November 4, 2021 - Dinamo beats Rapid 3:1 at Maksimir stadium in Zagreb in the 4th round of the Europa League Group H. 

Dinamo and Rapid Wien met in the 4th round of the Europa League Group H on Thursday at Maksimir stadium in Zagreb. In front of 7,800 spectators, Dinamo defeated Rapid 3:1, returning to second place in the standings.

With this victory, Dinamo retaliated against the Austrian team after losing in Vienna (2:1) in the last round and made an important step towards winning one of the first two spots in the group.

Rapid took the lead in the eighth minute with a goal by Christoph Knasmullner, but the Blues turned the score around by the end of the half with goals by Bruno Petković (13') and Komnen Andrić (34'). Finally, Josip Šutalo confirmed Dinamo's victory in the 83rd minute.

Dinamo opened the group stage competition with a defeat to West Ham (0:2), after which they defeated Genk away 3:0, followed by a defeat in Vienna to Rapid. On the other hand, Rapid recorded two initial losses (Genk 0:1, West Ham 0:2) and was better than the Croatian champion in the last round.

Recap

Rapid took the lead in the eighth minute of the match with a goal by Christoph Knasmullner, though their celebration was short-lived. Only five minutes later, Petković equalized. Dinamo turned the score around in the 34th minute. Petković masterfully found Bartol Franjić, who immediately played in the penalty area, and Andrić received the ball to score for 2:1. Moments after Andrić's goal, the Bad Blue Boys celebrated their 35th birthday with an impressive banner. Dinamo confirmed the victory in the 83rd minute when Šutalo scored with his head for 3:1. 

West Ham leads the group with 10 points, Dinamo has six points, Genk 4, and Rapid 3 points.

On November 25, Dinamo - Genk, and Rapid - West Ham will meet in the next round, and the group stage competition ends on December 9, when West Ham - Dinamo and Genk - Rapid are scheduled.

The group winners go directly to the round of 16, while the runners-up will play for the quarterfinals against eight runners-up from the Champions League. The third from each Europa League group continue the season in the Conference League, where they will play the playoffs for the round of 16 against others from the Conference League groups.

Source: HRT

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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.

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October 21, 2021 - Rapid Wien tops Dinamo 2:1 in Vienna on Thursday in the 3rd round of Europa League's Group H. 

In the 3rd round match of the Europa League's Group H, Dinamo lost to Rapid Wien in front of 22,300 spectators in Vienna, recording their second defeat in the group.

After opening the competition in the group stage by losing at home to West Ham (0:2), and then recording a convincing victory against Genk (3:0) in the second round, Dinamo was again disappointed on the road in Vienna, recording a defeat that threatened their fight for one of first two spots in the group.

This loss has certainly complicated Dinamo's Europa League future, and Rapid is back in the game for a European spring after two defeats. Marco Grull (9') and Maxmillian Hofmann (34') scored in Rapid's first victory, while Mislav Oršić (24') scored for Dinamo.

Dinamo coach Damir Krznar was missing captain Arijan Ademi, Duje Čop, and Deni Jurić due to injuries tonight. Andrić was expected to play from the first minute, but coach Krznar surprised with a few moves. Luka Menalo and Amer Gojak, who have not had much time this season, got the opportunity from the first minute, while Petković was at the top of the attack.

Interestingly, the match between Rapid and Dinamo was reffed by Ukrainian Katerina Monzul (40), who was named the best referee of the elite class of Ukrainian football last year. It was her second group stage match in her career, after leading Slovan Liberec and Gent last season. 

In the second match of Group H, West Ham plays against Genk tonight in London.

West Ham leads the table with six points, Dinamo and Genk have three points each, while at the bottom is Rapid, which has lost both games.

In the fourth round, which is scheduled for November 4, the same rivals will play. This time, Dinamo will host Rapid at Maksimir, while Genk will host West Ham at Luminus Arena.

Recall, the winner from each of the eight groups will go directly to the round of 16, while the second-placed club will play for the round of 16 with the third-placed teams from the Champions League groups. Third-placed clubs from the Europa League will be included in the knockout phase of the Conference League.

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August 27, 2021 - The Europa League draw was held today in Istanbul, with Dinamo in Group H against Genk, West Ham, and Rapid Wien. 

After being relegated from the Champions League playoffs by Moldovan club Sheriff (0-3, 0-0), Dinamo was placed in the first strong group of the Europa League draw and today learned the rivals that stand in their way to a new European spring.

The draw in Istanbul on Friday decided that Dinamo will play in Group H of the Europa League. The Zagreb club has thus drawn Group H with Genk, West Ham, and Rapid Wien. The first match of the group stage is scheduled for September 16.

Dinamo could have had a much worse draw, and a clash against Crvena Zvezda has been avoided. Rapid will threaten Damir Krznar's team from the fourth strong group of the team, West Ham from the third, while Genk, which knocked out Osijek and Lokomotiva from European competitions in previous years, come from the second.

EUROPE LEAGUE GROUP DRAW:

Group A
Lyon
Rangers
Sparta Prague
Brondby

Group B
Monaco
PSV Eindhoven
Real Sociedad
Sturm Graz

Group C
Napoli
Leicester City
Spartak Moscow
Legia Warsaw

Group D
Olympiakos
Eintracht Frankfurt
Fenerbahce
Royal Antwerp

Group E
Lazio
Lokomotiv Moscow
Marseille
Galatasaray

Group F
Braga
Red Star Belgrade
Ludogorets
Midtjylland

Group G
Bayer Leverkusen
Celtic
Real Betis
Ferencvaros

Group H
Dinamo Zagreb
Genk
West Ham
Rapid Vienna

Match dates: September 16 and 30, October 21, November 4 and 25, December 9

The knockout round playoffs are held on February 17 and 24 before the last 16 draw on February 25. The round of 16 is played on March 10 and 17, the quarter-finals on April 7 and 14, and the semis on April 28 and May 5. The Europa League final is on May 18 in Seville. 

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