A new Yugoslav league:just a far away idea or a reality in a few years?

On thursday night Red Star defeat Cologne in the UEFA Europe League and with that the club from Belgrade has a maximum of six points from to matches and awaits the clash with Arsenal which will probably the determine the fate of Red Star in this season’s European competition,most importantly they have a real chance to quality to the knockout round in the spring where everything for them is possible,when it came to the rest of the clubs from former Yugoslavia it was the usual-defeats.Maribor which is in the Champions League was defeated by Sevilla and the clash with Spartak Moscow will be a decided for them,Red Star’s rival Partizan Belgrade was defeated by Dynamo Kiev after they led 0-2 in the halftime,Rijeka put a brave display against AC Milan at San Siro only by losing in the final moments of the match.So only if there is any chance for ex-Yugoslav clubs this season for a result it will be Red Star Belgrade and maybe Maribor if they clinch the 3rd place in the Champions League group which it will be determined by the matches with Spartak Moscow.It shows that the state of ex-Yugoslav football is still in disarray after all these years besides being a major region for producing football talents like Džeko,Modric,Mandžukic,Pjanic,Pandev,Markovic,Matic and countless others which will be up and coming in the following years,which brings us to the question is a new Yugoslav league possible and will that new league finally give clubs a serious chance in Europe without selling their best players.During the existence of Communist Yugoslavia,the Yugoslav First League was among the best and strongest leagues in Europe and by far one of the most competitve with the Belgrade clubs dominating the league with Dinamo Zagreb and Hajduk right behind them,while also the Sarajevo clubs of FK Sarajevo and FK Željezničar together with Vojvodina enjoyed success.It was truly the golden era of Yugoslav club football,the league was strong and competitive enought ot challenge Europe’s biggest clubs and achieve European success.In 1966 Partizan Belgrade reached the final of then European Champions Cup,in 1967 Dinamo Zagreb won the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup,in 1985 Željezničar made to the semifinal of the UEFA Cup and in 1991 Red Star Belgrade won the European Champions Cup and the Intercontinental Cup in a time when the Yugoslav Wars just started and count also the victories of Yugoslav clubs againstthe European giants with that the Yugoslav First LEague was very successful in Europe.But the wars in Yugoslavia came and the country vanished from the map giving the rise of its former member countries to independence and with that its separate leagues.The situation was never the same ever again,ex-Yugoslav clubs had to adopt to new times which they didn’t.Most of the clubs found themselves in financially weak leagues which were dominated by two clubs (Dinamo and Hajduk,Partizan and Red Star) or when one club dominated (NK Maribor) and the quality of football as well attendances on stadiums dropped on such a scale that only bigger derby games are only a must watch but the thrill isn’t the same.In this comes into play the formation of a new Yugoslav league which for many years has its supporters and opponents,but there are news that the creation of a new Yugoslav league might be approved by UEFA which was the main obstacle,however further questions arrise.Those questions come from security,the Yugoslav Wars ended a mere 18 years ago with the end of the Kosovo War and the wounds from the war are still fresh and not forgotten very soon which will put fixtures of a future Yugoslav league in a organizational problems since the army would be needed to be called to keep peace and safety at matches,but on the other side there were many pluses from bigger TV contracts,old rivalries to be rekindled,way better finances,a much better stadium infrastructure and the talent would go to Western Europe for less cash.In short there would be a lot of pluses but also it will give ex-Yugoslav the necessary matches between each other to have a better chance for a run in European competitions.In fact no ex-Yugoslav club has played in the spring part of a European competition for a long time and those on the scene like Dinamo Zagreb,Rijeka,Red Star and Partizan played only sporadic roles in European competitions which they could thank participation in their weaker leagues.It remains that all clubs from ex-Yugoslavia come together and make a future Yugoslav league possible since there is still resistance from club officials and the general public who dislikes the idea due to possible violence by hooligans which are one of the most brutal in Europe.However the stage is being set and it depends by UEFA and the club officials to kickstart a new era in ex-Yugoslav club football.

Is this a record year for Croatian clubs in Europe?

