Miss UEFA Shows Mercy (or does she?)
By: Mario |
Add Comments
It was to be the blackest of Fridays. Dinamo appealed against UEFA’s decision to have the Timişoara points stripped off, only for UEFA to counter the appeal and ask for a even more rigorous punishment to be sentenced to the Zagreb team. Having already seen UEFA show it’s fangs to clubs like Feyenoord and Partizan for similar disturbances, disqualifying both teams in the process, a veil of uncertainty shrouded the club’s future in European competitions. Will they kick us out for this season only? Or will they ban us for next season as well? Read the rest of this entry »
Category: Team News
Implosion
By: Mario | Add Comments
Well, if there was a glimmer of hope of Dinamo qualifying from the group stages of Europa League, that glimmer was squashed and extinguished yesterday evening. Having been stripped of 3 points just prior to the match, Dinamo needed a home win against Ajax to bounce back and show the rest of the competitors that they’re still in this competition. But before I go on about the match, a few words about the atmosphere on the night. We were of course, punished by UEFA to host the next two matches behind closed doors. But. Apparently, Ajax had sold around 200 tickets before getting informed that UEFA had banned Dinamo, so UEFA, seeing the injustice, made a compromise with the Dutch club. Thus the match was played with no spectators & 200 Ajax fans enjoying the comforts of Maksimir’s VIP seats. Awesome. Read the rest of this entry »
Category: Team NewsOh, This Can’t Be Good
By: Mario | 9 Comments
Well in all honesty we had it coming. For years now (or even decades probably), there’s a certain percentage among the BBB (Bad Blue Boys) who go abroad not to support, but to wreak havoc on the unsuspecting civilians (or the suspecting members of the opposing firm), whether on the streets or in the stadiums. And it looks like UEFA’s had enough. Read the rest of this entry »
Category: Team NewsEuropean Flavor
By: Mario | Add Comments
With a slight taste of domestic is the best way to describe the next few (dozen) lines. As all of you now, this Tuesday and Wednesday the battle of the 2nd round of UEFA Champions League qualifiers took place. And on Tuesday night, Dinamo outmuscled Armenian champions Pyunik with an aggregate 3:0 victory. But before I say a few words about that encounter, I’ll mention a few things in regards to the draw itself. Read the rest of this entry »
Category: Team NewsRuin We Call Home
By: Mario | 2 Comments
Maksimir is in ruins. No, better yet, Maksimir *IS* a ruin. It’s mind boggling, the fact that this much money (approx. €50m) can be poured into rebuilding a ground and than have exactly zero evidence showing that some work has actually been done. Well it’s less of an enigma once you find out who the players behind the curtain are, shady politicians and such. But that’s politics, it’s evil and let’s leave it at that. What matters right now is that the UEFA officials have been monitoring Maksimir’s “renovation” for quite some time now, and it looks like this year they might actually be prompted to act. Read the rest of this entry »
Category: Team NewsWho’s Who In Croatian Football
By: Mario | 7 Comments
No point in following the play if you don’t know the plot or the roles that are being played. So here’s a quick rundown on who’s who in Croatian football:
The pond:
HNL - abbreviation for Hrvatska Nogometna Liga (a.k.a. Croatian Football League). Established in 1991 after the dissolution of Yugoslav First League and operating under the so called Udruga Prvoligasa (League Association). That same League Association reports to a higher body, the HNS, or Hrvatski Nogometni Savez (Croatian Football Association). So basically its HNS who controls LA who controls HNL. I know, stay with me though. Read the rest of this entry »
Category: Team NewsDrawing The Line
By: Mario | Add Comments
Now you must be wondering what in the world is a picture of Star Trek’s Jean-Luc Picard (angry at that) is doing on this page. Well bear with me, and I promise I’ll try and make sense of it in the end. But first up, an apology. Contrary to the Dinamo rumor mill that’s been working tirelessly for the last couple of weeks, it’s been quiet around here on my behalf, in The Offside’s Dinamo’s corner. Your honor, I feel guilty.
Read the rest of this entry »
Category: Team NewsTriple Double
By: Mario | Add Comments
Wow, what a season. I’ve sort of opened the tin with this post right here, so I guess it’s time to spill the beans all the way out. So we went into the match with Hajduk Split, the so called “Eternal derby” (or “Vjecni derbi” to be true to our roots) with a slim 1 point lead, and with our rivals riding high on waves of self confidence, things looked rather grim from our point of view, to say the least. As mentioned earlier, we had reinstalled Vlak at the helm, and while the atmosphere around the club did pick up a little, the team still looked unimpressive and lacking in determination. We lost the derby 2:0 after taking more of a physical beating, rather then a footballing one. Read the rest of this entry »
Category: Team NewsSour Grapes
By: Mario | Add Comments
As if he didn’t embarrass himself enough with his persistence to change the league format (from 12 to 16 clubs, pretty much at everyone’s dissatisfaction), Igor Stimac did what looked to be an impossible task: made himself look even dumber. As the highest acting HNL official, he gave an interview in which he “exposed” Dinamo’s late run in the league & cup as a clear indication of Dinamo’s favoritism among the infamous men in black (a.k.a. the referees). Read the rest of this entry »
Category: Team NewsSeason Review
By: Mario | Add Comments
It all started rather predictabley. Why so? Well for the past three seasons the First Croatian Division (HNL from now on) was a one horse race. Respectively, Dinamo has, for the past three seasons, finished the season with an 11 (season 05/06), 20 (06/07), and finally a 28 point gap (2007/2008) standing between us and the chasing pack. A pack of ponies. Read the rest of this entry »
Category: Team News
Home 
