History Of Croatian Football
Croatian Football In Communist Yugoslavia
End of World War II and establishment of Communist Yugoslavia saw a lot of football clubs being forbidden to operate and new clubs founded as a homage to Soviet football clubs. This means that clubs like Građanski, HAŠK, Concordia were banned, Hajduk was forced to replace the Croatian coat of arms on its logo with a communist red star, and was forced to remove the adjective
Hrvatski (Croatian) from its name.
Instead new clubs were founded all over Croatia, most notable of them Dinamo Zagreb. Dinamo was founded on 9th June 1945. Most of the Građanski players and even a coach Martin Bukovi joined the new club which took the blue color from Građanski and stadium from HAŠK.
Most of the best players at the time after World War 2 were forced to go to play for Partizan Belgrade. Some of the players that went to Partizan include Stjepan Bobek, Branko Zebec, Zlatko Čajkovski, Franjo Glaser. Stjepan Bobek was a striker. He started his career in Viktorija Zagreb when he was 13. When he was 20 he joined Građanski Zagreb. After WW2 he signed for Partizan Belgrade where he stayed until 1958. For Partizan he played 468 games and scored 403 goals. For Yugoslav NT he played 63 games scoring 38 goals. On 8th June 1947 he set a record of Yugoslav league for the most goals scored in a single match scoring 9 against 14. Oktobar in Niš. In 1995 he was named as best Partizan player of all times.
Branko Zebec was a striker and later in his career midfielder. His main strength was his speed. He started his career in Građanski's youth ranks in 1943. At the end of WW2 he played for smaller teams in Zagreb like Poštar, Milicioner, Borac, Lokomotiva, before going to Partizan in 1951. He stayed in Partizan until 1959 when he signed for Crvena Zvezda. He collected 65 caps for Yugoslavia scoring 17 goals. He is better remembered as a coach. He lead Dinamo Zagreb to the finals of Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1967, but he didn't lead the team in the final. He
coached Bayern Munich with whom he achieved a first double in the history of German football. He also coached VfB Sttutgart, Hajduk Split, HSV, Borussia Dortmund.
Zlatko "Čik" Čajkovski was a tireless midfielder. From 1939 until 1945 he played for Građanski Zagreb. After WW2 he signed for Partizan Belgrade where he stayed until 1955, when he moved to 1. FC Köln. For Croatia he was capped twice, for Yugoslavia he was capped 57 times. He was also a successful coach remembered mostly for brining Bayern Munich into 1. Bundesliga and winning the first German Cup for Bayern Munich.
1945 Yugoslav championship was played as a cup between selections of 6 Yugoslav socialist republics joined by a team of Jugoslavenska Narodna Armija and a team of Vojvodina. In quarter finals Croatian team beaten Bosnia and Herzegovina 6-1 away, but in semi finals they lost to Serbia away 3-1.
1946 Championship was made up of two tiers, however due to a vast number of new clubs, all clubs had to play qualifiers to determine which club will play in which tier. Qualifiers had several stages (yup it was somewhat of a complicated system). City of Zagreb preliminary qualifiers was made up of 2 groups of 8 clubs. Group A was won by Lokomotiva Zagreb, Group B was won by Dinamo Zagreb. Top 4 of each group qualified for the City of Zagreb championship which was won by Dinamo Zagreb who won it on goal difference ahead of Lokomotiva Zagreb. Dinamo Zagred qualified for the final stage of Socialist Republic of Croatia championship, while Lokomotiva Zagreb, Metalac Zagreb, Amater Zagreb and Tekstilac Zagreb went to qualifiers. They were joined there by Dubarava Zagreb who won Zagreb Provincial championship with two wins (1-0 and 8-1) over Borac Zagreb, along with a few other clubs to which i will get to later. City of Osijek championship was won by Jedinstvo Osijek. Championship of Banija was won by Sloboda Sisak who achieved two wins (8-1, 3-0) over Turkulin Petrinja. The 2nd leg though was never finished as the game was canceled in 46th minute and it was registered as a 3-0 win by Sloboda. Sloboda Sisak changed their name to Naprijed Sisak, shortly after the game and under that name they played in Region of Slavonija championship. Slavonija championship was won by Proleter Belisce who qualified for the final stage while beaten in the final Naprijed Sisak went on to playoffs. In City of Karlovac championship Udarnik Karlovac won and qualified for the play offs. In District of Primorsko - Goranska championship Jedinstvo Susak won and qualified for the play offs. District of Varazdin championship was won by Tekstilac Varazdin who qualified for the play offs. Bjelovar won the District of Bjelovar championship which saw them qualify for the play offs. In Region of Dalmatia championship Hajduk Split beaten RSD Split in the two legged final with two wins (2-0, 6-1) and qualified for the final stage together with RSD Split (don't PM me for explanations please I still haven't figured out a lot of things regarding this system). In round 1 of the playoffs Tekstilac Varazdin, Dubrava Zagreb, Naprijed Sisak and Metalac Zagreb won their games but for some reason according to my sources Metalac went directly to final stage while the team they've slaughtered in Round 1 (Jedinstvo Susak) together with other winners went on to Round 2 where Tekstilac Varazdin beaten Dubarava and Jedinstvo Susak beaten Naprijed Sisak. Both winners of Round 2 clashes went on to final round while Dubarava Zagreb played additional qualifiers in which they were beaten in both games by Lokomitiva Zagreb which qualified for the final stage. In the end the final stage was made up of 8 teams and it was played as a league which was won on goal difference by Hajduk Split ahead of Dinamo Zagreb. Those two teams together with 3rd placed Lokomotiva qualified for 1st tier of Yugoslav football. However since parts of Croatia were still under Italian occupation, these parts had their own championship. City of Rijeka champinship was won by Magazzini generali Rijeka ahead of Cantieri Rijeka. Magazzini generali Rijeka went on and merged with a number of clubs to form Kvarner Rijeka which is the name under which they participated in Rijeka/Istria Championship final where they beaten Operaia Pula and qualified for the 1st tier of Yugoslav football. Finally the 1946/47 Yugoslav Championship contained 4 Croatian clubs: Hajduk Split, Dinamo Zagreb, Lokomotiva Zagreb and Kvarner Rijeka. The league made up of 14 clubs was won by Partizan Belgrade 5 points ahead of 2nd placed Dinamo Zagreb. Hajduk finished 4th, Lokomotiva finished 7th and Kvarner Rijeka finished 9th. Since the league was reduced to 10 clubs for 1947/48 championship that meant that Kvarner Rijeka got relegated. Yugoslav cup was also played but there is a lot of information missing and the only one available involves Serbian clubs.
1947/48 championship was made up of 10 clubs, 3 of which were Croatian, Hajduk Split, Dinamo Zagreb and Lokomotiva Zagreb. Dinamo Zagreb won the league with 5 points more than 2nd placed Hajduk Split. Lokomotiva Zagreb finished 4th. In Yugoslav Cup Proleter Osijek was beaten in 1st round by Partizan Belgrade who went on to beat Lokomotiva Zagreb in Quarter Finals and Dinamo Zagreb in Semi Finals. Championship side for Dinamo was: Antolković, Glaser, Brozović, Cimermančić, Dubac, Lešnik, Jazbinšek, Wölfl, Pleše, Lechner, Kokotović and coach Martin Bukovi.
Dinamo Zagreb side from 1947/48 championship
1948/49 championship saw Belgrade clubs take first two spots. Hajduk finished 3rd, Dinamo finished 4th and Lokomotiva finished 8th avoiding relegation by just 1 point. In cup the available information on Croatian clubs says only that Hajduk was knocked out in Quarter Finals by Partizan Belgrade.
1950 championship saw Hajduk win the title without losing a single game. Dinamo Zagreb finished 4th and Lokomotiva Zagreb finished 8th. The league was expanded so Borac Zagreb got promoted. In Yugoslav cup it is known that Dinamo Zagreb reached the finals where they played against Crvena Zvezda the first match on JNA Stadium finished in a 1-1 draw so the replayed game was played again one week later on the same stadium. In the reply Crvena Zvezda won the game 3-0. The championship side for Hajduk was: V.Beara, Lj.Kokeza, B.Broketa, I.Mrcic, E.Katnic, I.Radovnikovic, D.Drvodelic, S.Lustica, S.Krstulovic, F.Matosic, B.Vukas, B.Vidak, K.Arapovic, T.Radovnikovic, V.Andrijasevic, V.Senauer and the coach was Luka Kaliterna.
