May 13th, 1990-May 13th, 2010
20 YEARS SINCE THE BOBAN KICK
For many Croats, the war of independence from Serbia did not start in June of 1991 as most history books will tell you. The “real” date was May 13th of 1990, when Dinamo Zagreb ultras, the Bad Blue Boys (their original name is in English) stood up against the Serb-controlled police and their foes, Red Star Belgrade followers, that were tearing Dinamo’s stadium apart. That was also the day Zvonimir Boban became a legend for a kick without a ball.
On that Sunday afternoon, Red Star traveled to Zagreb with a long-disputed league title already in their hands and some 3000 Serb fans in attendance, headed by their leader Arkan. Arkan, real name Zeljko Raznjatović, was a notorious gangster, later to become a Serb warlord in the Balkans conflict and was indicted by the International Tribunal for War Crimes in the Hague before being assassinated in Belgrade in early 2000. -Soccerphiles
A special thanks to Ante BBB for reminding us all on this 20th anniversary of Croatian history, that “something was in the air” on that May 13th, 1990 night.
Dinamo Zagreb [ 1-1 ] Karlovac
ROBERT KOVAČ WITH THE CROATIAN CHAMPIONSHIP TROPHY
Dinamo easily strolled through the 2009-10 season to win their fifth straight Croatian title. Dejan Lovren left for greener pastures in winter while Mario Mandžukić and Milan Badelj have their bags packed for a summer move. Badelj has been linked with Spanish club Sevilla while Mandžukić has been rumored with a move to nearly every club in the Northern Hemisphere. Dinamo will start their UEFA Champions League season on July 13/14 as a seeded team in the second qualifying round.
Croatia Sesvete [ 2-5 ] Hajduk Split
HAJDUK FINISH STRONG AFTER POOR SEASON
After a horrible start to the season, Hajduk pulled it together to win the Croatian Cup and finish second in the league. The Croatian Cup title gets Hajduk into the third qualifying round of Europa League which starts on July 29th where they can meet the likes of Stuttgart, Juventus, or Liverpool- all clubs that played in last year’s Champions League group stage.
Senijad Ibričić scored a hat trick in the last game of the season to finish the year at 17 goals, one behind league leader Davor Vugrinec of NK Zagreb. Ibričić’s efforts this season should definitely get him a proper transfer this summer.
NK Osijek [ 2-0 ] Cibalia Vinkovci
JUBILATION IN VINKOVCI
Cibalia celebrated last week as they clinched a second round Europa League qualifying spot. They finish the Croatian season in third position due to a lazy loss against Osijek on the last day. Their European season will start July 15th.
Međimurje [ 4-0 ] HNK Šibenik
Ermin Zec should be on the move this summer as he helped Šibenik squeak into the final Europa League qualifying spot scoring 11 goals on the season. Šibenik start their Europa campaign as early as it gets, July 1st, and will play their home game in Dugopolje at the new stadium. So much for a summer vacation.
NK Zadar [ 1-0 ] NK Zagreb
Igor Štimac only had to coach his NK Zagreb club to a draw on the last game of the season to avoid relegation. Mission: FAILED! Even with HNL leading scorer Davor Vugrinec (18 goals), NK Zagreb could not overcome a horrific start to the season. Štimac will certainly leave the team and Zagreb will play second division ball next season, even though HNL executives have not yet confirmed the amount of clubs that will play in the Croatian top tier for next year.
Inter Zaprešić [ 4-2 ] NK Lokomotiva
NK Istra 1961 [ 2-0 ] NK Rijeka
Slaven Belupo [ 2-3 ] Varteks Varaždin
FINAL PRVA LIGA STANDINGS FOR 2009-2010
Thanks to Cropix for the pictures.
@Ante B,
Thanks for the heads up on this post. Huge day in Croatian sports. I can't believe its been 20 years already.
@ Ante BBB,
No, no. Thank you.
@ Michael,
It doesn't go to goal differential. Inter had a better aggregate in the two games they played with Zagreb. We'll see what the HNL decides this summer.
Decki, hvala!
I thought Zapresic would have been relegated, due to having a higher GD, more losses. Varteks/Medimurje do not have HNL.1 licenses due to debt problems, so
Only 300 people showed up to the Dinamo/Karlovac game.