The fight is over — though it was about as close and predictable as Mayweather-Pacquiao turned out to be — for the top of the table as Dinamo Zagreb win an unprecedented 10th consecutive Croatian First League title.
Only one day before Chesea FC were crowned kings of the English Premier League, Dinamo entered Split to face RNK Split at Park Mladeži and showed no mercy to their opponents and handed them a 5-1 defeat.
Angelo Henriquez shined brightly in the match, scoring three goals on the day. Ante Coric and Armin Hozdic both had stunning goals of their own to cap off a historical night that proved Dinamo are the supreme kings of Croatia.
Dinamo’s season has remained undefeated, a feat that no one in the Croatian First League has ever done — something only one other Croatian club has ever accomplished. Hajduk Split were the last team to go without defeat in 1950.
There have been few matches where Dinamo has even felt threatened.
They have scored the most goals in the league (76) and given up the fewest (19), leaving them with a staggering +56 goal differential.
The Modri’s goalkeeper, Eduardo has an impressive 16 clean sheets this season and giving up only 19 goals in 32 weeks of play.
Eduardo has also been lightly criticized after he allegedly appeared to be wearing headphones under his jersey in a match against Slaven Belupo that ended 0-0.
The UEFA Champions League is now within the sights of the Modri who will be participating in qualifiers come next season.
Dinamo has four matches left to play with two of them featuring visits from Hajduk and Rijeka.
Hajduk Split are back to their losing ways; something they have become accustomed to in the recent month, but to their defense, their 2-0 loss to Zadar Sunday could be more attributed to Zadar’s desperation as opposed to Hajduk’s lack of effort.
Zadar has been facing relegation practically since day one and with their fans on their side at Stanovi this weekend, they mustered up every ounce of passion, skill, desperation, and heart they could find in order to not only defeat, but shut out Hajduk.
The home-grown Zadar product, Frane Ikić scored the first and most important goal of the game; his second goal of the season.
The 20-year-old defender waltz into the penalty box unmarked on a corner kick and was allowed to freely head in the ball past Lovre Kalinić.
Hajduk defender Avdija Vršajević, flat footed, looked on as Ikić uncontestedly won the ball for the opening goal of the game.
Target man, Ivan Krstanović finished the game with a goal in stoppage time, nailing the coffin shut on Sunday’s match.
But despite the win, Igor Štimac’s side remain in last place in the league and are still facing relegation with few matches remaining.
And with the defeat to Hajduk, NK Lokomotiva had a prime opportunity to overtake sole possession of fourth place on Monday afternoon in Zagreb.
But the Lokosi failed to arise to the occasion against another team facing relegation, NK Istra 1961.
The 2-1 victory was in favor of the visiting Istra, stunning the Lokosi at home.
Luka Begonja may have scored first for the home side, but goals from Antonio Repić and a game winner from Šime Gregov took the Lokosi by surprised as well as all three points.
A lackluster and less-than-eventful match capped off the match week on Monday afternoon when Slaven Belupo and Rijeka found themselves splitting the points at the end of 90 minutes.
With all the action coming in the first five minutes of the game, the remainder of the match could have fooled the untrained eye into thinking the draw was previously agreed upon.
Slaven opened the scoring in the first minute of play Petar Mišić. But his goal was soon countered by Bekim Balaj who scored seemingly at will in the fifth minute.
Though Rijeka has second place all but wrapped up, they let the gap between them and Dinamo grow, only showing all too well disparity on the table.
Osijek found themselves on the winning side of a match, presumably thanks to their desperation in play.
Much like Zadar, the team rests with only 30 points, tied with Zadar for lowest in the league, but also much like Zadar, they found it within themselves to muster the strength for a victory.
With NK Zagreb in town, Osijek’s Mile Škorić scored the match’s only goal for a 1-0 win for Osijek.
@ gt
That’s not nice.
^^^^^^^^^
idiot
Mamic Sizzler LOL
2 for 1 Sarma Saturdays!
Tuesdays are ‘Sign your life away to ZM’ and receive a complimentary Dinamo waterbottle!
and Sunday is all you can eat burek!!
ohhhhhhhhhhhh yeah!! who’s excited!?!? I AM!!!!!
if you are passionate about Dinamo, your kid will change your life…and Yes, I 100% guarantee you it will. I haven’t watched more than 3 hockey games per year since 2008, when my twins were born….the little I know about you, I bet you’d rather give you kid a bath than watch a sport….its very worth the time you spend, nothing in this entire world will ever compare!
start shagging your wife, you’ll get what I mean when you get pregnant!
