March 3, 2022 - Krunoslav Rendulić is no longer the coach of HNK Gorica, the Croatian first league team officially announced on Thursday after losing to Hajduk in the Croatian Cup semifinal.

The Croatian Cup semifinal loss was the seventh consecutive defeat for Rendulić on the Gorica bench, the leaders of the club and coach agreed to end cooperation.

"On behalf of the club, I would like to thank Krunoslav Rendulić for the excellent cooperation we have had in less than a year. Unfortunately, the results crisis we entered did not leave me too much room for some other decisions. I must emphasize that in the last month we have all done our best to try to change the decline in results to a positive, but it simply did not work," said club president Nenad Crnko and added:

"In some other times, it is possible that we would have made such decisions earlier, but there were many objective reasons to try to restore the team's self-confidence on the field and thus keep Rendulić. The match in Split was not the trigger for this decision, Kruno deserved to try to reach the final with the team with which he advanced to the semifinal, but the negative series that followed and this match simply imposed this option."

Until the appointment of a new coach, the team will be led by Saša Sabljak.

Gorica entered the Championship strongly this season. While they easily beat the weaker opponents, it was a bit tougher to win points against the current leading four, although on one occasion a point was taken at Poljud and all three at Rujevica. However, after the victory against Rijeka, they lost at home to Šibenik and added six more defeats, five in the championship and yesterday in the Cup semifinal. 

Source: HRT

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

July 6, 2021 - HNK Gorica and Zagreb County Tourist Board have joined forces. The tourist board has thus become a new member of the family of partners of this ambitious first league football team.

Although football in Croatia is far from a real marketing product, the whole league is rising from year to year and thus gaining in attractiveness. On the other hand, HNK Gorica is one of the "stars" of the Croatian Football League (HNL), which has a bright future ahead of it, reports HRTurizam.

"It is often forgotten that football clubs have three categories that travel every week during the season (some play at home, while others travel to away matches), and thus achieve overnight stays in each destination. Whether they are seniors, juniors, or other categories, everyone travels to matches and has to spend the night somewhere. Our goal is to point out the potentials of sports tourism and its role in the development of overall tourism," said Ivana Alilović, director of the Zagreb County Tourist Board and added:

"Tourism is an important component of our economy and the situation with Covid-19 has shown us that we need to think in the other direction. HNK Gorica is one of the key drivers of sports life in Velika Gorica and Zagreb County. Still, it is also one of the key carriers of our accommodation capacities in the entire county. Therefore, we must support such a club in activities, in every opportunity to attract teams from various countries to our area. We are extremely grateful for everything they have done in this segment of ours."

Ervin Kolarec, Deputy Prefect of Zagreb County, also came to support this cooperation. “HNK Gorica is a great promoter of both its city and our county, which is why I am thrilled that the club has connected with our tourist community. Since, among other things, more than 450 children are active in this club, the Zagreb County will be with HNK Gorica in the future as well," said Kolarec.

The cooperation between the club and the county tourist board will be mutual, diverse, and possibly a bit unusual. ”We will look in some new directions, which will allow us some new types of promotion of our region. For example, why wouldn't HNK Gorica do one of its trainings at Turopoljski lug? Is there anything nicer?" suggested Ivana Alilović.

Football clubs are an excellent medium for communicating the tourist offer and additional content for all visiting teams coming to the destination. Football is one of the best marketing media globally, and even the Croatian National Tourist Board is a sponsor of the Croatia national football team. 

To follow the latest sports news in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

To learn more about sport in Croatia, CLICK HERE. 

For more on travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

October 24, 2020 - 13 players and 3 staff members are coronavirus-positive at HNK Gorica, the club announced on Friday evening.

HNK Gorica announced on Friday that after testing the entire team and the professional staff of HNK Gorica, 13 players and three staff members are coronavirus-positive.

Everyone infected is immediately referred to self-isolation; everyone feels good and has no pronounced symptoms, the club added.

Due to a large number of infected players, the 9th round match against Rijeka was postponed this weekend. Furthermore, the 10th round match of the Croatian First League between HNK Gorica and NK Varazdin, which was supposed to be played on October 30, has also been postponed.

