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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August 5, 2020 - Executive director of the Croatian Football Federation, Marijan Kustic, spoke about the just-finished season, the Cup final, the playoffs, referees and VAR, the national team and coach Zlatko Dalic, the junior championship that stirred relations with Hajduk, and other current events in his latest interview. 

The interview with Lovorko Magdic is transmitted in full, as reported by HRT:

The end of the season is just around the corner, as are the playoffs for the First HNL. What is your impression of the Cup final?

"I am happy that the final of this year's Cup was played in Kresimir's city, the city of the greatest athlete in the history of Croatia, Drazen Petrovic. I think that the match between Rijeka and Lokomotiva took place in a nice atmosphere. The slightly luckier team won, and I am really happy and proud that everything went well and that nothing happened after the game," says Kustic.

At one time during the corona era, there were spectators, now again, there are not.

"We monitor the epidemiological situation on a daily basis, and we simply did not want to get into a situation where we do not start the new competition season, which starts very soon. That is why we decided that there will be no spectators in the last round, in the Cup final and the qualifying matches of Istria and Orient, and we will most likely start the new championship also without spectators. With the current decision, the Nation's League is also played without spectators, which is why we decided to play the national team matches in Zagreb."

HNS quickly adapted to the health situation in Croatia and the world regarding football competitions in the country.

"As soon as we got into this situation with the coronavirus, we set up a working group, with doctors, epidemiologists and our people who run competitions within HNS. We followed the everyday situation, so we made decisions. When we stopped competing, few believed that we would bring the season to an end, which was perhaps the most interesting since the founding and independence of Croatia, because the order on the table was not known until the last round."

Your impression of the referees?

"There are always those who are satisfied and dissatisfied. Our goal was to introduce a VAR system; with this, we wanted to reduce errors to a minimum. What we always like to say is that we don’t want tails to be chased after games, but we can state that the reffing was very good. The application of VAR proved to be a great hit, we are satisfied and happy, we need even more education, and over time it will improve."

The playoffs for the First HNL used to be very interesting, the fight between the First League ninth place and second-place finishers from the Second League. Have the playoff matches lost their competitive charm?

"All these qualifying matches have their charm and I hope that there will be great matches in the future as well. Most importantly, it was shown in the 1st HNL that by investing in infrastructure and building better and better pitches, we have better and better games, more goals, fewer cards and fewer injuries to players."

The first league is more and more stable, even more interesting in the media, and a new agreement on media rights is on that track.

"That is great for Croatian football, for Croatian clubs. All funds will be directed to clubs, the first league, women's league, futsal league. It’s a big step forward, especially in this situation, because it’s not easy for clubs to raise funding to sustain and endure an entire season."

Will the second division endure all the turbulence currently happening?

"I deeply hope it will. The other day we had an assembly of clubs in the Second League, and as the Federation, we will also participate when it comes to financial assistance in paying club fees, with some 90 thousand kuna per club. We are doing everything to help the clubs, and we will do it in the future as well. Our goal is for the clubs to survive, not to shut down."

Onto the Croatia national team - the start of the Nations League is in September, is the start of this competition in any way in danger?

"The dates are known, and at this moment the decision is such that there will be no spectators, so it was much more practical and simple to organize in Zagreb, so the matches will be played in Zagreb for now."

The contract with coach Zlatko Dalic has been renewed.

"From the beginning, we said that there would be no problems, it was a mutual wish and we are looking forward to our further cooperation and the success of the Croatia national team."

There were many different comments, arguments and justifications about the final of the Croatian Junior Championship.

"I have repeatedly stated my opinion on this. Decisions were made, we asked for the opinion of Uefa, which said its own and presented the practice on which the countries in Europe were based when it comes to the same or similar issues regarding the conclusion and selection of clubs for European competitions. Before the final decision was defined, we consulted with them and sent a letter to them. We have acted according to the practice in Europe, although I have stated before that it is always best to solve it on the pitch, but such decisions are always the most difficult to make."