From that generation one has to dedicate a couple of words to Bernard "Bajdo" Vukas. Bernard Vukas played on a position of left winger and is mostly remembered by extraordinary dribbling abilities. He started his career in the youth ranks of Concordia Zagreb. After WW2 he spent some time in Amater Zagreb before moving to Hajduk Split in 1947. He stayed in Hajduk until 1957 playing 202 games scoring 89 goals. In 1957 he moved to Bologna where he stayed 2 years playing 48 games scoring 2 goals, but his time there is overshadowed by serious illness he picked up. He returned to Hajduk in 1959 and stayed there until 1963 playing 65 games scoring 5 goals. He spent his last days as a football player in Austria playing for Austria Klagenfurt, GAK Graz and KSV Kapfenberg. For Yugoslavia he played from 1948 until 1955 getting 59 caps and scoring 22 goals. In 1953 he played for FIFA's team on Wembley against England in a match to celebrate 90 years of English Football Association. The match ended 4:4 and Vukas had 2 assists and won a penalty. Besides Vukas, Branko Zebec, Vladimir Beara and Zlatko Čajkovski also played in that game.Two years later he featured on the match between Europe and Great Britain played in Belfast where he scored three goals. With Yugoslav NT he won 2 silver medals on Olmypic games and featured on 2 world cups. Counting friendlies as well he played a total of 615 for Hajduk and scored 300 goals. He died on 4th April 1983. In 2000 he was voted by Croatian Football Association as the best Croatian player of all Times, and in the poll by Vecernji List he was voted as the best Croatian athlete of 20th century.
One more important player from this generation is Vladimir Beara. Beara is widely acknowledged as the best Croatian goalkeeper of all times. He played for Hajduk from 1946 until 1955, before moving to Crvena Zvezda in one of the most controversial transfers ever. For Hajduk he played a total of 308 games. He was capped 60 times.
Bernard Bajdo Vukas
1951 championship was made up of 12 clubs, 4 of which were Croatian: Hajduk Split, Dinamo Zagreb, Lokomotiva Zagreb and Borac Zagreb. Crvena Zveda won the title on goal difference ahead of Dinamo Zagreb. Hajduk finished 3rd 3 points behind the leading duo, Lokomotiva Zagreb finished 6th and Borac Zagreb finished 9th. At the end of the season Borac Zagreb merged with a couple of other clubs to form NK Zagreb who played on pitch that once belonged to Concordia Zagreb. In Yugoslav cup Dinamo Zagreb won both legs 2-0 against Vojvodina Novi Sad and lifted the Cup for the first time. Dinamo team that won the Yugoslav cup was: B.Stincic, D.Horvat, Crnkovic, Rezek, I.Horvat, Cizaric, Benko, Sencar, Franjo Wölfl, Željko Čajkovski, Dvornic. Dinamo played in 1951 Mitropa Cup which was the first edition of the tournament after WW2. The tournament had just 4 teams competing and in Semi Finals Dinamo lost 4-1 to Austrian side Wacker. In a match for 3rd place Dinamo won 2-0 against SS Lazio Roma.
1952 championship saw change of format. The league was made up of 12 clubs but these twelve clubs were divided into 2 groups of 6 where every team played each other twice. After these groups were finished top two teams from each group progressed to the title group where they played for the title, bottom two teams from each groups went to relegation group where they played against relegation and the midtable two teams went to center group where they played for...nothing really.
4 clubs in the championship were Croatian: Hajduk Split, Dinamo Zagreb, Lokomotiva Zagreb and NK Zagreb. Hajduk, Dinamo and Lokomotiva all went to the Title group while NK Zagreb went to relegation group. In the end Hajduk won the title 1 point ahead of Crvena Zvezda, whilst Zagreb avoided relegation by 2 points. In Yugoslav Cup out of available information Hajduk got the furthest out of Croatian cup being knocked out in Quarter Finals by Partizan after 5-0 loss. Championship squad for Hajduk was: Beara, Kokeza, Broketa, L. Grčić, Mrčić, Luštica, Senauer, Mladinić, Andrijašević, F. Matošić, Vukas, Katnić, Krstulović, D. Grčić, Arapović, Drvodelić and was coached by Jozo Matošić.
1952/53 championship was played as a league of 12, 4 clubs were Croatian: Hajduk, Dinamo, Lokomotiva and NK Zagreb. In the end Crvena Zvezda won the title 2 points ahead of 2nd placed Hajduk, Dinamo finished 7th, Lokomotiva 8th and Zagreb was relegated having finished in last, 12th, place. In Yugoslav cup Hajduk was beaten in the final by BSK Beograd, while Dinamo was knocked out in Semi Finals.
1953/54 championship was made up of 14 clubs, 3 of which were Croatian, Hajduk, Dinamo and Lokomotiva. Dinamo won the title 1 point ahead of Partizan, Hajduk finished 4th and Lokomotiva finished 11th. NK Zagreb was promoted to 1st tier. In Yugoslav Cup of out available information Hajduk was knocked out in Semi Finals once again by Partizan. The championship side for Dinamo Zagreb was: Majerović, Čonč, Crnković, Osajnak, I. Horvat, Kralj, Dvornić, Strnad, Ž. Čajkovski, Banožić, Benko, Cizarić, Ferković, Lipošinović, Kukec, Šikić, Režek, Mantula and was coached by Ivan Jazbinšek.
Dinamo Zagreb side from 1953/54 championship
1954/55 championship was played between 14 clubs, 4 of which were Croatian: Hajduk Split, Dinamo Zagreb, NK Zagreb and Lokomotiva Zagreb. Hajduk won the title 2 points ahead of Crvena Zvezda, Dinamo finished 3rd, NK Zagreb finished 9th and Lokomotiva was relegated having finished last placed with just 9 points. In Yugoslav cup Hajduk was once again beaten in the finals by BSK Beograd. Championship side for Hajduk was: Beara, Kokeza, Radović, L. Grčić, D. Grčić, Luštica, Rebac, Vukas, Matošić, Vidošević, Senauer, Dadić, Broketa, Krstulović, Bego, Zanetić and was coached by Aleksandar Tomašević. In 1955 Hajduk appeared in 2nd edition of Mitropa Cup after WW2. Hajduk started the competition from Quarter Finals where they were drawn against Hungarian side Vörös Lobogo Budapest which was a temporarily name for MTK. First leg in Budapest Hajduk lost 6-0 and in return leg Hajduk won 3-2.
1955/56 championship once again was played between 14 clubs, 3 of which were Croatian: Hajduk, Dinamo and NK Zagreb. The league was dominated by Belgrade clubs who took first 3 positions. Dinamo was best placed Croatian club finishing 4th, NK Zagreb finished 8th while Hajduk who were the defending champions just barely avoided relegation having finished 12th. The reason for such a downfall is a number of loses Hajduk took two most important of which were Frane Matošić's retirement before the season and Vladimir Beara's transfer to Crvena Zvezda. Lokomotiva Zagreb was promoted to 1st tier of Yugoslav football. The cup wasn't played that year. In 1955 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup was started and the first edition of the cup was played until 1958. Croatia was represented by select team of Zagreb who played in group B with Birmingham City and Internazionale. Zagreb XI finished last in the group suffering 4 defeats in 4 games played with an overall scoreline of 0:9.
1956/57 championship saw participation of 4 Croatian clubs: Hajduk, Dinamo, Zagreb and Lokomotiva. Hajduk finished 3rd, Dinamo finished 5th, Zagreb finished 7th and Lokomotiva finished last 14th which meant their relegation. In the cup the most successful Croatian club was Sibenik who reached Semi Finals where they were beaten by Partizan 7-0. RNK Split was promoted.
1957/58 once again saw participation of 4 Croatian clubs: Hajduk, Dinamo, Zagreb and RNK Split. Since the league was getting reduced to 12 clubs the following year 4 teams (places 11-14) were relegated. Dinamo won the title 4 points ahead of Partizan, Hajduk, who was left without Vukas who transfered to Bologna before the league, finished 9th avoiding relegation on goal difference. RNK Split was relegated finishing 11th with the same number of points as Hajduk, and NK Zagreb finished last. NK Rijeka was promoted. In Yugoslav cup no record of Croatian club's results exist. Championship side for Dinamo was: Režek, Košćak, Lipošinović, Šikić, Hmelina, Matuš, Benko, Šantek, Jerković, Irović, Crnković, Gašpert, Banožić, Čonč, Ferković, Horvat, Hugl, Kolonić, Prelčec and was coached by Gustav Lechner.