I bet it will but I hope it doesn’t. thats another topic.
“You look at the macro level, start looking at micro”
like I said, when you have your own little ones, Mamic will mean piss all and your family will be everything…the little things you can’t change don’t matter anymore!
Ante…one day, when you have your own kids, you’ll see how much Mamic means to you but in the mean-time…you said:
“And yes I am focusing on Mamic because I’m convinced his actions have turned the team I love almost more than my family into a breakfast buffet at Mamic’s Sizzler”
don’t be so damn selective, many teams would kill to be financially healthy and not popular…the alternative is what, Hajduk? Osijek? Istra? Slaven?
think about this for a second. when Dinamo was flying high and the attendance was awesome, they averaged 6000 per game and yet, they struggled financially, they couldn’t do much in the transfer markets outside of Croatia….now, they buy, loan, sell from all over Europe and S America…they employ hundreds or more people…and many teams benefit from the beast we all hate….Mamic, but in reality, we all need to eat and make a wage…and get PAID…how many teams can’t pay their groundskeepers?
I hate Mamic’s behavior and personality, but all thats irrelevant.
You look at the macro level, start looking at micro.
“Has that happened in Croatia with any bigger clubs? No.”
why not? because maybe the system doesn’t give two shits?
you see how this is going, we are selective on what we want to point out as…the criminal, while the system itself is criminal!
you only say a general term and use nothing to back it up….I’m not saying I disagree with some of what you say, but you say a lot and with zero backup…so you expect people to believe you, life doesn’t work that way and so far all you’ve said is your opinion, and backed up a few minuscule examples in the grand scheme of things.
i know what happened to Dudu and I am on his side, but what Mamic did was not illegal, so until it is, stop using it as an example!
Because I don’t love or care about Juventus or Italian soccer. I hold my team and country at a higher standard. In Italy, Juventus was penalized for match fixing. Has that happened in Croatia with any bigger clubs? No.
Perfect example on NATIONAL TV. Mamic goes on nu2 and presents dossiers of fans. How does the head of Dinamo get a police dossier? And yes I am focusing on Mamic because I’m convinced his actions have turned the team I love almost more than my family into a breakfast buffet at Mamic’s Sizzler.
“What about Vaha as a coach?”
…yeah…what about it?
did you see what Bayern did to Jupp Heynckes?
why is it so much more theatrical to you when it happens at Dinamo but when Juventus pay teams and players to match fix, you never mention it?
Even if I had a notarized document and video in front of you, it wouldn’t be enough.
“I see what you did there. Let me state some others: Robert Muric and Niko Kranjcar ring a bell? What about Vaha as a coach?”
is this your first time seeing disputes in sports, or is it just Mamic’s disputes that interest you? look at sports in general, there are disputes daily, does this mean he’s a mafia, intimidating, using fear tactics….man…Ante, you’re stretching dude…so many damn players have disputes…it doesn’t make anyone a criminal!
you’re tougher on Mamic than you are on others that do the same or worse!
“Even when you are spoon fed, it doesn’t stick”
this is what you say, what has been proven? the evidence I am looking for is based on what you said…”Conflict of interest, intimidation, bribery, fear tactics, etc. In”
lets take conflict of interest…and then ask, is it legal? if so, throw your theory in the garbage…you also said “bribery”…prove it…you said “fear”…prove it…if you can’t then don’t offer your personal opinion and expect many of us to believe YOU…just because you’re from ZG and you have family there…fear tactics and intimidation= threat…you’re suggesting Mamic uses goons? this just gets better by the day….and once again, use your allegations with examples rather than to tell me your spoon feeding me, add in the proof, evidence of your somewhat questionable allegations..
if Dudu signed a contract without a consulting a lawyer, he’s dumb. I think the life-time contracts are criminal myself, FIFA or UEFA should step in BUT, thats a whole other issue…did Mamic hold a gun to Dudu’s head…did he intimidate him….did he put fear into him?
everything you say is easy to say, back it up!
