November 4, 2021 - The Zlatko Kranjčar memorial plaque was unveiled on Wednesday at the Dinamo juniors field, honoring the legendary Croatian footballer and coach who passed away earlier this year. 

Dinamo fans voted to honor 'Cico', who passed away in March, among five club legends. Fans could also vote for Dražan Jerković, Krasnodar Rora, Zlatko Škorić and Slaven Zambata, reports HRT.

With over 2300 votes and 36.03 percent of the total vote, the unforgettable 'Cico' Kranjčar was chosen, whose name adorns the famous junior field. 

 The ceremony was attended by Dinamo President Mirko Barišić, Dinamo CEO Vlatka Peras, Rapid's first man Christoph Peschek, Rapid's sports director Zoran Barišić, head coach of Dinamo's first team Damir Krznar and the son of club legend and former Dinamo player Niko Kranjčar.

"I’m sure the fans were guided by heart and emotion. Therefore, I have a great need to pay tribute to all the legends who were in this selection, but also to all those who created the foundations of Dinamo with their football and human virtues," said the former Dinamo player and son of the club legend, Niko Kranjčar.

"Thank you to your parents, grandparents who, through their stories and memories of their idols, managed to show us at least a little how much these greats meant. The most important thing is that we continue to teach our children who these people are and how important they are in creating the history of our Dinamo. Without them, Dinamo would not be what it is today, and we should never go into oblivion. I am sure that new generations will write new stories on these fields and that we will proudly pass them on to the next generations," Niko added.

"I am glad that the son of the club legend, Niko Kranjčar, is with us today at this beautiful event. Also, I am glad that the link between our two clubs, Dinamo and Rapid, was Cico Kranjčar. I am convinced that this friendship between the clubs will remain permanent and that we will always be happy to remember Kranjčar, as well as all our greats. I hope that this will be a model for the generations to come," said the president of Dinamo Mirko Barišić.

Croatian football player and football coach Zlatko Cico Kranjčar passed away on March 1, 2021, after a short and severe illness. He was born on November 15, 1956.

Cico Kranjčar began his professional playing career in 1973 at Dinamo Zagreb, where he played until 1983.

He was a top center forward and scorer and scored 98 goals for Dinamo in 261 games. Kranjčar is recognized as one of the best Dinamo Zagreb strikers. He took part in the famous Yugoslav championship in 1982 and two Marshall Tito Cups in 1980 and 1983.

Kranjčar then moved to Vienna club Rapid, where he became a club legend and remained until 1990. He scored 106 goals for Rapid in 201 games. This was followed by shorter adventures at Austrian clubs VS St. Pölten and SV Wienerfeld.

He played for Yugoslavia 11 times and scored 3 goals. He was one of only 15 players who responded to the premiere performance of the Croatia national team against the United States in October 1990. He played for Croatia twice and scored one goal. He was also the captain in the first game against the USA.

Kranjčar began his coaching career in 1991 as the coach of Wienerfeld Vienna in 1991. He led Dinamo on three occasions and was twice the champion of Croatia. As a coach, he will be best remembered for the champion generation of Zagreb in 2002, with whom he sensationally won the HNL.

He led the Croatia national team from 2004 to 2006 and played in the World Cup. Cico's Croatia finished third in the group against Brazil, Australia, and Japan.

He has led numerous clubs in his career - Segesta, LASK, Slaven Belupo, Samobor, Al-Masry, Mura, Marsonia, Rijeka, Croatia Sesvete, Al-Shaab, DAC Dunajska Streda, Persepolis, and Sepahan. Cico was alsi the coach of Iran and Montenegro.

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