Damir Krajač/Cropix: Krstanović doubles in Dinamo debut
Dinamo Zagreb easily got the job done Wednesday night as they trumped Azerbaijan champions Neftchi Baku 3-0 in front of 36,000 spectators (who only paid a 1 kuna entrance fee) at a revamped Maksimir Stadion. Summer signees Jerko Leko and Ivan Krstanović made an instant impact with Dinamo as Leko got the job done on offense and defense in the midfield while ex-NK Zagreb striker Krstanović doubled in his debut. Domagoj Vida had little to do in his first Dinamo match as the Plavi dominated ball possession throughout the match.
DINAMO CELEBRATING BADELJ’S FIRST GOAL
Dinamo travel to Azerbaijan next week for the return leg in Baku on Tuesday. All looks well for Dinamo to progress to the next qualifying round. Based on the next two draws (next one this Friday in Switzerland), Dinamo have a legitimate chance of qualifying for the Champions League group stage with this group of players.
PLAY BY PLAY
Ivan Krstanović comes into the box in the 64′, makes a move on the goalie and is brought down. A penalty is called even though it looked as if Krstanović started his decent before contact was made. He cooly converted the penalty, waiting for the Neftchi goalie to make his move, slotting the ball to the opposite side. 3-0 Dinamo.
KRSTANOVIĆ SCORES HIS FIRST AFTER THE RESTART
Ivan Krstanović makes his Dinamo debut with a goal seconds into the second half. 2-0 Dinamo as they have full control of this Champions League tie.
BADELJ OPENS UP THE SCORING FOR DINAMO
Captain Milan Badelj scores Dinamo’s first goal of the new season in the 37′ taking a long ball from the center of the field and chesting it down to himself right inside the corner of the 18-yard box. Badelj rips the ball far post with the Neftchi keeper only able to get a finger on the ball. A more established defender would not have let Badelj receive the ball as he misjudged it in the air. Nonetheless, 1-0 Dinamo heading into halftime.
Ronald Goršić/Cropix: Maksimir is packed with a crowd of 36,000
Dinamo’s Champions League run has begun against Azerbaijani champions Neftchi FK inside a face-lifted Maksimir Stadion in Zagreb. It might have just been a minor paint job and a few new seats, but the stadium looks nice. Not to mention the grass, which looks to be in Champions League Final form. It’s probably been the best field of grass laid on Croatian soil. Let’s see how long it holds up during the season. It does look like Dinamo is taking this season a bit more serious. Let’s see how they do on the field.
DINAMO STARTERS: Kelava – Vrsaljko, Vida, Tonel, Ibanez – Leko, Badelj, Alispahić, Sammir – Krstanović, Beqiraj.
Drago Sopta/Cropix: A view inside the ‘new’ Maksimir
evo ga http://sportski.net.hr/videosport/page/2011/07/18/0258006.html?pos=n1
Sportsoverdose is reporting that Hajduk is interested in David Beckham. Anyone out there have a link?
decki, kakav Neftčij,nije to nikakav ispit za Dinamo jos,isto ovako smo se radovali prošle godine pa ispali od Sherrifa a oni iz mrtve moldavije
@TheGolden Child…….the HNL will never be much more than what it is now when you have so many teams in the first league. You have to face reality, as soon as any player shows signs he is good he will be moved to a foreign club for a bigger pay day. Look at Hajduk for example, you think there is any chance Vukusic (not sure how good he really is anyway) sticks around to be with Hajduk for his 23rd birthday. No chance, he will be sold because he will want out and a bigger payday.
The only guys who will be in the league who are past the age of 24 are those coming back because they failed in other countries (Leko), players from smaller countries using the HNL as a chance to a higher level or guys who are not good enough for anything more.
I am fine with this league being a shit hole as long as it continues to produce quality players that can go to other countries and make our national team better.
The HNL should be a 4-team league.
Dinamo if they complete the job in Baku will play HJK Helsinki in the next round. They were crushed by Partizan least season, so that should give some confidence. They don't have a great record either in Europe
^Lol. Never understand when coaches do that. Thanks for the 5 min coach.
Kristanovic's goal was pretty good. Like someone already mentioned,e the the influx of better players coming back to play for Dinamo, will bring a more successful campaign for champs.
Croatian League needs to build itself backup sooner or later. Hopefully this is a start. Soccer, handball, and waterpolo are our top 3…and to have such a bad league is a bit embarrassing.
FYI
Kovacic came in for the last 5 minutes…
ziva istina, you're an a$$hole.
Just wait until Hajduk begins their European adventure. They'll bring us back to .500
Split beat Domzale 2:1 in Slovenia
In five matches Croatian clubs have gone 4-1-0. While they haven't played great clubs, its finally good to see them getting results when they should.
Keep an eye out for Kaja Rogulj. Just joined Austria Wien. Should be solid Central Defender, only 25yrs old. Check out his highlight.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8xn05WA4CQ
Varazdin draw 1:1 with Moldova side Iskra-Stal. Decent result to come back to Varazdin, Iskra need to score
Both sides had plenty of chances too, Iskra had a goal disallowed and post…Varazdin missed an empty net and also hit the post.