@Slavonac
Bravo, bravo, svaka ti cast
“In Italy, there has been more corruption, scandals and shady dealing than anywhere else in Europe, how many Italians protest a game by throwing flares onto a field during a National Team game? When do you see Italians shit all over their most successful teams? they don’t…but we do…why?”———slavonac from canada
I have had this argument countless times and funny that a work colleague who is italian told me that every italian supports the natiaonal team no matter what and he himself pointed out the most corrupt country, league, etc is in Italy.
You nailed it, you have dummies on this site who will blame mamic for everything. Hajduk problems are all internal and they need to follow the money trail and figure out where it went instead of blaiming others. I just find it comical that Mamic is blamed for everything. damn pretty soon if Greece drops out of the euro zone we might have Mamic being blamed for that as well!
@tt 4:44 pm, blasphemy, How dare you tell us to stop debating the powerhouse that Rijeka has become on the european soccer scene?
I see what you did there. Let me state some others: Robert Muric and Niko Kranjcar ring a bell? What about Vaha as a coach?
” BEST EXAMPLE: Kramaric. Now, the next question: what about the others?”
Best example…or one example?
Let me also apologize for being off on my dates. It was on Saturday. I got my dates mixed up because I’m getting older.
“…facts and examples nobody has provided.”
Are. You. Kidding. Me. See what I mean about the retention rate? Even when you are spoon fed, it doesn’t stick.
Those guys signed for Mamic because they wanted to play at Dinamo. Simple enough, if you didn’t want to sign with Mamic, you weren’t going to play. BEST EXAMPLE: Kramaric. Now, the next question: what about the others? Well in the case of Dudu, he didn’t understand English and didn’t know what he was signing. That’s why he’s still fighting Mamic in Croatian court. With Sammir, you have to connect the dots and it requires some analytical thinking.
People are fighting the system (the BBB, those you can’t stand) the only way they can as they realize the justice system and legal means is a joke. Yes, the system is broken which is why when it comes to Dinamo and Croatian soccer, Mamic is the alpha omega.
…ooops, sorry Ziva!
it wasnt me who criticized you.
thanks Hamburg, I think Ante may have mixed up his days, I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt…but as I said earlier, the surprising thing is when there is a MAJOR issue in Croatia, it isn’t as BIG news as when Mamic yells at a reporter.
the argument that Mamic has intimidated people and is corrupt makes me wonder why so many people focus on him rather than the system and the state of the country over these past 7 years.
I’ve been told I’m irresponsible and lazy for not knowing the situation when in fact, I am open to facts and examples, which nobody has yet provided. an example used was that Mamic’s family represent players at Dinamo and yet, Kovacic, Modric, Corluka and tons of others have all used that agency….are they also corrupt?
Ziva criticized the fact I pasted the article of why Dinamo has been successful, what could we write about Osijek, Zadar, Hajduk and most other teams…and why is it shameful to have a successful team?
In Italy, there has been more corruption, scandals and shady dealing than anywhere else in Europe, how many Italians protest a game by throwing flares onto a field during a National Team game? When do you see Italians shit all over their most successful teams? they don’t…but we do…why?
the energy spent has been “counter-productive”, its like rioting to try and make your point…find another way!
when other teams, like Rijeka begin to compete and produce, maybe people will focus on whats important to the game….when the people focus only on Mamic and Suker and blame them for Hajduk losing on the weekend and for walking off the field before a game and for Sammir going to the WC although nobody has yet to offer a single credible replacement…all these theories are jut conspiracy theories!
I will support Dinamo and any Croatian club that progresses and produces, I could care less for their politics. I’d rather argue why a coach started one player over another, at least we have an opinion on something we have more info on….the rest of the stuff has never once been fully proven although the theories are outrageous at times!
@Slavonac from Canada
Many times it was mentioned that he protest was yesterday and that is misleading.
Why would they say yesterday when they should have said Saturday or the weekend? To me that is very odd, and misleading when we look at how the discussion flowed. Essentially it is a lie.
I did not mean to offend you in anyway, just wanted to inform.
Hamburg,
it may have been and also may be the reason I didn’t see it, I was camping with my family and didn’t have internet!
@ Zvone
I never said Rijeka were world beaters, bud. COMPARED TO DINAMO, Rijeka have had 2 better seasons in Europe the last 2 years. I made my point and the facts are the facts in this case.
