced to four years and 11 months in prison for damaging the club.

"Civic football club Dinamo informs the public that in the remaining three HNL games until the end of the 2019/20 competition season, the first Dinamo team will be led by the club's sports director, Mr. Zoran Mamić," Dinamo announced, as Index.hr reported.

The middle Mamic brother, because, in addition to him and the older Zdravko, Zdravko's son Mario or Mamić Jr. also benefited from the family club, commented on the fact that he is taking over Dinamo for the second time as a coach, which he already led from 2013 to 2016.

"The situation is such that we must not rush into a decision and allow ourselves to take the wrong step. European competitions are very close, and we know how much it means to Dinamo and Croatian football to play in European groups. With these three games until the end of the season, we will have time to decide who will lead Dinamo next season."

Zoran Mamic is the current sports director and brother of fugitive Zdravko Mamic. Both brothers are under a non-final verdict for heavily robbing the club they lead. Dinamo boss Zdravko Mamic, his brother Zoran, former Dinamo director Damir Vrbanovic and tax collector Milan Pernar were found guilty in 2018 by a non-judicial verdict of the Osijek County Court by USKOK's accusations of extracting around 116 million kuna from the club and causing damage to the state budget of 12.2 million kuna. They were sentenced to prison terms, with Zdravko Mamic receiving six and a half years, and his brother Zoran four years and 11 months in prison.

Zoran Mamic coached in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates from 2016 to 2019, and he officially returned to Dinamo as the director last summer.

He will now debut on the bench against Hajduk on Sunday. In the role of his assistant, Damir Krznar is mentioned, a soldier of the club who, along with the middle Mamic brother, gathered experience in the Middle East. They returned to Dinamo together last summer. Krznar led the youth forces and briefly helped Jovicevic in the coaching staff of the first team.

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July 6, 2020 - Dinamo announced on Monday that it terminated the contract with coach Igor Jovicevic after the Zagreb club's 0:2 defeat against Rijeka.

"I had the best intentions, but football is like that. The ball didn't come back to me this time, but I'm leaving my club with my head up because I don't want to be a burden in these times. I thank the club for the trust, for the wonderful years in the football school. I will always be a Dinamo player and I believe that this is just a goodbye, not a farewell to my favorite club," said Igor Jovicevic on Index.hr.

"We are sorry for such a quick departure, but we must show responsibility in these difficult times. On behalf of the club, I thank Igor for the great results he achieved with our junior team. The doors of Dinamo will always be open to him," said club sports director Zoran Mamic.

Dinamo will inform the fans about the new coach in a timely manner.

Jovicevic took over Dinamo on April 22 after the club parted ways with Nenad Bjelica due to a dispute over reducing his contract due to the coronavirus crisis.

The new Dinamo coach was at the helm of a team that played a great Champions League campaign, though he only won three of seven games. Namely, against Varazdin, Slaven Belupo and Inter Zapresic. 

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April 23, 2020 - Igor Jovicevic has been named the new coach of the Croatian champion - Dinamo Zagreb.

Igor Jovicevic will succeed Nenad Bjelica, whose contract was terminated last week, reports HRT.

His greatest career success came just ten days after a great loss, the death of his father, Ceda Jovicevic, who passed away at the age of 68.

"Emotions are mixed. My parents mean a lot to me, losing my dad has left a big mark on me, but I have to deal with it, and my memory will never fade. I am proud of him, of everything he has done in his career and of everything he has given to Dinamo in those 10 years. He is my hero, my idol, and has always been a parameter for me on how to behave and what are the paths of success," said Jovicevic, who has successfully led the young Dinamo team so far.

"This is my childhood dream come true, it is truly an immense joy that I feel, but it also comes with the great responsibility that the first coach has to carry with him. In my younger days, I was one of the fans from the North Stand. First of all, I'm a Dinamo fan. So, before I’m a coach, I’m a fan. I have loved Dinamo since I was a kid, I've been here all my life, my dad brought me to these rooms when I was four years old. And I wanted to be a Dinamo coach; it didn't matter when. Just to be one," he added after signing the contract.

Born in Zagreb, Jovicevic was once the best cadet in Europe. At the age of 17, in the summer of 1991, he signed a contract with Real Madrid, but a severe injury to the cruciate ligaments halted his career.

After that, he played in Japan, Brazil, France, China, Ukraine and ended his playing career again in China with a new knee injury at the age of 32.

After retiring, he began coaching. In June 2014, he became interim head coach and one year later head coach at the Ukrainian Karpaty Lviv. In October 2016, he moved to the Celje bench, and in 2017, he returned to Maksimir.

From the summer of 2017, he led the second Maksimir team as well as the juniors in the UEFA Youth Champions League, where he brought Dinamo to the quarterfinal twice in a row. This year's quarterfinal match against Benfica was postponed due to the pandemic, and in the meantime, Jovicevic moved to the top squad.

Jovicevic will be assisted by Damir Krznar and Alen Peternac, goalkeeping coaches Sandro Zufic, conditioning coaches Ivan Stefanic and Stipe Marina, analyst Vedran Attias, and team manager Marko Kuze.

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April 16, 2020 - Nenad Bjelica is no longer the coach of Dinamo Zagreb!

Gol.hr reports that negotiations at Maksimir lasted for more than three hours on Thursday, after which Dinamo officially announced that Nenad Bjelica was no longer the coach of the Croatian champion.

"GNK Dinamo and Nenad Bjelica have agreed to terminate their business cooperation. The club thanks Nenad Bjelica for his cooperation so far and the results he has achieved as the coach for Dinamo."

No details of the painful breakup are known so far. It should be reminded that by the end of the contract, Dinamo should have paid Bjelica just over two million euro.

Nenad Bjelica arrived at Maksimir this morning after 9 am to discuss terminating his contract. Dinamo had already written off the coach who brought the club the biggest success in Europe in the last 50 years as he did not agree to a reduced salary.

"The breakup was mutual, we didn't even get to fight," Bjelica told reporters.

What caught everyone's eye on Thursday is that Bjelica got out of a car with Split license plates. Namely, he arrived for negotiations with Split lawyer Tomislav Kasal. Kasal is a lawyer representing the Football Union Association and Hajduk and is a member of FIFA's Disputes Commission. He also represents a few Dinamo players.

The club was allegedly surprised that Bjelica arrived with a lawyer for his first interview at the club after the outbreak of the conflict. According to information from close sources, Bjelica did not forget about the dismissed members of his coaching staff who were not entitled to compensation and wanted to settle them in this breakup.

The new coach will be the current expert at the helm of the young squad, Igor Jovicic, which the club should soon confirm. So far, he is the only candidate for Bjelica's successor.

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