Dinamo Zagreb side from 1957/58
1958/59 championship saw participation of 3 Croatian clubs: Hajduk, Dinamo and Rijeka. Dinamo finished 5th, Hajduk finished 7th and Rijeka finished 8th. In Yugoslav cup no record of Croatian club's results exist. Second Inter-Cities Fairs Cup was played from 1958 to 1960 and Croatia was once again represented by select team of Zagreb. This edition was played as a cup and in first round Zagreb XI beaten Ujpesti Dozsa 4-2 at home and suffered a 1-0 loss away which put them through to the 2nd round. In 2nd round Zagreb XI was drawn against Birmingham City and after 1-0 loss away they played a 3-3 draw in Zagreb which wasn't enough to put them through to the semi finals. In 1958/59 Champions Cup Dinamo played Dukla Prague in the 1st round and was eliminated 4:3 on aggregate (2:2, 1:2).
1959/60 championship was made up of 12 clubs, 3 of which were Croatian: Hajduk, Dinamo and Rijeka. Dinamo finished 2nd one point behind the champions Crvena Zvezda, Hajduk finished 5th and Rijeka finished 8th. RNK Split got promoted. Dinamo won Yugoslav cup by beating Partizan 3-2 in the final played on JNA Stadium. The cup winning team for Dinamo was: M.Stojanovic, Sikic, Gaspert, Conc, Crnkovic, Perusic, Liposinovic, D.Jerkovic, Matus, Blazic, Dugandzija. 1960 Mitropa cup was played as a two day tournament where number of clubs from Hungary, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Italy and Austria played. Every club was drawn against one of the clubs from other nations and they played that club twice. Hajduk was the only Croatian club in it and they played Italian side Bologna. Hajduk recorded two wins 3:1 and 1:0.
1960/61 championship saw 4 Croatian clubs participate: Hajduk, Dinamo, Rijeka and RNK Split. Hajduk finished 3rd, 2 points behind champions Partizan, Dinamo finished 4th, Rijeka finished 7th and RNK Split finished 11th thus getting relegated. In Yugoslav cup the most notable story is Varteks Varaždin who reached the finals of the cup but were beaten there by Vardar Skopje 2-1. The final reaching team for Varteks was: Jurec, Crnkovic, Matkovic, Rojnik, Rodik, Krleza, Hrain, Pikl, Pintaric, Sviben, Franceskin. In 1960/61 3rd edition of Inter-Cities Fairs Cup was played and Croatia was once again represented by select team of Zagreb. Zagreb XI was drawn against FC Barcelona in 1st round and after 1-1 draw in Zagreb, they suffered 4-3 defeat in Barcelona. Dinamo Zagreb played in first edition of Cup Winners Cup in 1960/61 the Dinamo started the competition from Quarter Finals where they beaten Czech side Red Star Brno 2:0 on aggregate (0:0, 2:0). In the semi finals they played AC Fiorentina and after 3-0 loss in Firenza, they managed to win only 2-1 in Zagreb which wasn't enough to put them through to the final.
1961/62 championship saw 3 Croatian clubs participate: Hajduk, Dinamo and Rijeka. Dinamo finished 3rd, Hajduk finished 5th and Rijeka finished 8th. In Yugoslav cup Dinamo had most success out of Croatian clubs reaching Semi Finals where they were beaten by later winners OFK Beograd, which is the name BSK Beograd had changed to coupleof years earlier. In 1961/62 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Croatia was represented by Dinamo Zagreb who eliminated Copenhagen XI in first round 9-4 on aggreagte (2-7, 2-2). In the 2nd round Dinamo was drawn against FC Barcelona and after 5-1 defeat away and 2-2 draw at home were eliminated.
1962/63 championship saw an increase to the number of clubs to 14. 3 clubs were Croatian: Hajduk, Dinamo and Rijeka. Dinamo finished 2nd 5 points behind champions Partizan. Rijeka finished 10, and Hajduk 11th both just 3 points from relegation zone. Trešnjevka Zagreb got promoted. In cup both Hajduk and Dinamo reached the finals where Dinamo beaten hajduk 4:1. Cup winning side for Dinamo was: Skoric, R.Belin, Braun, Biscan, V.Markovic, Perusic, Kobescak, Zambata, Matus, Knez, Lamza.
In 1962/63 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Dinamo was drawn against FC Porto in 1st round whom they eliminated after 2-1 win away and 0-0 draw at home. In 2nd round they were drawn against Belgian side Union St-Gilloise. First leg in Zagreb Dinamo won 2-1 but they lost 1-0 in the 2nd leg which meant that a 3rd game had to be played on neutral field. In a game played in Linz Dinamo won 3-2 and progressed to Quarter Finals where they played Bayern Munich. Dinamo won 4-1 in Munich so a 0-0 draw in Zagreb was enough to put them through to Semi Finals. In Semi Finals Dinamo played Ferencvarosi whom they beaten in both legs (1-0 and 2-1) which put them to the final where they were beaten by Valencia 4-1 on aggregate. In first leg in Zagreb Dinamo lost 2-1 after leading 1-0 following Zambata's goal. In return leg in Valencia Dinamo lost 2-0. Dinamo's team who made this impressive run in Europe was: Skoric, Belin, Braun, Biscan, Markovic, Perusic, Kobescak, Zambata, Knez, Matus, Lamza. Dinamo also played in 1962 Mitropa Cup. They played in group A with Spartak Hradec Králové, Juventus Torino and Ferencváros. Dinamo won the group with 4 wins (Juventus at home 2:1, Ferencváros at home 2:0, Ferencváros away 5:1 and Spartak Hradec Králové at home 2:1) and 2 loses (Juventus away 4:1 and Spartak Hradec Králové away 3:2). Following their win of the group in the Semi Finals they faced Bologna winner of Group 3. In two legs Dinamo achived 1-1 draw at home and 2-1 defeat away and were eliminated.
1963/64 championship saw 4 Croatian clubs participate: Hajduk, Dinamo, Rijeka and Trešnjevka. Dinamo finished 3rd 3 points behind champions Crvena Zvezda, Rijeka finished 9th, 3 points from relegation, Hajduk was 10th 2 points from relegation same as Trešnjevka. NK Zagreb got promoted. In cup Dinamo reached finals where they were beaten by Crvena Zvezda 3-0. The most notable result they achieved was their Semi Final win over Partizan by 7-2. In 1963/64 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Croatia was represented by Trešnjevka Zagreb who lost twice in the 1st round to Portuguese side Belenenses, 2-0 and 2-1. Dinamo Zagreb played in Cup Winners Cup where they faced Austrian side Linzer ASK. First leg in Linz finished with Linzer ASK winning 1-0. Dinamo won the 2nd leg in Zagreb 1-0 so the third game had to be played. The third game was played in Zagreb and after extra time the score was 1-1 so the coin toss decided that Dinamo progresses. In 2nd round Dinamo faced Celtic who progressed 4:2 on aggregate (3:0, 1:2).
1964/65 championship saw appearance of 15 clubs. This is due to the fact that Vardar Skopje who finished last the season before was spared relegation due to disasterous earthquake that hit Skopje and only 1 club was relegated whilst two were promoted. That is why i this season only 1 club got relegated. Out of 15 clubs, 5 were Croatian: Hajduk, Dinamo, Rijeka, Trešnjevka and NK Zagreb. Rijeka finished 4th, NK Zagreb finished 6th, Dinamo Zagreb finished 8th, Hajduk finished 12th and Trešnjevka finished 14th avoiding relegation by just 2 points. Dinamo won the cup with 2-1 win over Budućnost Titograd on Stadion Crvene Zvezde. The cup winning team for Dinamo was: Skoric, Ramljak, Mesic, Puljcan, Kasumovic, B.Belin, Piric, Zambata, D.Jerkovic, Matus, Lamza. 1964/65 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup saw NK Zagreb representing Croatia. In the first round Zagreb beat Grazer AK twice (3-2, 6-0) to progress to the 2nd round where they played AS Roma. Following 1-1 draw in Zagreb, Zagreb was beaten 1-0 in Rome and thus was eliminated. Dinamo once again played in Cup Winners Cup. In the first round they faced AEK Athens whom they eliminated after winning the 2nd leg at home 3-0 and thus making up for 2-0 loss in Athens. In 2nd round Dinamo faced Steaua Bucharest and recorded 2 wins (3:1, 2:0) to progress to Quarter Finals where they faced Torino. Following 1-1 draw in Torino, Dinamo lost 2-1 at home and were eliminated.