Are Rijeka historically a better team than Dinamo? Of course not.
Are Rijeka historically a better team in Europe than Dinamo? Of course not.
But in the last 2 years, Rijeka have has a better run in Europe and have beat more quality opponents. Ask most Dinamo fans on this site (who watch games) and they would agree with me.
I think it’s a shame that Dinamo had relatively 2 easy groups in the last 2 years and weren’t able to make it out of either. I’m not saying Dinamo should make CL groups every year, but jesus … they should be a lock for the Europa group stage and barring a tough group, should make it out of the groups with regularity.
@samo naprid
it won’t happen plus the finances are the bigger issue for them
@Slavonac from Canada
“I checked all the sites yesterday as well although I didn’t look for it.”
I don’t know why people keep saying the protest was yesterday. The “Unity” protest was on Saturday May 2nd.
http://tinyurl.com/q9aaz4y
@samo naprid
I kad gube , i kad tuku
uvjek vjerni svom hajduku
@Slavonac from Canada
Why are you surprised about things not being in Croatian newspapers? Half the articles they write are completely biased and based on a political agenda. HRT isn’t any better, especially with their “yugo” films
I’m not in this discussion to defame you or anyone else, I believe we all love Croatia and always want the best for it but I just see so much front page Mamic and little more on important topics. I checked all the sites yesterday as well although I didn’t look for it.
I know you know politics, I won’t attempt to debate you, I know when I’m not informed but I also am not totally lost either.
Every now and then I read from an Aussie Croat, Ina Vukic…she’s on the ball, I suggest you google her, I’m pretty sure you’d agree with almost everything she writes!
In the end, I still hope for a good development program from Croatia, I want our teams to do well and I want the NT to get past the “almost there” stage! I honestly have little time to fact find about Suker or Mamic, they’re irrelevant to me. I care more for the Croatian economy to get better and for Croats to go forward, not always fixate on theories and bad news….we spend so much time carving people from there and on this site, it’s a bit petty at times!
Thanks for being civil, I know we have a shit past but I’m not one to hate anyone!
Ante B.
Thank you kindly.
Well at least you’re honest. It was in all of the papers but then got censored more than halfway into the broadcast on HRT. There’s yet another huge mafia, HRT. Lijepa nasa puna mafijasa
I need it spelled out!
If this was news, it wasn’t all over the regular Dnevnik, Vecernji, Slobodna Dalmacija…..
i particularly like the Mamic allegations for the NT, it just doesn’t make sense!
people enough of this amusing HNK Rijeka talk, last five years have they made champions league——–NO.
but they won the croatian cup and they sold kamaric for a load of money so that is an accomplishment, time to celebrate
Is it a lack of critical/analytical thinking or do you actually need everything dictated to you?
In Croatia and in the case of Mamic, it’s both the individual and the system.
tt,
Here you go: http://www.braniteljski.hr/hrvatska/825-poruke-sa-skupa-zajednistva-100-za-hrvatsku
@Armada
To waste your time and to continue to preach that Rijeka was in last place for one of the campaigns and 3rd in the other and remember kicked out both times in the first round? That is just sad. Somehow you think this is amazing and impressive. Glad you set the bar so low for your jadan rijeka. I hope you set the bar higher for yourself in life and pursue some worthy career goals.
Yeah you are a moron, enjoy your tuesday evening douche bag. 🙂
My power went out for twenty minutes in my condo.
Phucking Mamic!! How did he do that?
NK, I can accept I’m wrong and in this case, I very well may be wrong. My point to all this is the amount of discussion about it and yet, people don’t see the problem with the entire system and also, they continue to blame Mamic for Sammir being on the team and for Hajduk’s dismal performance on the field and within the league itself….I’m curious to know how?
If Mamic is intimidating and illegally making transactions, where is the system, just as the system in Italy has penalized Juventus, coaches and players….I read and article 3 months ago about Cannavaro and how he wasn’t allowed into his own property, it was seized by the government!
When we allow people to behave as criminals, who’s at fault, the system or the individual?
I’d like some proof rather than allegations. I’d like to see how he influenced Kovac, Stimac, Bilic and what he’s done illegally that has allowed him to prosper and yet also succeed….the shame is on the system!