The groupings for the draw tomorrow have already been made. Hajduk could face one of Sparta Prague, Stoke City, Anorthosis, Hearts and some other team I can't think of. Varazdin if they advance could potentially play Palermo, RNK Split could potentially play Fulham.
Dinamo's potential opponents are: Litex, Slovan Bratislava, Maribor, Zestafoni and Shamrock Rovers/Flora Tallinn
I agree we shouldnt get ahead of ourselves. But now with the new easy route into the CL…Dinamo should make it frequently
Thanks Doc….that is why you post and don't select the roster for the repka.
@AZ…give Kovacic time. No clue if he is the real deal (doubtful), but he is young and should not be playing CL qualifiers yet. I have yet to hear any mention of him and Barca. Barca has 20 of these type of kids in their system.
Correction to #1:
1) Let's not turn this victory into something that IT IS NOT. Let's remember that this team is from Azerbaijan and from all accounts, we should've won.
4) I know the official name is GNK Dinamo Zagreb. On one stand, it's fine but not on all three. If you wanted to, you could've put Bad Blue Boys on Sjever, Zagreb on Istok or Jug, etc. Not only GNK Dinamo on all 3.
That is all.
So now that I've had a night for the euphoria to calm down, here we go:
1) Let's not turn this victory into something that was supposed to happen. Let's remember that this team is from Azerbaijan and from all accounts, we should've won.
2) As usual, the Croatian media for the most part is turning this into the win of all wins, noc koji ce se dugo pamtit, blah, blah. Again, it's Azerbaijan and not ManU. However, Bernard Jurisic wrote yet another excellent article about the game on Sportnet and it's definitely worth reading.
2a) While Krstanovic played a great game yesterday, he reportedly said that Dinamo can make Champions League. While I enjoy the enthusiasm and it was said in the heat of the moment, I'd tell him to calm down. You're supposed to beat Neftchi.
3) The atmosphere was great but it's not the same without the BBB. Once the BBB come back, it will really be Blue Hell. Gol.hr would also concur. Boycott is still on.
4) Stadium only changed cosmetically. It also looks like Mamic is a cigan who won the lottery with the blue grass and forcing of GNK Dinamo on three stands. We're Dinamo Zagreb, not Boise State or Rangers. The hallways underneath Maksimir tell the real story. I know I've said it before but until you get rid of the urine smell in Maksimir (not the Torcida visiting), then you'll change Maksimir for the better.
I only got to watch the second half, but I really like Kelava back there. He's a solid keeper and takes control of his back line. He's young, but he's a big guy and a tall presence in the net. He'll only get better as he gets older. I'd choose him over Runje for that match.
tickets were not free…but they were discounted massively from 1KN to 10KN, still a good crowd for an unattractive opponent in the middle of the summer. Dinamo need to slash ticket prices realistically, especially for HNL games
Still early to celebrate, they played an average team which once again was overhyped by the Croatian media. The real tests will come next round and hopefully the final playoff round.
Dinamo make three more signings: Dino Skvorc & Filip Skvorc from Varazdin and Walid Atta from Lokomotiva. I'm not sure any of these guys will be standard starters, not even Dino who is a good prospect. Filip will go to Loko. Atta is a useless signing, pretty much will replace Mesaric as the 7th-8th defender on the depth chart
why is mateo kovacic not playing?
I thought he is regarded the next messi and being courted by barcelona
Kvartuc and I watched the game this morning. I'm still upset that Hajduk passed on Krstanovic. Never will I give up on Hajduk, but it does not look good. Not a big fan of Keleva. As of right now, I'd start a 40 year old Runje over him for the repka.
Great result for Dinamo! For the first time in a long time there were fans at Maksimir cheering on Dinamo.
I'm not totally convinced on the maksimir "facelift", but bolje ista nego nista. At least now it looks presentable. Also, Maksimir has grass for the first time. Lets see how this heating unit works under harsh weather conditions.
Just watched the highlights and it looked like we easily handled them. On another note, I absolutely LOVE the Dinamo tops! Atmosphere looked ok but as always, the BBB would've made it 100x better. I'll take the 3 points and the 3 goals.
Next up, Azerbaijan!
Naprijed plavi lavovi! Bravo Purgeri!!
yep, good start. Realisticaly, they should make it to the final round of qualifying and have a legit chance thanks to UEFA watered-down version of the qualifying process.
Perfect start to the season!
Ajde Plavi!!!!
@Ziva – I had no idea they were free. I thought I had read they dropped the prices for this match.
@Michael……..tickets were free. Mamic trying to everything to win over the fans.
Leko also looks pretty solid and seems to be a great signing.
Dinamo is playing really well. I know! I know…not the world beater opponent but they are going and playing like they need to against teams as these! Can't ask for much more than they have put out there so far…
3-0 bravo dinamo!
an article regarding Maksimir renovation
http://dalje.com/en-croatia/sakoman–my-fathers-company-had-nothing-to-do-with-the-stadium/370603
Badelj makes it 1-0 in the 37'.
Full house in Maksimir today, esp for a 1st round qualifying match that's rather impressive.