Dinamo's Overwhelming Superiority

Ozren Podnar reports from Zagreb

Club season over in Croatia

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Dinamo Zagreb have returned to the top of Croatian soccer after one season in a deep abyss. The 2004/05 the Zagreb Lions failed to qualify for the European competitions for the first time since Croatian independence, in 1991, At the same time, an almost similar squad came back with a vengeance this time around, winning the League title with 11 points more than runner-up Rijeka.

On the other hand, 2005 champions Hajduk Split found themselves in the same place Dinamo had visited a year ago: scrapping at the bottom.

In Croatia, "rock bottom" for either of the Big Two (Dinamo and Hajduk) is a season without a trophy and a place in Europe, not relegation, so Hajduk's fifth place finish for the 2005/06 season fully qualifies for such an epithet.

After using five coaches during the previous season on the way to the all-time lowest seventh place in the Croatian First Division, Dinamo settled for an entirely new coach and - sensationally – he lasted the duration of the season!

The experienced and intelligent Josip Kuze took over the team last summer, having received promises of non-interference from the front office and job security no-matter-what. The club's real boss, vice-president Zdravko Mamic, contributed to the tranquility in the dressing room by abstaining from his usual flamboyant presence and the impact was immediate.

Title Secured in November

Dinamo's team quality came to prominence from early on in the competition, as the Blues ran over the rivals with an ease unseen by the Maksimir faithful since the 1996/97 season.

In the first 14 matches, Kuze's Dinamo slipped just twice, losing away to Osijek 0-1 on the second day and drawing nil-all against Hajduk at home. In the other matches, Dinamo toyed with the opponents like Cibalia (4-0), Rijeka (5-1), Inter (6-0), Zagreb (4-0), Kamen (5-0) or Medjimurje (5-1).

When the Zagreb machine defeated the only decent rival Rijeka away on the 14th day, a 13 point gap was opened on the top and everybody knew that the eighth Croatian title was on the way to Maksimir...and it was just early November of 2005!

Even though Rijeka struck back by winning 2-1 in Zagreb with eight games remaining, Dinamo's advantage never fell below eight points, a cushion soft enough for a stress-free run-in to the title race. In the end, Dinamo celebrated with 76 points, with Rijeka far behind at 65, and Varteks a long, long way back at 47.

Hajduk Split finished fifth, their worst finish ever in the Cro-League, with an amazing 36 points fewer than the team with which they always compare themselves - Dinamo (and vice-versa being true, too).

A Lethal Pair

The season saw 27-year-old Ivan Bosnjak turn into a first-class goal scorer, the best in the League with 22 hits in 27 games. This year also confirmed the class of 23-year old Eduardo da Silva, only behind Bosnjak in effectiveness with 20 goals in 25 appearances.

Josip Kuze, who had coached Dinamo to the second place in the old Yugoslav league in 1990, just behind future European champions Red Star, finally collected his first, well-earned league winner medal in a career spanning 20 years.

Rijeka have gained a decent consolation by clinching the second consecutive Croatian Cup by beating Varteks Varazdin in a lopsided finals decided on away-goals: the Whites from the port city of Rijeka won by 4-0 in the first leg at home, but were thrashed by 1-5 in Varazdin, lucky that the game did not last for a few minutes longer. Rijeka also had in their ranks the best player of the season, attacking midfielder Davor Vugrinec, amazingly left out by coach Zlatko Kranjcar from the squad for the World Cup.

While Dinamo will play in the Champions League second preliminary round, Rijeka and Varteks will try their luck in the UEFA Cup, while the fourth placed Osijek will be content with a run in the Intertoto Cup. In the meantime, Hajduk will have a prolonged summer holiday, which many Croatian fans consider no less than they deserved: in their last appearance in a European tie, Split squad lost to the Hungarian champs Debrecen by 0-3 away and 0-5 at home, the worst defeat for a Croatian team in Europe ever, including the period when it was part of the former Yugoslavia.

Ozren Podnar

Croatian League Champions and Croatian Cup Winners

Season	League	Croatian Cup
1992	Hajduk	Inker Zapresic
1992-93	Dinamo	Hajduk
1993-94	Hajduk	Dinamo
1994-95	Hadjuk	Hajduk
1995-96	Dinamo	Dinamo
1996-97	Dinamo	Dinamo
1997-98	Dinamo	Dinamo
1998-99	Dinamo	Osijek
1999-2000	Dinamo	Hadjuk
2000-01	Hajduk	Dinamo
2001-02	Zagreb	Dinamo
2002-03	Dinamo	Hajduk
2003-04	Hajduk	Dinamo
2004-05	Hajduk	Rijeka
2005-06	Dinamo	Rijeka