In 1965/66 championship the league had 16 clubs, 5 of which were Croatian: Hajduk, Dinamo, Rijeka, Trešnjevka and NK Zagreb. Dinamo finished 2nd 8 points behind the champions Vojvodina Novi Sad, Rijeka was 4th, Hajduk was 13th and they avoided relegation due to goal difference, NK Zagreb was 14th and they also avoided relegation due to goal difference whilst Trešnjevka was last, 16th. One has to point out that Hajduk and Trešnjevka were deducted 5 points. Željezničar Sarajevo was deducted 6 points. The reason for these fines is cause before the season began Željezničar goalkeeper Planinić accused the leadership of the club that they sold last season's games versus Hajduk and Trešnjevka. These accusations lead to investigation which resulted in all three teams being relegated, but following an appeal they were reinstated to 1st tier of Yugoslav football and had points deducted from them. In cup Dinamo Zagreb reached finals but were beaten there by OFK Beograd 6-2. In 1965/66 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup NK Zagreb once again represented Croatia. In 1st round they were drawn against Belgian side RFC Liegeois and after 1-0 loss away in the first leg they won 2-0 at home to progress to the 2nd round where they played Romanian side Steagul Rosu Brasov. First leg in Zagreb finished in a 2-2 draw and Zagreb was beaten 1-0 in the 2nd leg. Dinamo played in Cup Winners Cup again. In first leg they faced Atletico Madrid and Dinamo was beaten twice (4:0, 1:0) and eliminated.
1966/67 championship saw number of Croatian clubs reduced to 4 after Trešnjevka got relegated in the previous season. Dinamo finished 2nd 2 points behind the champions Sarajevo, Hajduk was 7th, Rijeka was 11th and Zagreb was 12th. Hajduk won the cup with 2-1 win over Sarajevo in the final. The cup winning team was: Vukcevic, M.Folic, Ristic, Sliskovic, Cuzzi, Boskovic, Musovic, Nadoveza, Feric, Hlevnjak, Obradov. In 1966/67 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Dinamo Zagreb once again represented Croatia. In the first round they were drawn against Czech team Spartak Brno. Following a 2-0 loss in an away game Dinamo won the home game 2-0 and progressed on a coin toss. They played Scottish side Dunfermline Athletic in the 2nd round and were beaten 4-2 in the first away game but after 2-0 win the home leg Dinamo progressed on away goal rule. In 3rd round Dinamo played Romanian side Dinamo Pitesti and after 1-0 win in Romania they played a 0-0 draw at home which put them through to the Quarter Finals where they played Juventus. First leg in Torino finished in a 2-2 draw and in the 2nd leg Dinamo won 3-0 to progress to the Semi Finals where they faced Eintracht Frankfurt. Following a 3-0 loss in Frankfurt, Dinamo managed to progress after 4-0 win after extra time in Maksimir and they played Leeds United in the final. Dinamo won the first leg of the final 2-0 with Cercek and Rora scoring the goals and in the return leg in Leeds they played a 0-0 draw to win the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. The team that won the cup was: Skoric; Gracanin, Brncic, Belin, Ramljak; Blaskovic, Cercek, Piric, Zambata, Gucmirtl, Rora. Dinamo also played in 1966/67 Mitropa Cup. In first round they faced AC Milan whom they've eliminated 1-0 on aggregate (1:0 at home, 0:0 away) to progress to the 2nd round where they were eliminated by Austria Wien 4:3 on aggregate (3:3, 0:1).
Dinamo Zagreb team from 1967
From this team one has to mention couple of players. Zlatko Škorić was a
goalkeeper. Played for Dinamo from 1960 until 1969 when he left for French side Avignon, but he soon leftFrance and signed for Olimpija Ljubljana. He also played for VfB Stuttgart and Bayern Munich.
Mladen Ramljak was a defender. He played in Dinamo from 1962 until 1973 collecting 523 games for Dinamo. From 1973 until 1977 he played for Feyenoord Rotterdam. Remembered as a great technician and great organizer of defence. He died tragically in a car accident near Novska in 1978. Slaven Zambata is a legendary striker. He played a total of 393 games and scored 267 goals for Dinamo. Krasnodar Rora played as a left winger and is remembered for his crosses.
Slaven Zambata
1967/68 championship one again saw 4 Croatian clubs participate in a 16 club league. Dinamo finished 3rd 3 points behind champions Crvena Zvezda, Hajduk finished 4th, Zagreb 10th and Rijeka finished last. However no one was relegated due to league expansion to 18 clubs. In the cup no record about Croatian club's results exist. In 1967/68 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Dinamo Zagreb came in looking to defend their title. In the 1st round they played Romanian side Petrolul Ploiesti whom they've beaten 5-2 on aggregate (5:0, 0:2). In 2nd round they faced Italian side Bologna and after 0-0 draw away, Dinamo lost 2-1 at home and were eliminated. Hajduk played in Cup Winners Cup. In 1st round they were drawn against Tottenham Hotspurs who managed to won both games (2:0 in Split, 4:3 in London) and eliminate Hajduk.
1968/69 championship also had 4 Croatian clubs. Dinamo finished 2nd 3 points behind champions Crvena Zvezda, Hajduk finished 6th, Zagreb finished 15th and Rijeka finished 17th thus getting relegated. In cup Hajduk and Dinamo reached the final. The first leg finished in a 3-3 draw and Dinamo won the 2nd leg 3-0 thus winning the cup. Cup winning side for Dinamo was: Dautbegovic, Cvek, Brncic, Gracanin, R.Belin, Ramljak, Blaskovic, Cercek, Novak, Piric, Zambata, Gucmirtl, Rora, Vabec. In 1968/69 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Dinamo faced AC Fiorentina in the 1st round and after 1-1 draw in Zagreb they were defeated 2-1 in Firenza. Hajduk played in Mitropa Cup and were eliminated in the first round by Czech team Baník Ostrava 5:3 on aggregate (4:1 away, 2:1 at home).
Also in 1969 Dinamo changed their logo to the one which resembles the logo Građanski had.
NK Dinamo logo
1969/1970 championship had just 3 Croatian clubs. Dinamo finished 6th, Hajduk finished 7th and Zagreb finished last thus getting relegated. In cup no record of Croatian club's results exists. In 1969/70 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup NK Zagreb represented Croatia and they played Belgian side RSC Charleroi in the 1st round. Zagreb lost both legs (2:1 and 3:1) and were eliminated. Dinamo played in Cup Winners Cup. First round saw them go up against Slovan Bratislava who were eliminated following 3-0 win at home and 0-0 draw away. In 2nd round Dinamo faced Olympique Marseille. Following 1-1 draw in Marseille, Dinamo won the game in Zagreb 2-0 andprogressed to the Quarter Finals. Their opponents in Quarter Finals were Schalke who won both games (3:1 and 1:0). Hajduk played in Mitropa Cup and in the first round they eliminated Italian team Brescia 3:1 on aggregate (3:1 at home, 0:0 away), but were eliminated in the 2nd round by Slavia Praha on away goals. First leg in Prague finished 1:1 and the return leg in split finished 2:2.
In 1970/1971 championship Croatia had just 2 clubs: Hajduk and Dinamo. Hajduk won the title after 16 years, whilst Dinamo finished 3rd. The championship team for Hajduk was: Vukčević, Ristić, Lemešić, Buljan, Vardić, Holcer, Ivković, Hlevnjak, Jerković, Gluić, Pavlica, Džoni, Sirković, Zrilić, Vukman, Slišković and was coached by Slavko Luštica In cup no record of Croatian club's results exist. In 1970/71 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup two Croatian clubs played, Hajduk and Dinamo. In the 1st round Hajduk faced Slavia Sofia whom they eliminated 3:1 on aggregate (3:0, 0:1) whilst Dinamo faced Portuguese Barreirense whom they've beaten 6:3 on aggregate (0:2, 6:1). In the 2nd round Dinamo faced HSV whom they eliminated 4-1 on aggregate (4:0, 0:1) whilst Hajduk was eliminated at the hands of Portuguese side Vitória Setúbal 3:2 on aggregate (2:0, 1:2). In third round Dinamo faced Twente from Netherlands and was eliminated 3:2 on aggregate (2:2, 0:1).
