Photo: Damir Krajac/Cropix
Written by Colin O’ Haravić
Today marked redemption for Domagoj Vida and Dinamo Zagreb. After a blundering mistake by the 23 year-old defender in the first leg in Bulgaria that quite nearly cost them the game, Domagoj Vida scored the game winner for the modri in the 98th minute, sending them into the next qualifying round.
“We fought until the last minute, it was worth it. We were just talking in the locker room and agreed that we would like to thank our fans for their wonderful support, especially as they were with us when it was most difficult; when we were losing.”
– Domagoj Vida
Much of Dinamo’s play in the first half was very unimpressive and frustrated the 25,000 fans in attendance. Several sloppy plays led to turnovers in the midfield that gave Bulgarian side Ludogorec far too many chances to take the lead. A free kick from outside the penalty area gave Ludogorec the lead; and gave Dinamo the wake up call they needed.
The hero of the previous match, Ante Rukavina, opened up the scoring for Dinamo in the 33rd minute. After Ludogorec went ahead in the 13th minute, Dinamo finally stepped up their play and Rukavina headed in a perfect cross sent in from Šime Vrsaljko. The score was short lived as Emil Gargorov took the lead again for the visitors after bringing a ball down with an un-called handball and striking it into the back of the net.
Dinamo was given an advantage when Ludogorec player, Marcelinho, took a blatant dive in the penalty box and received his second yellow of the game in the 57th minute, giving the modri a man advantage that they put to use immediately. Rukavina again tied the match in the 60th minute, giving the purgeri hope once again.
“What matters is only us advancing. Nothing else … We are delighted, no one is happier than we are. Now we wait for Sheriff with whom we have to debts to settle.”
– Ante Rukavina
Dinamo-Ludogorec Goals and Highlights
With the match tied at 2-2 late, and aggregate tied at 3-3, it was crucial for Dinamo to score again to go ahead in the game and avoid a tiebreaker on away goals. Ludogorec players did everything in their power to waste all five extra minutes left in the match. Players went down as if they were shot, and refused to get up. German referee Felix Zwayer called a fair game and added on all time wasted by the Bulgarians, giving Dinamo the added time needed to secure a win.
Both games against Ludogorec were very tough and came down to the final seconds. In no way is that an understatement as Vida picked up the ball in the box amongst all the players and slotted home right before the final whistle to give Dinamo a 3-2 win and a berth into the Champions League third qualifying round, where they will meet Moldovan title holders Sheriff Tiraspol. Sheriff kicked Dinamo out of Champions League two years after a penalty kick shootout.
“That’s our big blue heart. I must congratulate the players on the belief that they can turn a result in Razgrad and here. We had problems in the game. We gave up two goals from set pieces, and it was not easy to play since it was one of the most important games in the last 10 years of the existence of the club. We advanced in the last seconds, and the better team won. We had a dose of luck and I think that it was our match and it opened the path towards our goal – to fight this year for the Champions League.”
-Dinamo coach Ante Čačić
Domagoj Vida- Dinamo Hero in the 98th minute
Wonderful. I’d expect nothing more and nothing less. Another puppet for Mamic, except this time, there’s no speculation as to who he is.
This team needs a leader at least. Kovac has very little experience coaching, but hopefully he can control the team better than Cacic and put some spark into them.
I don’t expect much. Just trying to look on the bright side.
Niko Kovac as a coach is another disaster. No experience. Another big name hire who lacks any experience and could not stand up to Mamic. Then again, that is why he would be hired.
Dinamo will never get a coach with any authority with Mamic there. We saw what happend the last time he hired a coach who had any credibililty….the mujo exploded and went back to France.
Niko Kovac as coach is about as bad as Igot Srimac as national team coach….it’s a hire based on name and reputation and not based on coaching ability.
Absolutely nothing. It would destroy Niko, something very undeserving of our captain
This is what I’ve heard. Couldn’t believe it, and I don’t think I believe it until it happens. Heard he was talking with Mamic today and Cacic’s time is ending. What would this change though?
Colin, are you kidding me?! Wow if that’s true
Word online is Niko Kovac is a Maksimir today and could possibly be taking over for Cacic very soon.
Sure, there are idiots in ZG who look down on people outside of ZG. Just as there are idiots in Dalmacija who look down on anything outside Dalmo country.
The reality is that 98% of all people in those regions get along with each other and this “hatred” is nothing but overblown and over glorified by the uninformed.
I have never seen people from ZG have any trouble down in Dalmacija during the summers months unless they were looking for trouble.
@Ante
Come on… you know it as well as I do that there are those in Zagreb that look down at Dalmacia. Maybe not you but I rather ride my Donkey into the sunset than be one of those high brow
people up there who will run us into ruin. Anyhow, I will stop with this but don’t call us Yugo’s.