@naprid bili
real challenge is for your jadan hajduk to win
Great work Slavonac!
@Slavonac
don’t bother discussing with these idiots, rinse and repeat with them
you once again show the flaw in the arguments they put forth
Does anyone have a link to the 65,000 people protest in Zagreb?
So then is it a problem with the system or a Mamic problem?
How many players have signed with him….Modric, Corluka, Kovacic….and many more. They’ve all had choices and yet chose him…why?
It is. Mamic’s son is still acting as the agent.
just as Hajduk fans rejoiced in the streets of Split when they walked off the field…it got them really far!
I still don’t get what the big deal is. Ante said there was a protest in ZG just yesterday, with 65,000 people and I haven’t heard squat about it….Mamic has a shit at a local McDonalds in ZG and its front page news!
Dynamo (Mamic) have their 10 consecutive titles.
Now the real challenge is getting 10 fans to the stadium.
Easy to be financially secure when govt dollars were pumped into the club to help rescue when it was in trouble. The old commie model hard at work, no????? Now credit goes to Mamic for keeping it going, although he has done so through intimidation, a very shaky first league, and federation that he controls. Let’s not forget how he left a man with dementia in charge of the federation for his own benefit and now has another go who for all purposes also has dementia – or at least a brain hat operates like one- in Puppet Suker.
None of the absolves jadan, mali i nemocan hajduk from its own mess, but let’s not praise Mamic as a great businessman. If he was operating in a real country wih actual rules and laws, he would find it much harder. He has taken advantage of the situation and it has worked. But, look at the end result. No fans and the real Dinamo fans can’t rejoice in celebrating with the club they love.
you’re right…if there was a protest in Zagreb yesterday…not only did I miss it but it appears as if it wasn’t National news since nobody has spoken about it and I can hardly find any news about it BUT, somehow…Mamic hits the front page every time!
you sure it was a “protest”?
I see the sport for the game alone, its only because of this site that I’ve learned about the Mamic issue a couple of years ago. as a parent, a spouse, an employee and a person…I don’t spend my days searching online for info about Croatia, I spend some time reading and watching soccer when I can.
you said: “It’s counterproductive, irresponsbile and lazy”
most people are ill informed about this topic, you know some things, more than many here… but to waste time and energy over it is, to me, counter-productive, irresponsible and a waste of time…
I am lazy to read up on Mamic and to fact find, so I ask my friends that live there and are very involved in business…they disagree with you…so I don’t know what to believe!
is the family business still running? you used that as part of your argument…is it? if not, why did you bring it up?
The pressing issue is that you tell me I know more but are so quick to make the most hypocritical statements about Dinamo, the fans and Croatian soccer in general and relying on hyperbole. It’s counterproductive, irresponsbile and lazy. For example, you talk about protests…there was one where over 65,000 people showed up in Zagreb yesterday. It’s just a microcosm of how people not knowing can mess everything up.
Ante…hasn’t that “family” relationship ended? I thought the agency is now gone?
haven’t they investigated Mamic?
none of our parents would have allowed us to accept dishonesty and corruption, but it tends to be the case in Croatia and it doesn’t seem to be getting any better…from selling off Croatian companies to foreign investors to corruption in the gov’t and so on….
you know a lot more about this than I do but I just don’t understand why this is such an issue with all the protesting and yet, people can barely put food on the table because the country has been in a recession for 7 years and I don’t see the protests about that!
Easy question to answer. One that I have repeatedly answer on this site (and will have to over and over) as the retention rate here can be measured in nanoseconds.
The money made at Dinamo is made by using business practices that make any businessman shudder. Conflict of interest, intimidation, bribery, fear tactics, etc. In fact, it’s not even the club that is rich as even Mamic has pointed out several times.
Get rid of the mafia, bring in proper business people, make everything transparent, bring the fans back and DONT MAKE TRANSFERS THROUGH YOUR IMMEDIATE FAMILY SO YOU CAN POCKET THE MONEY AND NOT THE CLUB. The talent will always be there.
You can have the best of both worlds. You just have to realize it instead of manipulating it into a disgusting and ignorant matter.
I have asked this so please enlighten me…what should they do? please answer this…what should the organization do in this case?