1971/72 championship Croatia once again had only 2 participants, Hajduk and Dinamo. Dinamo finished 8th and Hajduk finished 10th. In cup Hajduk and Dinamo reached the final and Hajduk won the cup after 2-1 win. The cup winning side was: Ante Sirković, Vilson Xhoni, Ivan Hlevnjak, Dragan Holcer, Ivan Buljan, Miroslav Bošković, Mićun Jovanić, Dražen Mužinić, Petar Nadoveza, Jurica Jerković, Ivica Šurjak was was coached by Tomislav Ivić. Hajduk Split played in 1971/72 champions cup. In first round they played against Valencia and after 0:0 draw away and 1:1 draw at home Valencia progressed due to away goal rule. In UEFA Cup Dinamo played against Bulgarian team Botev Vratza whom they easily eliminated 8:2 on aggregate (6:1, 2:1). In the 2nd round they faced Rapid Vienna. The first leg in Zagreb finished 2:2, the 2nd leg in Vienna finished 0:0 and Dinamo was eliminated due to away goal rule.
Players from this Hajduk team that deserve a metion are Petar Nadoveza, Ivica Šurjak, Ivan Buljan and Jurica Jerković. Petar Nadoveza is a striker who played 460 games for Hajduk scoring 296 goals which makes him the 5th best scorer in the history of Hajduk. He also coached Hajduk later in the 80ties and 2000's. His biggest success as a coach is leading Hajduk to the Semi Finals of UEFA Cup.
Ivica Šurjak started his career as a left winger, but he evolved to be a universal player which could play in defense, midfield and attack. In the 70ties he was one of the most modern and most wanted players in the world. He played for Hajduk from 1971 until 1981 playing 272 games scoring 52 goals. In 1981 he moved to Paris Saint Germain where he stayed just one season at the end of which he had offer from Real Madrid but he chose Udinese instead. In Italy he stayed 2 years before moving to Real Zaragoza where he ended his careeer in 1985. He was capped 54 times scoring 10 goals.
Ivan Buljan was a defender. He played for Hajduk until 1967 to 1977 when he moved to HSV which was one of the strongest clubs in Europe at the time. He finished his career in New York Cosmos. He was capped 36 times scoring 2 goals.
Jurica Jerković was a playmaker who played a total of 529 games for Hajduk scoring 219 goals. After spending 10 years in Hajduk he moved to Zürich for whom he played 204 games scoring 54 goals. He was capped 43 times scoring 6 goals.
Ivan Buljan
Jurica Jerković
Ivica Šurjak
1972/73 championship once again had only 2 Croatian clubs. Dinamo finished 8th and Hajduk finished 9th. NK Zagreb got promoted to 1st tier. For promotion Zagreb played NK Osijek in a two legged thriller and progressed only after penalties. The 2nd leg which was played on Maksimir stadium still holds the record attendance for any football match played in Croatia by attracting 64138 spectators. The Zagreb team which many believe was playing the most beautiful football in Yugoslavia at the time was: Horvat, Gašparini, Tucak, Antolić, Ivanišević, Lipovac, Markulin, Čopor, Hušidić, Močibob, Rukljač, Smolek, Bakota. In the cup Hajduk won their 2nd consecutive cup in a final with Crvena Zvezda. The first match in Split finished in a 1-1 draw and in the 2nd leg Hajduk won in Belgrade 2-1. The cup winning team was: Ivan Katalinić, Luka Peruzović, Rozic, Dragan Holcer, Ivan Buljan, Muzinic, Slaviša Žungul, Jovanić, Vilson Xhoni, Branko Oblak, Jurica Jerković, Surjak and was coached by Tomislav Ivić.
Hajduk played in Cup Winners Cup. First round they faced Norwegian team Fredrikstad FK whom they eliminated with two 1-0 victories. In 2nd round they faced Welsh side Wrexham. After 3-1 loss away and 2-0 win at home Hajduk progressed on away goals to the Quarter Finals where they faced Scottish side Hibernian. After away loss 4-2 Hajduk managed to win 3:0 in Split and qualify for the Semi Finals where they played against Leeds United. Hajduk lost the first game in Leeds 1-0 and was unable to get anything more than 0-0 draw in Split so Hajduk was eliminated. Dinamo played in 1972/73 Mitropa Cup. They were in Group B with Hungarian Tatabányai Bányász and Italian Bologna. Dinamo finished 2nd with 2 wins (Tatabányai Bányász away and Bologna at home), 1 draw (Bologna away) and 1 loss (Tatabányai Bányász at home).
1973/74 championship saw Hajduk, Dinamo and Zagreb participate of Croatian clubs. Hajduk won the title on goal difference ahead of Velez Mostar, Dinamo finished 7th and Zagreb got relegated finishing last. Rijeka got promoted. Hajduk also won the cup after 1-0 win over Borac Banja Luka. The double winning team for Hajduk was: Mešković, Bošković, Džoni, Boljat, Peruzović, Holcer, Buljan, Ivković, Hlevnjak, Nadoveza, Žungul, Katalinić, Jerković, Obilinović, Šurjak, Rožić and was coached by Tomislav Ivić. Despite winning Yugoslav Cup the season before Hajduk didn't participate in Cup Winners Cup but Dinamo did. In first round they faced AC Milan who won both games (3:1, 1:0).
From this team which is considered as Hajduk's golden generation, one has to mention a couple of names. Slaviša Žungul is a legendary striker who played a total of 303 games for Hajduk scoring 176 goals. Besides as a striker he also could play as a right winger. After Hajduk he went to USA to play for Golden Bay Earthquakes before devoting to indoor football. In USA he's known as Steve Zungul. One non football related fact is that famous Croatian basketball player Toni Kukoć wore a shirt with number 7 in every club he's ever played for because Slaviša Žunglu his childhood idol wore the shirt with number 7 in Hajduk.
Ivan Katalinić was a goalkeeper. He played a total of 250 games for Hajduk before moving to Southampton where he played 48 games in 3 seasons. Later he was a coach and his biggest success was leading Hajduk to the Quarter Finals of Champions League and winning a double in the same year.
Dragan Holcer was a mastermind of Hajduk's defence. Born in German concentation camp he started his career in Radnički Niš when he was 16. After 6 years in Niš he moved to Hajduk where he played 215 league games. In 1975 he moved to VfB Sttutgart where he played 179 bundesliga games. He ended his career in Schalke 04. He was capped 52 times.
Born in Split, Vilson Džoni was a fullback who's biggest weapon was his speed. He played for both Hajduk and Dinamo. He spent 10 years in Hajduk playing a total of 207 league games. From Hajduk he movedto Dinamo Zagreb where he spent just 1 year before going to Schalke 04. He is considered to be in the best XI of all times in both Hajduk and Dinamo.
A coach of this generation was Tomislav Ivić. Tomislav Ivić is one of the most respected Croatian coaches. He coached Hajduk, Dinamo, Ajax, Porto, Benfica, Atletico Madrid, Olimpique Marseille, Panathinaikos, PSG, Fenerbahce and Anderlecht among others. He won a total of 15 major trophies. He's one of the most successful managers in the history of football.
Dragan Holcer with the cup 1973
1974/75 championship had Hajduk, Dinamo and Rijeka out of Croatian clubs. Hajduk won the title with 3 points ahead of Vojvodina Novi Sad, Dinamo finished 5th and Rijeka finished 14th avoiding relegation by 3 points. The championship team was: Mešković, Džoni, Rožić, Boljat, Peruzović, Holcer, Buljan, Žungul, Mužinić, Jerković, Šurjak, Katalinić, Šimunić, Jovanić, Jurišić, Gluić and was coached by Tomislav Ivić. The cup wasn't played. Hajduk played in Champions Cup. In first round their opponents were Icelandic team IBK Keflavik whom Hajduk easily eliminated 9:2 on aggregate (7:2, 2:0). In 2nd round they faced French side Saint-Etienne and after 4-1 win in Split Hajduk screwed it all up with 5-1 loss away and was eliminated. Rijeka played in Mitropa Cup. They were in group A with Wacker Innsbruck and Tatabányai Bányász. Rijeka finished last with just 1 point from 4 games.