8 muntes extra time this give soccer as a sport a bad name guess the bigger name wins because u know if dinamo was playing Milan or Juvy the riff would have blowin his wistle right at he 5 min mark but i guess this is the real fifa the bigger team has to move on i love the game but whne i see things like this its just not right
Uefa has to step in
Ante pusti ih. Elvis, Tony and soccer fan are lil kids bro! just look at the shit they are writting.
Elvis,
Kaj imas protiv Zagreba?
@ Tony
FU you limp wristed EU loving Zagreb poof.
Five minutes from the break and still scoreless…
Scoreless between Hajduk and Skonto after 20 minutes…
The only way to change Croatian soccer is to utterly and completely change the infrastructure. Not just the people but the policies the culture every thing from the ground up the people in Croatia do not know what a simple business transaction entails that is what you have to change. The biggest frustration is that we do have people in the Diaspora but they cannot associate or do business with the criminals who are in Croatian soccer today. It has already been trialed and failed multiple times
@ Tom……….Hajduk got very little for Livaja. I think 150K.
Blame Hajduk for the Livaja mess. He received a better offer and left. Nothing Hajduk can do there, but what they did was almost criminal. They basically did not allow the kid to get his paperwork and he stagnated for almost a year.
if hajduk wants to keep its talented juniors then they need to find a way to compensate them or more will leave. Dinamo at least has recent history on their side showing they can develop players from the youth ranks. So, that keeps many of Dinamo’s juniors in line and not willing to leave because they see that Mamic is able to sell them.
At Hajduk that is not the case. What junior have they developed and sold in recent years. I am drawng a blank. Vukusic will be one, but he seems to be the exception.
How will Livaja be received????? He won’t be. I doubt he even dresses for the game. I doubt he even makes the Inter roster this season. We’ll see. If he somehow does play, he will be booed.
@ Ziva
great for the players now but horrible for the league and domace fans. just depends what side of the coin your looking at.
Here’s my quick fix for soccer worldwide.
When a transfer of a player is made, it must be registered with FIFA and be searchable by anybody with a Commodore 64. There is so much cloak and dagger stuff that goes on with soccer. Transfer where the fee is not disclosed. Player’s salaries not disclosed.
If this all came out in the open – it would be hard for the criminals to plead innocence.
Ziva,
On a slight tangent here… what did Hajduk get for its development of Marko Livaja?
It may be just me, but I’m a bit miffed that this kid — who never played a single game for Hajduk’s senior squad — considers Hajduk to be his club. Had he at least played for a few years — and given the club the opportunity to earn a return on its investment — I would certainly have no hard feelings.
Livaja told UEFA.com: “I told the lads at Inter that Hajduk have the best fans in the world,” Livaja said. “Some of them have heard about the ‘Torcida’ [Hajduk supporters], others will learn very soon.
How do you believe Livaja will be received in Split (should Hajduk not choke later today?)
agreed…..thank god that rule is gone along with the commies. Can you imagine having that rule in N. America and being restricted where you can go work and make a living.
The reason we will never have a great league like it was in the unfortunate jugo days is because the players were not allowed to leave the league until they were about 28 years old. This is why teams like hajduk dinamo zvijezda and partizan had good runs. nothing more and nothing less. I f we held all our talent until the age of 28 we would be doing much better.
Great example — You think Zdravko Mamic is going to step down one day from Dinamo because BBB constantly give him shit and want him out? He knows he’s not well liked by his players, fans and media. But he doesn’t give two shits. He’s in the drivers seat and is just reaping the rewards of the system currently in place.
@Armada……..well said. The current people in charge have benefited with the current state of affairs. The only change that will take place is a change that will line their pockets up even more.
greater good*
Of course the savez doesn’t. Most of the people in power in the HNS prosper of the current system and the way things are currently done. You think they’ll change stuff to benefit the great good of Croatian nogomet?! LOL That would mean losing money and power on their end, which they won’t give up without a fight I’m sure….
The funny thing is we all agree that the current system is broken and have our opinions on how to fix it.
Does the association have the same view that the system is broken?
@ Ziva
I see your sarcasm with the 2 team/4 team HNL proposa. You do know though that to be a UEFA approved league that can participate in CL and EL, you have to have a minimum of 8 teams in your first league, if I’m not mistaken.
A 10 team league will be good for the HNL. Hopefully some more miilionaires/billionaires (like Volpi at Rijeka) buy some of our teams and pump some money into them and HOPEFULLY one day, the current mafia is somehow ousted or their grip on power is weakened.
THEN we might have a respectable league that produces talent, can make a decent signing or two, gives a decent showing in Europe and attracts fans to games.