The Executive Director of HNS also commented on the work of the health commission headed by Dr. Dragan Primorac.

"Truly all praise to our health committee and the working group that is working hard on it. I hope that the new tests will not have any coronavirus-positives, so as not to get into a situation where we have to question play and regularity."

HNS's cooperation with the International Olympic Committee, whose new member is former Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, is intensifying.

"Congratulations to her once again on her election, it is a great success to be elected to such a body. As for the cooperation itself, we are working on its improvement, not only in the interest of HNS, but in the interest of all federations in Croatia. We have intensified this collaboration over the last year. I will be a representative in the Assembly of the Croatian Olympic Committee on behalf of HNS, so I am looking forward to working with Mr. Zlatko Mates. I hope that we will all work together for the benefit of Croatian sport."

In the two years since Croatia played the World Cup final, when you say that you are the executive director of HNS, or that you come from Croatia, how much has the attitude of people from abroad changed?

"It has certainly changed; it should not be emphasized much. Whatever country you go to, everyone mentions Modric and our other players - this is the biggest promotion of Croatia in the world. Looking at our cooperation with other federations in general (basketball, handball ...), I think that we should all work together for the benefit of Croatia with the Law on Sports and the Financing of Sports. If we all work together in that direction, we will make a big step forward. I hope that the future will be better and brighter for sports in general," concluded Marijan Kustic.

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

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 area. Grzan made sure the ball went nowhere but the net for the 1-0 lead.

Already in the 22nd minute, Orijent began losing hope as Ivancevic was sent off with a red card due to a dangerous play. Orijent was forced to play with a man down for the rest of the match.

The second goal of the match was scored by Grzan in the 64th minute, when in the race for a deep ball, Grzan was quicker than the Orijent goalkeeper Berkovic, found his way around him and hit the empty net diagonally.

At the very end of the match, the questionable referee Jovic showed two more red cards. First, after a rough foul, he only showed Istra 1961 player Ivancic a yellow card. After Orijent player Gerc pointed out that it was a red card foul, Jovic first showed Gerc a yellow card for objecting, and as it was his second yellow card, he was excluded from the game. Jovic then consulted VAR, and after watching a recording of Ivancic's offense, he excluded him as well.

At the very end of the match, Maganjic locked in Istra's final and convincing 3-0 lead.

The return match will be played in Pula on Wednesday.

Source: HRT

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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, almost without a single chance, Lokomotiva almost reached the goal in the 42nd minute, but Tolic's shot was saved by goalkeeper Pandur.

In the second half, much better football was played, and already in the 52nd minute, Kastrati hit the post. In the 63rd minute, after Escoval's foul on Kastrati, referee Pejin awarded a penalty kick, but after the intervention of the VAR, Pejin changed his mind and awarded only a free-kick.

In the 76th minute, Rijeka scored from the first real chance. After a long action in which Pavicic found Tibor Halilovic, he easily hit the net from ten meters out.

Eight minutes before the end of the match, Grbic defended a dangerous header by Colak, and in the 93rd minute, Lokomotiva's Jakic hit the crossbar in the last chance to even the result. 

Drago Sopta / HNS

"Rijeka is an institution, the club's management knows what it wants, the players and coaches have support, the city loves the club, we have great fans and when you have such a symbiosis, then something happens. Today we succeeded, the trophy is here," said the coach of Rijeka Simon Rozman in an interview for HRT after the final celebration.

"The week behind us is very emotional, we were preparing, we were only interested in the trophy. We also had a bit of sports luck, but the most important thing is that the trophy is there. It was hard, especially at the start, there were a lot of ups and downs, and we got up at the right time. I said not everything is ideal, but the trophy is there, and third place in the championship. In the end, I am very tired, the difficult season is behind us," added the Rijeka strategist.

Lokomotiva had a great season, but after second place in the championship, they failed to win the first trophy in club history.