1975/76 championship saw Hajduk finish 2nd 5 points behind champions Partizan Belgrade, Dinamo was 3rd and Rijeka was 11th 3 points awayfrom relegation zone. NK Zagreb got promoted. In cup Hajduk won the cup once again by beating Dinamo 1-0 after extra time. The cup winning team was: Ivan Katalinić, Luka Peruzović, Mario Boljat, Šime Luketin, Ivica Buljan, Vedran Rožić, Vilson Džoni, Slaviša Žungul, Dražen Mužinić, Željko Mijač, Vančo Balevski, Jurica Jerković, Ivica Šurjak and was coached by Tomislav Ivić. Hajduk played in Champions from Malta. Hajduk won both legs (5:0, 3:0) and progressed to the 2nd round where they faced Belgian side RWD Molenbeek. Once again Hajduk won both legs (4:0, 3:2) and progressed to Quarter Finals where they played PSV Eindhoven. after 2-0 win in Split, Hajduk lost 3-0 after extra time in Eindhoven and was eliminated. Dinamo played in 1976 Balkans Cup. They were in Group B with Dinamo Tiranë and Ethnikos (Piraeus). After winning the group with 3 wins and 1 loss they went to final where they faced Sportul studentesc Bucuresti. Dinamo won the first leg in Zagreb 3-1 and lost in Romania 3-2 which was still enough for Dinamo to win the title.
1976/77 championship saw Dinamo finishing 2nd 9 points behind champions Crvena Zvezda, Rijeka finished 5th, Hajduk finished 8th and Zagreb finished 10th. Osijek got promoted after 3 losing in 3 previous qualification attempts. In cup Hajduk retained their title after beating Budućnost Titograd 2-0. The cup winning side was: Ivan Katalinić, Marin Kurtela, Zoran Vujović, Mario Boljat, Šime Luketin, Luka Peruzović, Vedran Rožić, Slaviša Žungul, Dražen Mužinić, Boriša Đorđević, Davor Čop, Stipan Nikolić, Ivica Šurjak and was coached by Tomislav Ivić. Hajduk played in Cup Winners Cup. First round they eliminated Belgian side Lierse SK 3:1on aggregate (1:0, 0:3). In the 2nd round they faced Atletico Madrid and Hajduk lost both legs, 1-0 in Madrid and 2-1 in Split and were eliminated. Dinamo played in UEFA Cup. In first round they played Romanian side ASA E'mures Tirgu Mures whom they beaten twice (1:0, 3:0) to progress to the 2nd round where they faced 1.FC Magdeburg. Magdeburg won 4:2 on aggregate (2:0, 2:2) and eliminated Dinamo.
1977/78 championship had 5 Croatian participants: Hajduk, Dinamo, Rijeka, Osijek, Zagreb. Hajduk finished 3rd, Dinamo 4th, Rijeka 5th. Osijek was 13th avoiding relegation by 2 points and Zagreb who was 15th avoided relegation by just 1 point. Rijeka won the cup by beating Tepča Kosovska Mitrovica 2-0 in the finals. The cup winning side for Rijeka was: Radojko Avramović, Sergio Makin, Miloš Hrstić, Nikica Cukrov, Zvijezdan Radin, Srećko Juričić, Salih Durkalić, Milan Radović, Zoran Šestan, Miodrag Kustudić, Milan Ružić, Damir Desnica and was coached by Dragutin Spasojević. Hajduk played in Cup Winners Cup. In first round they faced Irish side Dundalk whom they eliminated 4:1 on aggregate (1:0, 0:4). In 2nd round Hajduk faced Hungarian Diosgyori VTK after losing the away leg 2:1, Hajduk won 2:1 at home and eliminated Hungarians after penalty shootout. In Quarter Finals Hajduk faced Austria and was eliminated on penalties after two 1-1 draws. Dinamo played in UEFA Cup and in 1st round they eliminated Olympiakos Pireus by 6:4 aggregate win. Dinamo lost the first leg away 3:1 but won the home game 5:1 and progressed. In 2nd round they faced Torino and after 3:1 loss away Dinamo managed to win just 1:0 at home which wasn't enough to progress. Rijeka played in 1978 Balkans Cup. They were in Group B with Skënderbeu Korçë and Aris Thessaloniki. Rijeka won the group with 3 wins and 1 loss and went to the finals where they played Jiul Petrosani. After 1-0 loss away Rijeka won 4-0 at home and won the tournament.
From the Rijeka team that won the cup one has to give a mention of Damir Desnica. He's unique because he was deaf and numb since bith. He played on a position of left winger and is remembered as a fast player of good dribbling abilities. He got one cap for Yugoslavia.
1978/79 championship had the same 5 clubs representing Croatia. Hajduk won the title on goal difference ahead of Dinamo Zagreb. Rijeka finished 10th, Osijek 13th avoiding relegation by 1 points whilst Zagreb finished 17th thus getting relegated. Rijeka retained the cup in a two legged final against Partizan Belgrade. After 1-0 win at home in the first leg, Rijeka managed to get a 0-0 draw from the away leg in Beograd. The cup winning team was: Radojko Avramović, Sava Filipović, Miloš Hrstić, Nikica Cukrov, Zvijezdan Radin, Srećko Juričić, Dragoljub Bursać, Sergio Makin, Darko Peranić, Edmond Tomić, Milan Ružić, Edin Jasprica, Ive Jerolimov and was coached by Marijan Brnčić. Hajduk's championship winning side was: Budinčević, Zo. Vujović, Boljat, Luketin, Primorac, Rožić, Zl. Vujović, Peruzović, Mužinić, Boriša Đorđević, Šurjak, Žungul, Jovanić, Krstičević, Katalinić, Šalov and was coached by Tomislav Ivić. Rijeka played in Cup Winners Cup. First round faced them against Welsh side Wrexham. Following 3-0 home win and 2-0 away defeat Rijeka progressed to the 2nd round where they faced Beveren. Beveren got a 0-0 draw from Rijeka and won their home game 2-0 to knock Rijeka out. Hajduk played in UEFA Cup. In first round they played Rapid Vienna whom Hajduk eliminated 3:2 on aggregate (2:0, 1:2). In 2nd round Hajduk faced Arsenal. After 2:1 win at home Hajduk lost 1:0 in London and was thus eliminated on away goal rule. Rijeka also played in 1979 Balkans Cup. They werein group with Partizani Tiranë and Ioannin. Rijeka won the group with 3 wins and 1 defeat to enter the final again. They faced Sportul studentesc Bucuresti who won their home game 2:0 and got a 1:1 draw in Rijeka.
Hajduk Split team from 1979/80
In 1979 Hajduk left their old Stadium known then as "Kod Stare Plinare" and made "Poljud" their new home.
Poljud Stadium
1979/80 championship had 4 Croatian clubs: Hajduk, Dinamo, Rijeka and Osijek. Hajduk finished 5th, Rijeka was 10th, Dinamo 12th avoiding relegation by just 1 point and Osijek got relegated. Zagreb got promoted. Dinamo won the cup in a two legged final against Crvena Zvezda. Dinamo won the first leg 1-0 and played 1-1 draw in return leg on Stadion Crvene Zvezde. The cup winning team was: Tomislav Ivković, Marin Kurtela, Branko Tucak, Ismet Hadžić, Dragan Bošnjak, Srećko Bogdan, Džemal Mustedanagić, Rajko Janjanin, Zlatko Kranjčar, Marko Mlinarić, Mario Bonić, Stjepan Deverić, Milan Ćalasan and was coached by Vlatko Marković. Hajduk played in Champions cup. In first round they eliminated Turkish side Trabzonspor with two 1-0 wins. In the 2nd round they faced Danish side Vejle BK whom Hajduk eliminated 4:2 on aggregate (3:0, 1:2) and entered the Quarter Finals where they played HSV. Following 1-0 defeat in Hanburg, Hajduk and HSV played a classic in Split which Hajduk won 3-2 but still went out on away goals. Rijeka played in Cup Winners Cup. In first round they played Belgian team Beerschot VAV whom they've beaten 2:1 on aggregate (0:0, 2:1). In the 2nd round they faced Czech side Lokomotiva Kosice. After 2-0 defeat in Kosice, Rijeka won 3-0 on Kantrida and progressed to Quarter Finals where they faced Juventus. Rijeka got a 0-0 draw on Kantrida and was beaten 2-0 in Torino so they were eliminated. Dinamo Zagreb played in UEFA Cup but were eliminated in the first round by Perugia 1:0 on aggregate (1:0, 0:0)
1980/81 championship saw Hajduk finishing 2nd just 2points behind champions Crvena Zvezda. Dinamo was 5th, Rijeka 7th and Zagreb 16th avoiding relegation by just 1 point. Osijek got promoted. In cup most notable result a Croatian club achieved was Dinamo Zagreb who reached Semi Finals. Dinamo played in Cup Winners Cup. In first round they played SL Benfica and after a 0-0 draw in Zagreb, Dinamo lost 2-0 in Lisabon and was eliminated. NK Zagreb played in Mitropa Cup. In a group with Czech Tatran Presov, Hungarian Csepel SC and Italian Como, Zagreb finished last with just 1 win (Como at home), 1 draw (Csepel SC away) and 4 defeats.