Of course people have to think outside of the box, but that wont happen with the current leadership structure of the savez and with dinamo and hajduk.
Croatian fans will have no interest in playing top teams from Poland, Czech, etc….none of them have a name that will draw a crowd, especially in a BS competition like a Eastern European Super League. If these were Champions League games or Europa League games then yes, you could get a crowd because you are playing in a meaningful competition. No interest with teams from those countries for anything less.
Medvescak….yes, i agree the guys ruinning them are doing a great job. But, that sport in Croatia is nothing more than a niche sport. They have their die hard followers than can fill a small arena and can occasioanly fill a bigger arena with cheap ticket prices. People in Cro don’t follow top-tier hockey, so watching Medvescak is fun for them. People in Cro watch top-tier soccer, so they are more interested in seeing the top teams and the top competition, not a watered-down product.
@MB13………Hajduk drew that crowd because it was a Europe League qualifier. No chance they would draw 25,000 for a sub-tier competition against a Latvian side.
Plus, any Balkan Super League will have to inlcude the serbs. The other countries will want Partizan and Zvezda because they are big names. So, if the serbs have to be included I want no part of it. Zvezda is the biggest name in the Balkans, they would have to be included by whoever the organizers of this BS competition would be.
I’m OK with having a crap HNL as long as we can continue to produce individual players that can go to bigger and better leagues, which improves our national team. The current HNL is about as good as it will be in the immediate future. Cutting the size of the number of clubs in the first league is a good first step, we just need to get it down to 4.
Exactly!
Good point MB13 and I forgot that old adage, if you’re not growing you’re dying and this league is dying.
Ziva – I’m going to respectfully disagree with you on this point. Croatian club football’s only hope is to get into a Euro Superleague.
The away support issue is a valid one but, in my opinion, is a smaller issue than one of improving the game.
What is Hajduk’s average gate in a typical non Dinamo HNL match? Compare that to them playing Skonto where 25+K made it to the game (Skonto!)… if that is the case, there can be an argument made that they would draw that amount for matches vs. Steau Bucerest, Sparta Prague Debrecen or CSKA Sofia or many other random clubs from Eastern Europe. This increases revenues which increases quality. If the HNL isn’t getting bigger (revenue wise) that means it’s getting smaller and that ship needs to be turned quickly.
The bigger issue is the people running the clubs with their own best interests as their priority rather than the clubs.
A few last things!
Ziva, I didn’t include Serbia for obvious reasons. If fans are banned for upcoming WC qualifiers, we know where a domestic league would take us.
Meddvescak is doing quite well in a similiar set-up in the EBEL which combines teams from CRO, Slovenia and Austria. All their games are sold out….why? It is hockey for God’s sakes in Croatia yet the guys running the Medvjedi are smart operators.
Check out the cool game they are planning in the Arena in Pula in September on their website. Now that is what I call smart, marketing driven business!!!!!
P.S. There is talk that the KHL is talking about expanding west and that Medvescak would be their beachead in a couple years. Again, who would have thought this possible not too long ago?
People have to think outside the box as the current formula is NOT working, that is clear.
Carry on chaps!
Just a thought as ALL media are looking for more content.
Gotta think with proper secuity more fans would rather come out and watch Dinamo and Hajduk play rivals from the top teams in countries like Czech, Poland, etc.
You want more money in the league, drive up revenues. How do you do that? Give the local fans a reason to come to the stadium (clearly people don’t want to pay to watch Dinamo play Istra).
Without ideas all you have is the same drek that exists today. I have not looked to see the number of eyeballs that would be considered a market for this, but I suspect it would be enough to whet the appetite from some media ventures.
P.S. ZV I did not include Russia/Ukraine as their leagues are healthy and their populations large enough to support their own domestic leagues.
Just a thought, but who would have predicted 20 years ago a player from Croatia would ever possibly be sold for 40 million sterling?!?!?!
What is the point of having a Balkan Super League if you as a fan of Dinamo or Hajduk is unable to attend a road match in Beograd against Zvezda or Partizan. Makes no sense.
@Jelic……..Personally, i have no interest in seeing an Eastern European Super League. it would be third-tier.. Plus, no chance the top teams from the Ukraine or Russia would be interested. Their top teams are doing fine and are very respectable in euro play.
An Eastern European Super League would not draw many additional fans in the stands or TV viewers because the public is interested watching the best. I think more people wpuld stay at home watching the EPL or Champions League as opposed to watching Hajduk/Dinamo take on the best teams from Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania.
@JerseyCro agree with your perspective. Can’t really hope for much better.
I would like to see a bit more competition in the domestic league. How you solve that mess though I don’t know. If that can’t be resolved than some kind of Balkan Superleague would be an ideal option 2.