"Congratulations to Rijeka on the trophy, but also to my team on a very good game. I think we did everything we could and that we looked good from the tactical side, but the ball didn't go into the goal today. It’s football and it needs to be accepted. I think we had extraordinary opportunities in the first half, in the second as well, but football is played for goals, Rijeka scored one more and everything is clean and clear. Congratulations to Rijeka," said Lokomotiva coach Goran Tomic.

Source: HRT

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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 40 points. The Blues did not manage to play the match against Dugopolje before the break.

This caused a rift between Dinamo and Hajduk, a match was proposed, and the HNS Competition Commission sought advice from UEFA and sent a proposal to the Executive Board that the Zagreb club goes to the Champions League next season based on a better average of points played this season.

UEFA did not respond to the HNS inquiry, so the bodies of the Federation proposed that Dinamo go to the junior Champions League. The proposal was accepted.

At the time of the break, the Hajduk team had 42 points in 17 games played (2.47 points per game), and the Dinamo team had 40 points in 16 games played (2.5 points per game). HNS clarified the decision with the opinion of UEFA, which stated earlier in the letter that other countries that were in similar situations used the method of the ratio of points won and rounds played, i.e., coefficients.

Hajduk responded to the decision on Thursday:

"We are witnessing another farce directed by the Croatian Football Federation, which this time attacked our juniors, and whose decision was confirmed today by the HNS Arbitration Court. Unfortunately, we did not expect a different decision from the Federation, and HNS once again showed its true face, despite stories and promises of change and transparency by the Federation and its executive director Marijan Kustic. Decisions are always made in the interest of one and the same club. We are sending a beautiful message to our future generations.

Apart from the introduction of VAR, we have not seen any significant changes and shifts in the development of Croatian football, let alone the fulfillment of demands made by HNK Hajduk, which were presented for more righteous and fairer relations for all clubs, not just Hajduk. We can't help but ask ourselves and use the quote of the legendary captain Frane Matosic to the FSJ: "Do you have at least a gram of honesty here?"

Mr. Kustic has, on several occasions, denied himself on the topic of the junior champion, so we have attached his statements to the entire public over the last three months, which speak more than anything about the functioning of the Croatian Football Federation, but also the people who represent it.

1. "Let's go step by step. We are waiting for the commissioner's report and then we will make a final decision. If you ask me personally, I am always that such things are handled on the pitch, not administratively." - Dnevnik Nova TV, May 6, 2020

2. "The decision has so far been made as it is, I have said that I am in favor of resolving this on the pitch, but because of various decisions, we have made a decision according to the principle used in Europe." - Dnevnik Nova TV, July 23, 2020

3. 

- HNS's response to the lawsuit to the Arbitration Court, July 28, 2020

The competition commission, composed of Ante Vucemilovic-Simunovic, Neven Sprajcer, Zeljko Mihalj, Pero Vican, Ivan Novak, Ivan Peraic, Bozidar Sikic and Zeljko Bel, proposed to the HNS Executive Board that according to the only criterion in favor of GNK Dinamo (average coefficient) points won with regard to the number of matches played), which is also debatable, send a proposal to UEFA that the Zagreb club represents Croatian football in the junior Champions League. Let us remind you once again, Neven Sprajcer is a final convict in the "fair trial" affair. Transparent and fair, above all, in line with the HNS's predictable actions so far.

In its statement, HNS listed the leagues and federations that decided in favor of GNK Dinamo, ignoring other federations and leagues in which this criterion was not taken in terms of decision-making. Such an argument is completely missed for several reasons, primarily because it is completely irrelevant what decisions were made in other leagues, which, indisputably, have their own special regulations different from the regulations of the HNS (including a separate organization of first league clubs) and in particular since such a criterion in cases in those countries did not deprive any of the clubs covered by those decisions of the right to participate in UEFA club competitions. All the more so, as there are many other federations/leagues in which such a criterion has not been used to decide on the right to participate in UEFA club competitions.