BTW – if you fan base is 50% less but you’re earning 500% more…what do you do?
you make valid points but you can’t take a fan to the bank whereas you can take money there! if they are continuously profitable, how do you change that without the fear of losing the entire infrastructure?
If Dinamo had an average of 6000 per game and went down to 1500 per game, they should consider what they want….fans or a club the way it sits…you can’t have it both ways…look around the league!
A 50% drop in attendance and even higher among the supporter group. Keep it up! Another ten years and that number could be 75%. But that’s ok. Why play for the fans at the stadium? They don’t matter anyway
the fans have rarely ever attended in Croatia, you can check back 15 years ago and there was a marginal difference…I took this from wikipedia, its obvious someone took the time to tally this up:
Season
Total attendance
Number of
matches Average attendance
per match Ref
1992 376,435 132 2,896 [11]
1992–93 1,006,350 240 4,264
1993–94 851,600 306 2,820
1994–95 879,400 240 3,664
1995–96 940,270 364 2,612
1996–97 687,950 240 2,903
1997–98 684,400 192 3,602
1998–99 745,728 192 3,884
1999–2000 515,790 198 2,605
2000–01 546,624 192 2,847
2001–02 573,840 240 2,391
2002–03 635,520 192 3,310
2003–04 570,816 192 2,973
2004–05 541,440 192 2,820
2005–06 633,792 192 3,301
2006–07 622,908 198 3,146
2007–08 616,572 198 3,114
2008–09 617,050 198 3,116
2009–10 500,002 240 2,083
2010–11 458,746 240 1,911
2011–12 482,002 240 2,087
2012–13 497,188 198 2,511
2013–14 573,070 180 3,202
@slavonac
svaka ti cast
You really are the only one on this site who gets it and consistently put up quality posts. You don’t seem to have an “agenda” or bias, always good reading them. Keep it up.
Larry,
True but the difference is that guys like Davis, Steinbrenner, Cuban et al attract their fans to actually come to the stadium. In Croatia, it’s the opposite
Corruption, conflict of interest, bribery, intimidation, not adhering to contracts, etc. wonderful business man doing right capped off by empty stands and banned supporters from all groups. We’d all be good businessmen then
I’m a fan of Dinamo, the team and not BBB! I really couldn’t care less if they ever attend a game for the rest of my life…its the game and players I care to watch, not some guys that most likely don’t have a job and spend more time arguing over who did what.
if the league had 1 or 2 more organizations like Dinamo does, the teams and country would benefit from it and we’d see an even better production of talent.
I watched and kinda hoped Hajduk would improve their financial woes and make better decisions but all I ever see is their fans blaming Mamic when they lose to Zadar or when Tudor quits 3 days before their first game back from Winter break….
people complain that Mamic has his players loaned out to other teams…look at Chelsea, Man U and so many other teams around Europe…this is also a business where players get bought and sold…its really quite simple!
Were George Steinbrenner or Al Davis corrupt? Is Jerry Jones corrupt? Is FIFA or the IOC corrupt? Are Platini or Berlusconi corrupt? The list goes on and on and on…. Did or do these people and organizations benefit more from the success of their teams and organizations?
People can hate Mamic all they want, and that is there choice and it would be totally understood, but what he does is no different than the aforementioned. It does not make it alright or good, but corruption is omnipresent.
why do I have a post pending moderator approval?
“I totally agree with you and full-well know Mamic is and has been corrupt but its also undeniable that the club has functioned well under him”
from a financial stand point and player development stand point…I’d still rather be Dinamo than Hajduk!
empty stands all around the HNL, attendance has dropped for every team, makes it even more impressive that Dinamo is in such good financial shape, someone is doing a good job
And the empty stands at Maksimir prove he’s doing a great job. Bravo.
Colin,
I totally agree with you and full-well know Mamic is and has been corrupt but its also undeniable that the club has functioned well under him…whether he had a part in it or not, the organization from player development to the financials and everything in-between is well managed!
@Slavonac – It’s not a bad article, but what it’s doing is just showing the benefits of corruption. With all those nice things comes a lot of backlash and undesired consequences, mainly due to Mamic. Though, much of it I agree with. Zoran Mamic has done well coaching the team and I guess you can’t complain about the financial position Dinamo is in compared to the likes of teams that can’t even pay their players, but what benefits Dinamo benefits Mamic 100 times more.