As mentioned by Armada, HNL is the 21st league n Europe, better than half the leagues in Europe…I don’t get what people want. This is about as good as it will get, maybe cracking the top 20, but making the top 15 is impossible for a league like Croatia which has no money.
I mean countries like Poland, Austria, Bulgaria, Sweden, Norway all struggle to get teams into CL…puts it into perspective
LOL @ Hajduk Jugoslavija
In all honesty, even though I can’t stand Hajduk and a good chunk of its fans, I always wish them the best in Europe and any Croatian football fan who doesn’t is just a asshole in my book.
Anytime a Croatian team does well (and racks up coefficients) in Europe, it benefits our entire league and our league ranking in UEFA. Currently, we’re the 21st best league in UEFA. When the days comes where we’re in the teens (wishful thinking) we’ll gain another spot for a team in Europe (if I’m not mistaken) so smaller teams like Rijeka, Osijek, Slaven, etc. have more chances to play in Europe. Hence, it’s always good when a Croatian team wins in Europe.
I’m an optimist generally but also hear you. I still think that smart people could re-build things with the goal of of a pan-
Eastern European super league, the goal of course being capturing tv revenues east of the Adriatic to west of Ukraine/Russia.
Clearly, lots of things would have to change, namely a complete enema of dictators and corrupt officials. Hopefully, entry into the EU will haten this. One can only hope!
Otherwise, can’t get terribly excited in any HNL team winning in the lower qualifying rounds only to be humiliated once again by the real European club teams.
Carry on.
Dinamo and Hajduk will never get back to the day where they can compete for european hardware. What we may get is a freak generation where they can string some good results and not embarass themselves (hajduk in the mid-90s and Dinamo of the late 90s), I wont even mention the pre-war days.
There is no way any of these clubs can keep a young player at home. I have no clue if a player like Badelj is ready for a bigger league, but if he wants to go, you have to let him go. Same thing with all the other younger players. You can’t do anything to keep them together. It is in the clubs financial interest and the players financial interest to move for a bigger pay day.
So, this is what we are left with. Dinamo has the benefit of what is a defcto dictator running the club which allows them to dominate the cro league but not much else. Hajduk is a terrible organization and the results of the last 15 years speak to Hajduk’s instability.
So, will things bet better??????????? For the HNL, no!!!
Just wait until we do enter the EU and the top junior players are free to leave. The top club will poach our juniors. Take a look at Slovenia. It may benefit the national team down the road, but the domestic game is dead. This is about as good as it will get.
Hey Tony, soccerfan was pretty crude there and I’d never use the fag word to describe a Croatian team, but is he wrong really in terms of what will eventually happen?
Dinamo was life and death yesterday to get out of the THIRD qualifying round. Maybe, maybe they squeak by Sherrif in the next round but I think we all know where this is going no?
The HNL is a reflection of the potential results. Sad really, when Dinamo and Hajduk used to really COMPETE back in the day for European hardware.
@ soccer fan, your gays…LOL
Boys got lucky but you need that sometimes.
Tough match-up in the next phase. Pretty sure Sheriff is coached by a Serb and they have a bunch sprinkled throughout their squad.
@tony pavicic. Why be a hater? I back hajduk but any time any of our boys, dinamo included, plays outside prva liga they get my support. Support any Croatian team making an international appearance! In our own house, throw whatever stones u wish. Shameful. @soccerfan u r an idiot.
Ludogorets was a tough draw for this early stage in the CL….BUT, Dinamo have to play better. Ludogorets passed better and looked more prepared. Cacic is not a serious coach, apparently he allowed to players to go on a break in between the Zapresic and Ludogoret games, come on, this isn’t pre-season anymore!
With a serious manager, Dinamo would beat Sheriff without too many issues, but with Cacic it will be another struggle proably coming down to the last minutes again.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EAgtz_2yrs
we where lucky but thats a part of soccer, we only played such a good team because they are new in europe, this was a realy bad draw, Ludogorec is a team in advance so look out for them next years.
sheriff is also the caliber like Ludogorec, but good news is that there have left some good players since 2 years ago.
the other teams did also what the had to do, if hajduk falls to inter and belupo against bilbao its not a shame.
the only hope to see a croatian team in group stage (champions league or europa league) is Dinamo.
soccer fan, or should i say poofter fan, u havnt even got the guts to put up your name. U sound like a hajduk yugoslavia supporter. good on you for being yugoslav, that race needs more poofter gypsies like u.U shld also stop fuking the neigbours goats and go back to ur poverish barn where u live. Fucken idiot.
LOL i this team wont go far lol dinamo is a fag team and even with the help of the ref they still almost lost LOL
mateo Kovasic… where is he >?