On this occasion, we clearly articulate once again the arguments that make it quite clear that the decision of the HNS Executive Board is contrary to the opinion of Uefa, which has continuously, in all its instructions to national football federations, stressed the need "to determine places in European competitions by results and that decisions should be based on objective, transparent criteria without discrimination."

1. At the time of the suspension of the First HNL Championship for juniors, Hajduk was in first place with a game more and two points more than Dinamo.

2. Hajduk's juniors were first at the end of the mid-season,

3. In the only direct clash this season, Hajduk beat Dinamo 1:0

4. Hajduk had a total of 11 goals better than the second-placed Dinamo.

5. At the time of the break of the First HNL for juniors, Hajduk played 17 games, of which 9 home and 8 away games, while Dinamo played 16 games, of which as many as 10 home games and only 6 away games. So, if the Federation applied the same coefficient method separately for domestic and away matches of clubs (which it obviously should have done given the determined disproportion of played domestic and away matches of clubs) Hajduk would have achieved a coefficient of 3 points for domestic matches and a coefficient of 2.12 for away matches, while Dinamo would achieve a coefficient of 3 points for domestic matches and a coefficient of 1.67 for away matches, which would mean that the junior team of Hajduk has a total coefficient of 2.56 (5.12:2), and the junior team of Dinamo has a total coefficient 2.33 (4.67:2).

You can judge for yourself whether the decision of the Federation is objective and with transparent criteria without discrimination, considering all the arguments we have stated.

Following all the above, we will consider whether our juniors will play in the First HNL competition for juniors in the 2020/21 season, because it is obvious that Croatian football can only be represented by one club in the Junior Champions League. We all remember the situation from 2015, when the juniors of RNK Split won the championship, and in that situation, the Federation enabled Dinamo to participate in the UEFA Youth League through legal stunts.

HNK Hajduk will take and use all legal steps and opportunities to protect their children who, by diligent work on the pitch, have earned something that is taken away from them in the HNS offices. We repeat, the Club maintains that playing the so-called "Masters" was the best and fairest solution, and which would ultimately satisfy the basic principle in choosing the right to play in the UEFA club competition, the principle of sports results."

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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 - Slaven Belupo, Hajduk - Istra 1961 / Orijent, Rijeka - Sibenik and Varazdin - Gorica.

The Championship will end on May 15, 2021, when Slaven Belupo - Varazdin, Rijeka - Gorica, Dinamo - Sibenik, Hajduk - Lokomotiva and Osijek - Istra 1961 / Orient will meet.

The biggest derby is scheduled for the 4th round, on September 12, when Hajduk welcomes Dinamo. The Adriatic derby between Hajduk and Rijeka is scheduled for the 5th round at Rujevica. One round later, Rijeka travels to Dinamo as guests.

The potential Rijeka city derby, if the Orient qualifies for the First League, will be played in the 3rd round. Osijek is facing a demanding schedule at the start, playing in the 2nd round against Hajduk, in the 3rd against Dinamo, and the 4th against Rijeka.

The last Championship, which was suspended for almost three months due to the coronavirus pandemic, ended only on July 25, and the Cup final between Rijeka and Lokomotiva is set for August 1 in Sibenik. The qualification playoff for the Croatian First League between Orient and Istra 1961 is still to be played. The first match will be played in Rijeka on August 2, and the return match will be in Pula on August 5.

You can read more about the Croatian First League here.

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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 with 80 points, while Varazdin finished in 8th with 36.

Gorica v. Slaven Belupo (0:0)

Gorica and Belupo met on Friday, July 24, 2020, in Velika Gorica.

The game went without goals. 

Gorica finished the season in 6th place with 49 points, while Belupo finished in 7th with 39. 

Inter Zapresic v. Hajduk (1:4)

Inter and Hajduk met on Saturday, July 25, 2020, in Zagreb. 