@Slavonac
Enjoyed the article, thank you for posting it. It will be interesting to see the development of the U15 when they start playing in Prva Liga.
Armada,
400?! I think you mean 40, if that.
Ten reasons for Dinamo’s ten Croatian titles
Published: Monday 4 May 2015, 14.06CET
Correspondent Elvir Islamović suggests ten reasons why GNK Dinamo Zagreb have won ten titles in a row, including talent-spotting, financial prudence and Zoran Mamić
For the tenth year running GNK Dinamo Zagreb are Croatian champions having clinched the title with four games to spare; they also remain unbeaten and are a 20 May cup final against RNK Split away from their sixth double in a decade. UEFA.com’s Croatian correspondent Elvir Islamović gives ten reasons why Dinamo have taken such a stranglehold on the First League.
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1 Good management
Club president Zdravko Mamić has secured the club’s financial position through income from player sales. Since Mamić’s 2001 arrival, Dinamo have received more than €150m in transfer fees, including €21m from Tottenham Hotspur FC for Luka Modrić, not to mention the €14m paid by Arsenal FC for Eduardo and Vedran Ćorluka’s €13m move to Manchester City FC.
2 Great talents
For a relatively small country of around 4.3 million people, Croatia produces a huge number of talented players. Moreover, Dinamo’s scouting and coaching departments mean they are able to attract the best youngsters – replacing the talents sold abroad.
3 World-class academy
The Dinamo academy has brought through Niko Kranjčar, Ćorluka, Igor Bišćan, Mateo Kovačić and Alen Halilović. There is more to come, with the club supplying 12 of the Croatia squad for the upcoming UEFA European Under-17 Championship, most of whom won a prestigious international U15 tournament two years ago, beating AC Milan 2-1 at Old Trafford.
4 Financial stability
The monetary injection from transfer fees has ensured that Dinamo have been stable financially for the past decade. This has allowed them to concentrate on results and free up budget to supplement their young prospects, mostly from South America.
5 Rivals’ problems
Since Croatian independence, only once have either Dinamo or HNK Hajduk Split not won the title: NK Zagreb in 2001/02. Hajduk’s last championship came in 2004/05 but since then they have suffered financial problems and even faced bankruptcy.
©Getty Images
Luka Modrić in his Dinamo days
6 Foreign signings
Dinamo’s South American imports include Eduardo and another player who later took Croatian citizenship, Sammir, plus Luis Ibáñez, Leandro Cufré, Pedro Morales, Etto and Junior Fernandez.
7 Coaching team
There may have been a high turnover of coaches but their number includes the likes of Josip Kuže, Vahid Halilhodžić and Branko Ivanković. And since October 2013, former player Zoran Mamić, 43, has been the longest-serving coach of the last decade, appointing as assistants club greats like all-time Dinamo top scorer Igor Cvitanović, Damir Krznar and goalkeeper trainer Miralem Ibrahimović.
8 Mamić as ‘lucky charm’
Coach Mamić (the president’s brother) returned to Dinamo as a player in 2005 after nine years in Germany. Dinamo have been champions every season since – and Mamić has contributed to those wins first as player, then as sporting director and finally, from 2013, as coach.
©AFP/Getty Images
Dinamo have a huge fanbase
9 A well-structured organisation
It is not just the coaching team, scouting department and academy who are performing well: from press office to international office, Dinamo are looking more and more like a top European outfit in terms of organisation.
10 Popularity in Croatia
One of Croatia’s ‘big two’, Dinamo were always one of the leading four teams in the former Yugoslavia with Hajduk, FK Partizan and FK Crvena zvezda. A 2005 poll showed 33% of the Croatian population were Dinamo fans, which would equate to 1.5 million people.
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@ Zvone
Hey buddy, since research doesn’t seem to be your cup of tea, let me make it easy for you.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014%E2%80%9315_UEFA_Europa_League
Scroll down to Group Stages.
Look at Dinamo’s group? Dinamo 6 points
Look at Rijeka’s group? Rijeka 7 points
Let’s go back to the previous year.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013%E2%80%9314_UEFA_Europa_League
Onceeeeeeeee again, scroll to the Groups.
Look at Dinamo’s group. Dinamo 1 point.
Look at Rijeka’s group. Rijeka 4 points.