1981/82 saw Dinamo winning the title after 24 years. They won the title with 5 points more than Crvena Zvezda and Hajduk who came in 2nd and 3rd. Rijeka was 12th, Osijek was 16th and Zagreb finished last getting relegated. Dinamo Vinkovci got promoted. Dinamo failed to win a double as they were beaten in cup final by Crvena Zvezda. After 2-2 draw in first leg in Zagreb, Dinamo lost 4-2 in Beograd. The championship side for Dinamo was: Marko Mlinarić, Marijan Vlak, Snježan Cerin, Petar Bručić, Dragan Bošnjak, Džemal Mustedanagić, Velimir Zajec, Zvijezdan Cvetković, Milivoj Bračun, Stjepan Deverić, Zoran Panić, Zlatko Kranjčar, Ismet Hadžić, Emil Dragičević, Zlatan Arnautović, Borislav Cvetković, Željko Hohnjec, Marin Kurtela, Drago Dumbović, Milan Ćalasan, Zvonko Marić, Branko Devčić, Mladen Munjaković, Radimir Bobinac, Davor Braun, Čedomir Jovičević, Edward Krnčević and was coached by Miroslav "Ćiro" Blažević. Hajduk played in UEFA Cup and in first round they faced German VfB Stuttgart. Hajduk won the first leg 3-1 in Poljud and played 2-2 draw in the 2nd leg and progressed to the 2nd round where they played Belgian SK Beveren. Following an away 3-2 win, Hajduk lost 2-1 at home but still progressed on away goal rule. In third round Hajduk faced Valencia and following a 5-1 away defeat, Hajduk won 4-1 at home which wasn't enough to eliminate the Spanish side. Osijek played in Mitropa Cup. In a group with AC Milan, Czech TJ Vítkovice and Hungarian Haladás (Szombathely) Osijek finished 3rd with 1 win (Haladás (Szombathely) at home), 2 draws (Milan at home and TJ Vítkovice at home) and 3 defeats.
1981/82 Dinamo Zagreb side
Out of this team players that one has to mention are Stjepan Deverić, Velimir Zajec, Zlatko Kranjčar, Marko Mlinarić and Marijan Vlak.
Stjepan Deverić was a striker. For Dinamo he played 345 games scoring 158 goals. In 1984 he made a controversial moveto Hajduk Split where he stayed 3 years scoring 42 goals in 114 games, after which he returned to Dinamo. For Yugoslavia collected 6 caps scoring 5 goals. Marijan Vlak was a goalkeeper who spent his entire career in Dinamo. Zlatko Kranjčar was a striker who 556 games for Dinamo scoring 98 goals. He also played for Rapid Wien for which he scored 106 goals in 201 games. He collected 11 caps for Yugoslavia scoring 3 goals and 2 caps for Croatia scoring 1 goal. He was also the captain of Croatian National Team in the friendly against United States of America on 17th October 1990, which many, wrongfully, depict as first international match of Croatian National Team.
Velimir Zajec was a defender. He spent 10 years in Dinamo before transfering to Panantinaikos in 1984. He had a very successful career in Greece getting more than 100 games for Panantinaikos. He was a captain of Yugoslav Nationa Team for which he collected 40 caps.
Marko "Mlinka" Mlinarić is one of the biggest players in Dinamo's history. He played 613 games and scored 174 goals for Dinamo. He played as a striker but he was a playmaker. Outstanding technical ability and vision is what he's remembered for. For Yugoslavia he collected 17 caps scoring once, for Croatia he got just 1 cap. Besides Dinamo, he also played for Auxerre, Cannes and Segesta Sisak.
Zlatko Kranjčar
Marko Mlinarić
1982/83 saw Partizan winning the title 2 points ahead of Hajduk and Dinamo Zagreb who came in 2nd and 3rd. Dinamo Vinkovci finished 12th, Rijeka finished 15th and Osijek finished 16th. Dinamo Zagreb won the cup following a 3-2 win over Sarajevo. The cup winning side was: Marijan Vlak, Ante Rumora, Zvijezdan Cvetković, Ismet Hadžić, Mladen Munjaković, Srećko Bogdan, Zlatan Arnautović, Snježan Cerin, Zlatko Kranjčar, Edward Krnčević, Marko Mlinarić, Borislav Cvetković, Velimir Zajec and was coached by Miroslav "Ćiro" Blažević. In Champions Cup Dinamo Zagreb faced Sporting Lisabon in first round. Dinamo won the first, home, game 1-0, but they've lost 3-0 in the return leg and were eliminated. In UEFA Cup Hajduk started against Zurrieq from Malta whom Hajduk eliminated with 2 convincing wins (1-4, 4-0). In 2nd round Hajduk faced French side Girondins de Bordeaux. First leg finished with 4-1 win by Hajduk, but in the return leg Hajduk was beaten 4-0 and eliminated.
1983/84 saw Rijeka finising 4th, Hajduk finishing 5th, Osijek finishing 6th. Dinamo Vinkovci finished 11th and Dinamo Zagreb managed to avoid relegation by 3 points finishing 12th. Hajduk won the cup after a two legged final versus Crvena Zvezda. Following 2-1 win on Poljud, Hajduk played a 0-0 draw in Beograd and won the title. The cup winning team was: Zoran Simović, Zoran Vulić, Šušnjara, Ćelić, Xhevat Prekazi, J.Cop, Rožić, Zlatko Vujović, Blaž Slišković, Zoran Vujović, Šalov, Ive Jerolimov and was coached by Petar Nadoveza. In Cup Winners Cup Dinamo Zagreb faced once again a team from Portugal, FC Porto. Dinamo won the home leg 2-1 but way beaten in the return leg 1-0 and was eliminated on away goals. In UEFA Cup Hajduk played against Romanian side Universitatea Craiova. Hajduk lost the first leg away 1-0, won the 2nd leg 1-0 and progressed after penalty shootout. In 2nd round Hajduk played against Hungarian side Budapesti Honvéd. Hajduk lost the first leg away 3-2,but won 3-0 at home and passed through. In third round Hajduk faced Radnicki Niš. Hajduk won both games 2-0 and passed through to the Quarter Finals where they played Czech team Sparta Praha. Hajduk lost the away game 1-0, but won the return game 2-0 after extra time and passed through to the Semi Finals. Their opponents there were Tottenham Hotspur. Hajduk won the first game at home 2-1. Two memorable moments from this game is the rooster Torcida slaughtered in the center circle in the half time and Torcida's legendary banner
"Ća je pusta Londra kontra Splitu gradu". However Hajduk was beaten 1-0 in London and eliminated on away goal rule. The team that had this run in Europe was: I.Pudar, Z.Vulic, G.Susnjara, I.Gudelj, S.Andrijasevic, D.Cop, V.Rozic, B.Sliskovic, J.Jankovic, D.Celic, I.Jerolimov, N.Salov, D.Pesic, J.Cop, D.Drazic, Z.Simovic and was coached by Petar Nadoveza.
Out of this team one has to mention Blaž "Baka" Slišković. A Croat from Bosnia and Herzegovina he started his career in Velež Mostar before moving to Hajduk. He played as a playmaker and is remembered as a player of outstanding technique and great vision, but also as a very unprofessional and somewhat lazy player. He played for Hajduk from 1981 until 1986 playing 101 league games scoring 23 goals. From Hajduk he moved to Olimpique Marseille where in 1986/97 season he played 29 league games scoring 6 goals. He also played for Pescara, Lens, Mulhouse, Rennes, Hrvatski Dragovoljac and Zrinjski Mostar, but many believe that due to his unprofessional lifestyle he never achived the career he was capable of.
Ivan Gudelj was a midfielder. He was a two way player that could contribute both in defense and attack. On 1979 European Youth Championship he was voted as the best player and was predicted a great career however he had to terminate career aged 26 due to Hepatitis B. For Hajduk he played 175 league games scoring 34 goals. For Yugoslavia he got 33 caps scoring 3 goals.
