HNL Week 5: A Draw for Dinamo, Big Signings for Hajduk and Dinamo

The 5th round of the SuperSport HNL happened last weekend and on Monday, but this week I’ll focus slightly less on the games, as they were pretty straightforward, apart from Istra – Dinamo, which drew 2-2. I’ll quickly go over the matches and then get into the transfer business of the Croatian clubs, with special focus on Hajduk and Dinamo, who are working hard to improve their squads as they prepare for Europe.

Istra 2-2 Dinamo: Dinamo Claw Back

Istra 1961 (4-2-3-1): Kolić – Hrvatin, Nasraoui (90+1′ Taraba), Miettinen, Šepić – Doumbia, Albarracin (76′ Maurić) – Frederiksen (90+1′ Šaranić), Ahmeti (76′ Kumar), Rozić (69′ Škafar-Žužić) – Jaganjac.

Dinamo (4-3-3): Nevistić – Valinčić, Dominguez (46′ McKenna), Radeljić, Perez Vinlöf – Stojković (62′ Kravcov), Mišić, Kačavenda (72′ Prevljak) – Lisica (62′ Topić), Beljo, Hoxha (62′ Oršić).

It didn’t take long for this match to open up, as in the 14th minute, after a tame start, Hamza Jaganjac cut inside onto his left and perfectly slotted the ball into the bottom far corner to make it 1-0. Just 10 minutes later, Dion Drena Beljo equalised with a header. That’s his 6th goal in four HNL matches.

The pace of the game continued as we got another goal; it took just three passes to punish Dinamo again. Frederiksen sent Dukan Ahmeti through with a great ball, and the striker ran in behind Dinamo’s defence and scored past Nevistić. But after that goal, the match was pretty quiet until the 78th minute, when Antonio Maurić was all alone with Nevistić and had a chance to finish the game then and there. But the written-off Dinamo goalkeeper saved his attempt. Just six minutes later, Dinamo equalised through ex-Istra striker Smail Prevljak.

That Nevistić save proved to be the moment of the game, but the ‘Modri’ were able to salvage just a point, meaning we have no 100% win teams anymore. And sadly for Ivan, that save didn’t change his written-off status, as Dominik Kotarski has since joined Dinamo. More on that later.

Istra showed that they have a very good team and can defend for a reasonable amount of time and hurt a quality opponent in just a few passes. Frederiksen has started this season like he has a chip on his shoulder to prove himself. 4 goals and 2 assists in the opening five for the Dane.

Šaranić didn’t start this match, but he’s been very active whenever he’s played in the final third this season. Dukan Ahmeti proved to be just as good and even got on the scoresheet — something the former Sesvete player hadn’t managed so far this season.

Cabello has a good squad on his hands, especially going forward, where he has decent options of differing profiles, and every position is nicely doubled with good depth. But it’s a very young squad, so consistency will almost certainly be a problem through the season. Cabello will need to manage it as much as he can, but he has a good foundation for a good cup run or a run at a top 4 spot.

Rest of the Round: Varaždin, Osijek and Hajduk Win. Snorefest in Velika Gorica.

Here’s where I quickly go over the matches. Varaždin beat Rudeš 2-0 at home. Rudeš weren’t THAT bad throughout the match, but Varaždin proved to be a step above as expected. It took a while for Varaždin to score; their best opportunity came up in the 57th when Tepšić got tripped by Ante Sušak during a corner, and the home side got a penalty.

Mamut stepped up seven minutes later after a long VAR review, but the striker hit the post after sending Rogić the wrong way. Rudeš then put pressure on Varaždin, but a quick counter in the 72nd minute by Aleksa Latković made it 1-0. Matej Vuk finalised the score in the 84th.

We move to Osijek, where Federico Bessone’s team brilliantly stepped up after losing to Hajduk 4-0. In the first half, Osijek scored twice; Jona Ježić netted his first professional goal, and Omerović scored his 5th goal of the season. Ježić made his day even better in the 2nd half when he put the game to bed in the 51st minute with his second of the night. After the match, Slaven Belupo decided to sack Mario Gregurina, having lost four of the opening five rounds. His replacement was quickly announced: Silvijo Čabraja is now the head coach of the ‘Farmaceuti’.

Monday saw two games, Hajduk – Lokomotiva and Gorica – Rijeka. The matches were put at the start of the week to give more rest to Hajduk and Rijeka after their European play-offs. Hajduk absolutely demolished Lokomotiva, but the game ended just 2-0 to the Split club. The home side had 28 shots, 13 of which were on target and two of which hit the woodwork. And those good at math would’ve realised that Josip Posavec made ELEVEN saves against his former club.

Michele Šego scored early in the first half as he continued his exquisite form. Marin Šotiček was very proactive throughout the match, trying to net his first goal for Hajduk, but was stopped by Posavec or even the post. Then, in the 55th minute, the winger opened his scoring account in Split against his old team. Hajduk played a brilliant match where the pressure was really off, and it was overall an enjoyable Monday in Split.