While the first half went without goals, all the excitement was left for the second. Hajduk's Vuskovic received a double yellow in the 50th minute, forcing Hajduk to play with a man down for the remainder fo the game. Hajduk's Caktas scored seven minutes later for 0:1.

And own goal increased Hajduk's lead to 0:2 in the 63rd minute, and an Inter red card in the 72nd minute evened the playing field. Caktas scored again in the 75th minute for 0:3, Jradi scored in the first minute of added time for 0:4, and Adric got one goal in for Inter in the 93rd for 1:4. 

Inter finished the season in the last place with 17 points and will be relegated from the Croatian First League, while Hajduk finished in 5th with 60 points. 

Rijeka v. Istra. 1961 (4:2)

Rijeka and Istra met on Saturday, July 25, 2020, at Rujevica Stadium. 

Three goals from Colak gave Rijeka a 3:0 lead at the half. Yet another goal from Colak made it 4:0 for Rijeka in the 54th minute. Guzina decreased Rijeka's lead in the 60th minute to 4:1, while a Guzina penalty ended the game 4:2.

Rijeka finished the season in 3rd place with 64 points, while Istra finished in 9th with 25. 

Osijek v. Lokomotiva (1:2)

Osijek and Lokomotiva closed out the 36th round and the 2019/20 season in the battle for second place on Saturday, July 25, 2020, at City Garden Stadium. 

While the first half went without goals, Jakic scored for Lokomotiva in the 53rd minute for 0:1, and Osjiek's Maric equalized for 1:1 five minutes later. An own goal ultimately gave Lokomotiva the 1:2 win in the 88th minute.

Osijek finished the season in 4th place with 62 points, while Lokomotiva finished in 2nd with 65. 

All games in the final round were played without the presence of fans. 

You can see the full HNL table here.

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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 end of the FIFA World Cup, which will be held at the end of 2022.

"For us, at no time was it questionable that Zlatko will lead the team at the Euros next summer, and I am very glad that we immediately agreed to cooperate until the 2022 World Cup. Zlatko is a straightforward and genuine person to talk to, and we easily agreed on all details about continuing the collaboration. His results speak for themselves; we are proud of everything he has achieved so far as a coach and the Federation will provide him and the national team with maximum working conditions, as it has been so far," said HNS President Davor Suker.

"I thank Davor as the president of the Federation, the leadership of HNS, and the Executive Board for the expressed trust. As the situation with the epidemic and the postponement of the Euros to next summer unfolded, we agreed that it makes sense to round out the whole story until the 2022 World Cup. I have always said that there is no greater honor than leading the national team of my country and that is why I had no dilemma about continuing the cooperation. I have a lot of motivation, energy and ambition, and as long as I feel that way, I will lead the Croatia national team with a lot of pride," said the coach of the 2018 World Cup finalists, Zlatko Dalic.

Dalic took over the helm of the "Vatreni" in October 2017 after Ante Cacic was fired. Under his leadership, the Croatia national team won the playoff qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup and then achieved its greatest success in Russia, winning second place at the World Cup.

With Dalic, Croatia also qualified for the 2020 European Championships, which was postponed to next summer due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Along with Miroslav Blazevic, Dalic will become the only Croatia coach who will play with the national team at the World and European Championships.

Blazevic is also a record holder in the number of matches on the bench of the Croatia national team. Ciro led the national team 72 times, Slaven Bilic is second with 65 appearances, and Dalic is currently in third place with 30.

The Croatia national team is expecting a busy autumn program. From September to November, they will have as many as eight appearances - six in the Nations League, and two friendly matches.

The World Cup finalists are in the Nations League in a group with the world champions France, the European champions Portugal, and Sweden. The first place from this group will win a place in the Final Four, while the last place will fall to a lower rank.

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

July 23, 2020 - It is now official - Zoran Mamic will remain on the Dinamo bench next season as well, the club confirmed from Maksimir on Wednesday.