Don’t you feel like a fucking moron now?
Andddddddddddd if you talk to people who actually watch European football and watch our teams (I try and watch them all) Rijeka have had better results against what many would say are more quality sides.
Rijeka tied or beat Lyon, Real Betis, Sevilla, Feyenoord, Standard Liege
while in the same two year span
Dinamo tied or beat Astra (Romania), Celtic and PSV.
Game.
Set.
Match.
Enjoy your Tuesday!
@Armada
NOt a dinamo fan at all, only care about the NT.
Come on you got to be kidding with your point of view. You were talking first about the coefficient points and now jumping around that they are playing well. Stick to the topic.
Last europa league Rijeka and dinamo each had two wins and were kicked out first round. You think this is playing well and relying on them for the coefficient points? Dude as stated above you are delusional.
Good insight from someone who seemed to have actually watched the games. Hvala, maminjo.
@ Dinamo fanboys
Once again, svaka cast! I’m sure all the plavi faithful will be out in force for the next game to celebrate the ‘decima’.
The 400 fans in attendance for that next game in ZG will get Maksimir rocking! Will be a site to see!!!
Not sure what everyone’s been watching, but Rijeka has been excellent in Europa play.
Eliminating Stuttgart, Zilina, Sheriff, and Ferencvaros prior to the tournament was impressive. Stuttgart is a Bundesliga squad, and Zilina has been to Champions League before. Sheriff and Ferencvaros are Europa League teams. It was a pretty rough draw for Rijeka in qualifying for Europa for these two seasons, and they got through both times.
In the actual tournament itself, beating Feyenoord, and Standard Liege is pretty impressive. They had Sevilla beat too, if it wasn’t for that last gasp goal that tied the game up. They drew many good teams too like Lyon and Betis (in addition to Sevilla).
WTF is this talk about relying on Rijeka for decent showings in Europe. Come on guys team is ranked at 131. Stop with this silly talk. With Kramaric departure they will only drop further.
@armada87
last two years, LMAO
ok go with that if it makes you happy, two years??
Rely on rijeka for decent showings, wow first cico delusional and now you, ok, if it works for you.
As a Dinamovac, I love the championship but its not the same without the BBB. Or any fans for that matter. Zivot a ne furka. Za Dinamo bez Mamica!
@ tt
Dude, Rijeka have more points than Dinamo in Europe the last 2 years. Nottttt really getting your last post.
Let’s rely on Rijeka for decent showings in Europe and rely on Dinamo to rack up titles in the Prva Mickey Mouse Liga aka 1. HNL
@armada
always comes down to Dinamo, you can’t rely on rijeka or hajduk for the coefficient points
@colin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9phNCXkhBM
who could forget the above goal by Vida versus ludogorets, amazing game
As long as Dinamo look good beating up on Maribor, Ludogorets. and Sheriff, Mamic will be happy flexing his muscles, beating “European” teams
@ tt
Hopefully Dinamo can make it out of probably another cupcake group in Europa League next year and get the league some coefficient points
jadan, mali i nemocan hajduk (remember no cpaital “h”) don’t have enough money for the linen on the bed.
shitting the bed is something that rijeka and hajduk do on a consistent basis
Faux Cro – Been looking for a picture of that all day. Thanks haha
and Dinamo will shit the bed in Europa League groups this coming season in Europe, win next years HNL title, etc.
wash, rinse, repeat
Well done Dinamo, impressive once again. The HNL has produced some great Croatian talent.
sometimes it seems like the HNL is like a pet that you refuse you to put to sleep that is long over due for it;)
Congrats to Dinamo……one day the real Dinamo fans will actually feel proud to celebrate a league title.
In other news…….jadan, mali i nemocan hajduk lost to NK Bjezigrad today.
Bravo Dinamo.
^^
Thought some of you might like this
https://scontent-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/11000192_877409872329555_3852450786816156087_n.jpg?oh=f11ce36c54cda96190cab6b46c0965ef&oe=55D5E095
Beautiful!
“Dinamo has four matches left to play with two of them featuring trips to Poljud and Kantrida.”
Dinamo has four matches remaining against NK Zagreb, Hajduk Split, NK Istra, and Rijeka.
However, the games against Hajduk and Rijeka are home games at Maksimir.