Even the home fans gave a big applause to Gonzalo Garcia when he was announced before the match. The fans are finally coming around on their manager. The entire Hajduk team had good or great matches; nobody had an off day, and they all really just looked like they were enjoying life after UECL qualification.

Lokomotiva, on the other hand, looked lifeless. Surprising to me, as the team has enough quality to show something, yet they’ve been disappointing in all of their matches; even in the matches they won, they were only better for very short spells. Jelavić needs to find a fix, as his current formula has provided three straight losses now. And three red cards in those losses! Leon Belcar also received a three-game suspension for diving and getting a second yellow. Crazy when you realise last season Niko Sigur got the same three-game ban for spitting on Stjepan Radeljić.

Oh, and the final game happened in Velika Gorica. The best highlight from the match came before a ball was even kicked, as the floodlights weren’t working at the stadium. The game was consequently delayed for 30 minutes, although, considering the football that was on show, it should’ve been cut short by 30 minutes. Nevertheless, Gorica got their first point of the season.

Kotarski, Ivanušec and Almena Land at Maksimir!

After those matches, deals started coming through left, right and centre. Let’s start with Dinamo Zagreb; I already mentioned that Dominik Kotarski has arrived at the Maksimir. The 26-year-old goalkeeper has arrived on a season-long loan, with Dinamo having an option to outright buy him for €3.3M.

A great goalkeeper, who couldn’t really find his footing in an overall struggling Copenhagen side. Made a few mistakes and just couldn’t string together some good performances. But arriving back in Croatia and joining his boyhood club could give him the confidence and security that he needs to flourish. Certainly the best option to replace Livaković, who got called out by president Zvonimir Boban, saying: “He decided to become Barcelona’s third choice, instead of being Dinamo’s first.”

Dinamo then brought back Luka Ivanušec, who was completely written off by Feyenoord this summer. Since leaving Zagreb, he’s struggled to find his footing in the Netherlands, and over the past two seasons he’s played just 1551 minutes combined between Feyenoord and a loan spell at PAOK last season. ‘Modri’ have brought him back to mainly be a midfielder, but he can also cover on the left wing, which could be needed if Hoxha or Oršić continue to be unremarkable.

On the right wing, Dinamo signed last season’s Hajduk Split fan favourite Iker Almena. The Spaniard had a good spell at Poljud last season, where he showed he’s good at the HNL level, and Dinamo have signed him on loan with an option to buy. Almena also shortly deleted all of his pictures on Instagram involving Hajduk, but has since brought one post back. It’s fair to say Split won’t be very welcoming to the player who waved Torcida goodbye and even got teary-eyed at his last Hajduk game.

Overall, good business by Dinamo this summer; there are still a few more days left to go in the Croatian transfer window, so I’ll leave all the other transfers for another article in a week’s time.

Robert Graf Brings in Reinforcements!

Moving to Hajduk, who have had a hectic Wednesday as they rushed to confirm two signings ahead of the UEFA registration deadline. But before those two, Hajduk announced Khalil Fayad on Tuesday. A versatile midfielder who’s very good on the ball. He’s taken up the number 8, which has been left free as Niko Sigur left for Toulouse in a €4M deal. According to reports and stats, Fayad is a hard worker in defence and has a high tackle volume. But his physicality isn’t great, as he stands at just 172cm (5’8”), so he won’t be winning the majority of his duels.

But thankfully for him, and everybody at Hajduk… drumroll… Hajduk have signed a No. 6! An actual physical defensive midfielder. His name is Leander Dendoncker. A name most football fans should know, especially those fond of the English Premier League. The 31-year-old Belgian has played for Aston Villa, Wolverhampton, Napoli, Anderlecht and Real Oviedo last season. However, he’s coming as a free agent who hasn’t played since February this year. He’ll need time, but he’s exactly what Hajduk have needed for years since Mihael Žaper tore his ACL vs. Rudeš in 2024.

And the final player Hajduk signed just in time to register him for the Conference League is Carlos Martín on a one-year loan from Atlético Madrid. A 24-year-old Spanish forward who can play on both wings and as a striker. From some short research, he looks somewhat similar to Michele Šego, primarily a striker, but has been put on the wings due to his pace and work rate. The forward has failed to impress in his last two loans at Deportivo Alavés (27 games, 2 goals & 2 assists) and Rayo Vallecano (12 games, 0 G/A). Only time will tell how he’ll perform, but a versatile option is always nice to have, especially since Hajduk will now be playing two games a week pretty regularly starting from October.

Forgot to mention it, but Rokas Pukštas was also sold for €5M to Middlesbrough after giving Hajduk a European autumn. A fantastic worker and an example to all those playing for Hajduk now and for future generations.