Zoran Vulić was a midfielder but he could also play in defense. He is remembered as a player of good technique. For Hajduk he played 417 games scoring 84 goals. Besides Hajduk, he also played for RCD Mallorca, then for FC Nantes Atlantique. For Yugoslavia he had 25 caps scoring 1 goal, and for Croatia he had 3 caps.
Ivan Gudelj
1984/85 saw Sarajevo win the title 4 points ahead of 2nd placed Hajduk. Dinamo Zagreb came in 6th, Rijeka came in 8th, Osijek 12th and Dinamo Vinkovci 14th. Dinamo lost the cup final to Crvena Zvezda, following a 2-1 loss on Maksimir they were unable to get anything more than a 0-0 draw from return leg in Beograd. In Cup Winners Cup Hajduk played Dinamo Moskva in the first round and was eliminated with 2 defeats (1:0, 5:2). In UEFA Cup Rijeka played Real Valladolid in the first round. Rijeka lost the away leg 1-0, but in the return game they won 4-1 and went to 2nd round where they faced Real Madrid. Rijeka won the first game 3-1 at home, but was beaten 3-0 in Madrid and eliminated. The 2nd leg however was a highly controversial one as Rijeka had three players sent off and Real took the lead in 67th minute after a controversial penalty was awarded to Real. Most controversial red card was the one given to Damir Desnica. Desnica was sent off cause he collected two yellow cards, first one after continuing the game after the ref had already stopped it and the 2nd one because he allegedly insulted the referee. This all was highly controversial as Damir Desnica had been deaf and numb since birth.
The 1985/86 championship was controversial one as the Yugoslav Football Federation lead by Slavko Šajber decided to reply the entire last round due to alleged match fixing. Because of suspicions of match fixing Partizan, Crvena zvezda, Velež, Rijeka, Dinamo Zagreb, Budućnost, Željezničar, Sutjeska, Čelik, Sarajevo, Vojvodina and OFK Beograd were deducted 6 points from the next championship. Originally Hajduk finished 4th, Rijeka finished 5th, Dinamo Zagreb 6th, Osijek 9th and Dinamo Vinkovci 13th. Everybody except for Partizan played the last round again and because Partizan didn't play the match was registered as a 3-0 win for Željezničar which resulted in Crvena Zvezda winning the title on goal difference. After the repeated round the Croatian clubs held the following positions: Rijeka 4th, Hajduk 6th, Dinamo Zagreb 7th, Dinamo Vinkovci 13th and Osijek 14th. In the cup Dinamo lost in the final 3-1 to Velež Mostar. In UEFA Cup, Hajduk faced French side Metz in the first round. Hajduk won the first game at home 5-1 and played a 2-2 draw in return leg. In 2nd round Hajduk faced Torino. In Italy Hajduk got a 1-1 draw and in return leg Hajduk won 3-1 and progressed to the third round where they faced Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk. Hajduk won both games (1:0, 2:0) and progressed to the Quarter Finals where they played Belgian side Waregem. Hajduk won the first game in Split 1-0, however they were beaten 1-0 in return leg and were knocked out on penalties. Thats a loss a lot of Hajduk fans never managed to fully get over and there is a general consensus among Hajduk fans that that was the best chance Hajduk ever had to win some European cup. Rijeka played in Mitropa Cup. They lost to Debreceni VSC 1-0, and in the game for 3rd place Rijeka won 3-2 against Czech SK Sigma Olomouc.
1986/87 championship was overshadowed by club's appeals at points behind deducted, the attempts to overthrow Slavko Šajber, trials. A number of clubs started the season with 6 point hendicap. The season finished with Vardar winning the title Hajduk finishing 4th 2 points less than Vardar, Osijek finishing 6th, Rijeka 7th, Dinamo Zagreb 8th and Dinamo Vinkovci finishing 15th just barely avoiding relegation. However a few days after the championship finished the court decided to overturn Yugoslavian Football Federation's decision to punish clubs for match fixing as they decided there was no evidence for match fixing that also meant that the tables from previous season was returned to how it finished before the last round was repeated but also more importantly for all clubs which were deducted 6 points getting 6 points. This meant that the final standings for the 1986/87 season was: Rijeka 4th, Dinamo Zagreb 6th, Hajduk 8th, Osijek 11th and Dinamo Vinkovci getting relegated finishing in 17th place. Hajduk won the cup after beating Rijeka 9:8 on penalties. The cup winning side for Hajduk was: Pralija (119' Varvodić), Dražić, Robert Jarni, Tipurić, Setinov, Andrijašević, Bućan (103' Adamović), Čelić, M.Bursać, Aljoša Asanović, Deverić and was coached by Josip Skoblar. Rijeka and Hajduk played in UEFA Cup. In first round Rijeka faced Belgian Standard Liege and was eliminated 2-1 on aggregate (1:0, 1:1), while Hajduk faced OFI Iraklion from Greece. Hajduk lost the first leg away 1-0, but won 4-0 at home and progressed to face Bulgarian Trakia Plovdiv in the 2nd round. Hajduk eliminated Bulgarians 5:3 on aggregate (3:1, 2:2) and faced Dundee United in the third round. Dundee United won the home game 2:0 and managed to get a 0:0 draw from Split so Hajduk was eliminated.
1987/88 championship saw Dinamo finishing 4th 3 points behind champions Crvena Zvezda, Rijeka finishing 8th, Osijek finishing 11th and Hajduk finishing 13th just 1 point above relegation zone. In Cup Winners Cup Hajduk started off against Danish side Aab Aalborg. Hajduk lost the first leg 1-0, won the return leg in Split 1-0 and progressed on penalties to the 2nd round where they faced Olympique Marseille. Hajduk lost the game in Marseille 4-0. On Poljud Hajduk won 2-0 but it wasn't the football people were talking about the game,but the incident from 10th minute of the game that caused a 4-0 minute delay. In the beforementioned 10th minute someone from the crowd threw tear gas. This leadto the game being registered 3-0 for Olympique Marseille and Hajduk was banned from Europe for 2 years starting from the moment when Hajduk qualify for the European competition next time.
1988/89 championship saw Hajduk finishing 3rd, Dinamo Zagreb 5th, Osijek 8th and Rijeka 10th. Dinamo played in UEFA Cup. In first round they faced Turkish side Besiktas and after losing 1-0 in Istanbul in the 1st leg Dinamo won 2-0 in Zagreb and qualified for the 2nd round where they faced VfB Stuttgart. VfB Stuttgart won 3-1 in Zagreb and played 1-1 in Stuttgart and Dinamo was eliminated.
1989/90 championship ended in Dinamo finishing 2nd 9 points behind champions Crvena Zvezda, Hajduk finishing 3rd, Rijeka 6th and Osijek 16th. Out of this season the most memorably moment was the riots before Dinamo Zagreb - Crvena Zvezda match on 13th May 1990. Dinamo played in UEFA Cup. In preliminary round they faced AJ Auxerre. Dinamo won the away game 1-0, but lost 3-1 on Maksimir and was eliminated. Osijek played in 1990 Mitropa Cup. They were in Group B with Genoa 1893 and SK Slavia Praha. Osijek lost both games and finished last with a goal difference of 0:8.
In the cup Hajduk was beaten in final by Crvena Zvezda 1-0.
In 1990 Hajduk changed their logo and returned the original one which has Croatian emblem and not a communist red star which was forced onto Hajduk in 1945. Also Hajduk returned the adjective
Hrvatski to their name.
1990/91 was the last season Croatian clubs participated in Yugoslav league. Dinamo finished 2nd 10 points behind champions Crvena Zvezda. Hajduk finished 6th, Osijek 9th and Rijeka 15th. The season is remembered for riots during Hajduk Split - Partizan Beograd match in September 1990. Dinamo played Atalanta in UEFA Cup first round. In Bergamo the game finished in 0-0 draw and in Zagreb it finished 1-1 so Dinamo was eliminated on away goals.
In the cup Hajduk achieved what many consider its greatest triumph ever by winning the cup after 1-0 win over Crvena Zvezda in Beograd who were the reigning Champions of Europe at the time. The goal was scored by Alen Bokšić and the winning side was: Vatroslav Mihačić, Enver Hadžiabdić, Kovač, Marijo Osibov, Igor Štimac, Dragan Setinov, Slaven Bilić, Adrian Kozniku, Josko Jeličić, Ante Miše, Alen Bokšić, Goran Vučević, Robert Jarni and it was coached Stanko Poklepović
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