"The management of GNK Dinamo has decided to appoint Zoran Mamic as the head coach of the club's first team," Dinamo wrote in a statement and continued:

"When making this decision, we took into account that Zoran Mamic, as a former celebrated player, team captain, long-term sports director and from 2013 to 2016, head coach, knows the Dinamo system best. This is especially important in light of the fact that immediately after the end of the current season, a new season will begin, in which our ambitions are to win a new Croatian title and placement in one of the UEFA leagues.

In the coaching term of Zoran Mamic, we won five trophies, played in the Europa League and the Champions League, in which we remember the great victory over Arsenal in Maksimir. In that period, he promoted and gave the opportunity to a number of young players such as Marko Pjaca, Dani Olmo, Nikola Moro, Borna Sosa, Filip Benkovic, Filip Brekal, and Amer Gojak. The successes that Zoran Mamic achieved in his foreign coaching career in which he played the final of the World Club Championship with Al-Ain further strengthen the decision to appoint him to the position of coach of the GNK Dinamo first team.

In addition to the job of head coach, Zoran Mamic will retain the position of sports director. With Mr. Mamic appointed to two roles, we continue with the rationalization and responsible business in accordance with the global economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic," Dinamo concluded. 

Recall, after Igor Jovicevic was sacked on July 6, the Zagreb club announced that Zoran Mamic would lead Dinamo Zagreb until the end of the season. Mamic was then only the club's sports director. Zoran is the brother of the infamous fugitive Zdravko Mamic, and two years ago, he was sentenced to four years and 11 months in prison for damaging the club.

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

July 20, 2020 - The penultimate 35th round of the Croatian First League was held from July 17 to 19, 2020. This round featured the Adriatic Derby between Hajduk and Rijeka, which was the final game played at Poljud this season. 

Slaven Belupo v. Inter Zapresic (3:1)

Belupo and Inter opened the 35th round on Friday, July 17, 2020, in Koprivnica.

Adric scored the first goal of the match in the 13th minute for the Inter lead. Bacelic-Grgic equalized in the 42nd for 1:1 at the half. 

Etoundi increased Belupo's lead in the 49th minute for 2:1, and a Krstanovic penalty made it 3:1 three minutes later.

Slaven Belupo is currently in 7th place with 38 points, while Inter is in the last place with 17. 

Varazdin v. Osijek (1:0)

Varazdin and Osijek met in Varazdin on Saturday, July 18, 2020. 

A Drozdek goal in the 39th minute gave Varazdin the win. 

Varazdin is currently in 8th place with 36 points, while Osijek is in 2nd with 62. 

Istra 1961 v. Dinamo Zagreb (0:0) 

Istra and Dinamo met in Pula on July 18, 2020. 

The game went without goals. 

Istra is currently in 9th place with 25 points, while Dinamo already clinched the titled in first place with 77. 

Lokomotiva v. Gorica (1:1)

Lokomotiva and Gorica met in Zagreb on Sunday, July 19, 2020. 

Budimir scored for Lokomotiva in the 10th minute for the early lead. Twenty minutes later, a Lokomotiva goal was called back by VAR. 

Mudrinski equalized for Gorica in the 61st minute for a final score of 1:1. 

Lokomotiva is currently in 3rd place with 62 points, while Gorica is in 6th with 48. 

Hajduk v. Rijeka (2:3)

Hajduk and Rijeka closed out the 35th round on Sunday, July 19, 2020, at Poljud in Split. 

Rijeka's Colak was the first to score with a goal in the 19th minute. Eduok equalized in the 39th for 1:1. Colak scored again during the added time for 1:2 Rijeka at the half. 

A Caktas penalty in the 69th minute made it 2:2, though a header from Galovic in the third minute of added time (90+3') gave Rijeka the 2:3 win. 

Hajduk is currently in 5th place with 57 points, while Rijeka is in 4th with 61. 

You can see the full HNL table here. 

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