Following the regulations of the HNS and the decision of the HNS Competition Commission, individual matches can be postponed in the event there are six or more players of the same club in self-isolation. According to the provisions of the Ordinance on football competitions and the Proposal of the competition, postponed matches must be played in the first possible free period.

As things stand now, HNK Gorica will play their 11th round of the Croatian First League against Slaven Belupo, on Sunday, November 8, at 19:00. It was originally supposed to be played two days earlier, but the date was changed due to new circumstances.

Recall, three 9th round Croatian First League matches meant to be played this weekend have been postponed.

In addition to Gorica, Lokomotiva Zagreb announced they still cannot compete as the coronavirus has penetrated its dressing room. After postponing the match against Osijek last weekend, the 9th round match against Hajduk, which was supposed to be played on October 24, at Kranjčevićeva, is also postponed. The match will take place on the first possible date, which will be decided later.

The same happened with the match between Istria and Osijek, as seven players of the Osijek Football Club have tested positive. 

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page. 

Senegalese footballer Cherif Ndiaye started his career in Senegal, namely at club Grand Yoff which plays in the third league. He left Senegal to chase his football dream in Europe to play one game for Belgian club Waasland-Beveren. After a short break, he made his way to Croatia, to first-league club HNK Gorica, reports Večernji List on March 13, 2019. 

“In Belgium it was difficult, and in my first season there were three strikers - I was the fourth. I played in the second team, the first one was hard to break into. It was the last day of the transfer period I was nowhere. I went to Paris with my mom. We slept in the same room, in the same bed. It was a tough time. When you live this way, you have to be pretty strong in your head. Now, when I'm playing, my mother is in my head,” says Cherif before recalling his football beginnings.

“I started playing in Senegal at Grand Yoff in the third league. I played there for several months and then came to Europe.”

Although he has been in Europe for many years, home is still home. Ndiaye has three brothers and a sister, and his wife is in Senegal. They have been married for three months.

“Whenever I have vacations, holidays, I go to Senegal. I get together with my family and friends. They all come over and stay until late in the night. After the match against Dinamo I am going to Paris, my wife will meet me there and we will return together. Here, when I'm free, I do not watch TV, I do nothing but talk to my wife,” he added.

The 'new Atiemwen' has scored four goals in Gorica’s last two games - though he’s impressed ever since he joined the club's first-team squad in January this year.

“The first time my agent told me I was going to Gorica I said, "Gorica, why Gorica? But, if there is nothing better, I'm going." When I came and saw the country, the city, I realized it was beautiful. And the league is pretty strong,” says Ndiaye.

“It was difficult, but I came to the first training session and immediately saw that I have a chance. I can prove myself here. I do not need to go out, I just need my apartment and my wife, and I'm all here,” says the 23-year-old. 

Though he’s still adapting to the language and Croatian cuisine...

“The language is very difficult. Every time I listen to people speak, it sounds difficult. But I know a little. The people are so great. When I train, sometimes my neighbors call me or come to my apartment to bring pancakes, drinks... Sometimes I go with my teammates to Zagreb for the weekend,” adds Ndiaye, who still can’t quite get into Croatian food.

“I don’t like it, I love African food.”

Although he may not like Croatian food, he does like Croatian footballers. His favorite is Mario Mandžukić. 

“He's a good player, strong. If you go at him as a defender, he wants to kill you. It's great. When I was younger, my favorite was Benzema. I play like him. Every time he gets the ball, he shows skill and enjoys it. And there is, of course, Drogba. He is my favorite African player.”

Just like his favorite attackers, Ndiaye is also known for his unique choreography when celebrating a goal.

“My name is Cherif (like ‘sheriff’). I saw movies with sheriffs, how they handled guns and thought I could do it too. Everyone likes it,” says the attacker, who enjoys the club, his teammates, and the league.

“I did not know much about Croatian football when I came here. Wherever you go it is different. The league here is quite strong. You run a lot, defend a lot, attack a lot. It's not easy. I know that I can achieve a lot of goals if I have confidence. I have a team behind me, if I can assist, I will assist, and if I can score, I will score. That's my philosophy.”

The next game for Gorica is against Dinamo on Sunday at 3 pm.

“To me it doesn’t matter who we play, Dinamo or Rudeš. I have no pressure. I watched them play. They are good and I respect them. Olmo is great; their attack is super. Petković, he is strong.”

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page.