If there is any country which is going with huge optimism into the new season in European competitions it is Croatia.Never before so many Croatian clubs are in the race for qualifying for major European club competitions which are the UEFA Champons League and the UEFA Europe League besides the real qualifications have started.In recent years only Dinamo Zagreb and Rijeka which was Dinamo’s biggest competitor in recent seasons in the Croatian First Division made some noises in Europe with other clubs only reaching the knockout stages of the qualifiers with trying to survive August.But this year is way different partially thanks to investments being made in Croatian clubs.The defending champion of Croatia which is Rijeka led by Matjaz Kek on the bench played in the UEFA Europe League in recent seasons and shocked the footballing world when they knocked out Stuttgart four years ago in the qualifiers for the UEFA Europe League and ever since they have been on the European football map with their home ground being a tough place for opposing European clubs,this seasons the whites from Rijeka are being involved in the qualifiers for the UEFA Champions League since last season they won their first ever Croatian First Division title and the draw matched them in the third qualifying round with Red Bull Salzburg,one of the most hated clubs due to their sponsorship with Red Bull,however Rijeka left a good impression at the first leg in Austria a week ago where the match ended in a 1-1 draw which gives Rijeka a chance to pass to the fourth and final qualifying round to achieve the ultimate dream to play in the UEFA Champions League for the first time in their history.It will come down to tonight’s match at their home ground at the Rujevica stadium and it is the match of the generation for Rijeka to prove their quality and value in front of Europe.Meanwhile the blues from Zagreb have been in turmoil for much of the summer with Ivajlo Petev leaving the bench and Matio Cvitanovic coming to the rescue.For now Dinamo Zagreb is the only Croatian club with a trophy by winning the 1967 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1967 and besides being a major producer of talents for bigger European clubs,Dinamo for decades hasn’t survived the autumn round of European club competitions and made past beyond the group stage of the UEFA Champions League or the UEFA Europe League besides huge sums of money have been pumped into the club.Instead Dinamo which played in the UEFA Champions League group stage was humiliated by bigger European clubs besides two years ago they won their group match against Arsenal at home.For this season the blues from Zagreb are in for the qualifier for the UEFA Europe League against Norwegian minnows Odd.Going eastern from Zagreb,there is NK Osijek which by far gave the biggest shocker of the third qualifying round of the UEFA Europe League qualifiers where they beat by a single goal PSV Eindhoven which caused huge celebrations and huge sense of optimism in Osijek which for years was plagued by disastrous financial situations,but since Hungarian businessman Lorenc Meszaros took over the club the blue-whites from Osijek are ready to make a huge return to the Croatian football scene and to Europe as well.They hope to replicate Rijeka’s success from recent seasons and turn themselves into a title contender in Croatia while making themselves a name in Europe and with the recent victory against PSV they already made a lot of waves,On thursday night at Gradski Vrt,their home ground it will be filled to the last seat since they want to knock out PSV out of Europe.At the end finally there is Hajduk Split which last time was featured in the competition in the 2010-11 season besides having a lot of unsuccessful qualification campaigns the whites from Split believe they can make to UEFA Europe League group stage.But their obstacle is one of the most famous Danish football clubs which is Brondby and Hajduk is known for crashing out on clubs which are weaker than they are.But Poljud will be filled to the last seat and the whites will have a huge support from their home fans.Four Croatian clubs are on the hunt for their place in European competitions which didn’t happened in a long time and all will be known on wednesday and thursday night to find out that is this the year that Croatian clubs will leave a mark in European club competitions and achieve a result worth remembering.

And so it begins in the Croatian First League

And so we are in the middle of July among the hottest summer temperatures and some leagues particulary in Eastern Europe have already begun with the 2017-18 season while Western Europe is waiting for August for the season start,one of the countries where the new football season started early is Croatia.Besides the protests from clubs and fans of a too early start the Croatian First League has begun its 2017-18 season.And from what is heard from experts it could be one of the most interesting seasons in years.Last season Rijeka for the first time in its history won both the Croatian First League and the Croatian Cup in the same season,which is a historical achievement for Matjaz Kek’s team and they finally got out of the shadow of Dinamo Zagreb which in the last decade dominated Croatian football.Ever since Matjaz Kek came on the bench of the whites from Rijeka in February of 2013,Rijeka is reaching constantly new heights and they have become a name in the UEFA Europe League since they have played in that comeptition in recent years.But last season was a historical one for Rijeka since they have managed to break the deadlock of the dominance of Dinamo Zagreb which was for more than a decade.This season Rijeka is competing in the qualifiers for Europe’s biggest club tournament-the UEFA Champions League and besides the draw gave them Red Bull Salzburg in the 3rd qualifying round,the whites from Rijeka have chance to make it to the 4th qualifying round where everything is possible.Rijeka will compete in three fronts this season which meant that the club is had to spend money on reinforcements which successfully it did,while Kek signed a new contract to 2019.Competing with Rijeka for the title this season is Dinamo Zagreb,By far the blues are the most strongest in finances and there are serious problems with the stadium as well with the controversial Zdravko Mamic who is non-stop in the media due to his corruption cases and bizarre antics which made him the enemy of the media,the blues are in for a rematch against Rijeka after last season’s losses both in the league and in the cup which marked for the first time since 2004-05 season that the blues were trophyless.Just days before the season started Ivalo Petev was fired from the bench and Mario Cvitanovic was hired and the blues started well with a 2-0 victory over NK Istria 1961,however questions still arise over the club’s chemistry and the influence of Zdravko Mamic over the club which created an unhealthy culture.With Rijeka and Dinamo competing for the title,Hajduk Split and Osijek will grab for their chance from the shadows besides still they aren’t strong as the two main competitors,but surely they are more and more becoming.The last time Hajdul Split was champion of Croatia was twelve years ago and since then the whites from Split went from crisis to crisis period both on and off the field,but the Bili have stabilized on the field while dealing with some off the field issues due to financial mismanagement of former club presidents,but the fans gathered in the association Or Hajduk bought the shares of the club and Hajduk could become in the following years once again a title contender and bring the title back to Split.On the other side it is Osijek,the blue-whites from Slavonia have never been Croatian champions and in recent years experienced a lot of financial hardship,however with a change of ownership with the coming of Hungarian businessman Lorenc Meszaros,the blue-whites are experiencing a renaissance of their own and better days are ahead for the biggest club in Slavonia which might achieve the best results in years.With the top four competing for the primary spots of the league the rest will compete for survival,starting with Cibalia from the city of Vinkovci.The skyblues are in deep financial problems and only by luck they weren’t relegated from the Croatian First League last season thanks to a victory in the promotion/relegation playoffs against Gorica,however the situation in the club is very dire and they are the prime candidate for relegation.The story of the season might become NK Rudes from Zagreb which signed a partnership with Deportivo Alaves and thanks to that partnership it brought a group of players from Spain as well coach Inaki Alonso who promised that Rudes will become the sensation of the league this season.The rest of the clubs which include the likes of NK Istria 1961,Inter Zapresic,Lokomotiva Zagreb and Slaven Belupo will fight from the middle to relegation places and try to avoid of being a problem like RNK Split was last season when it was demoted to play in the third division.The Croatian First Division started last weekend in the middle of July and does it make sense anymore of a season starting so early and a league which is barely surviving with football clubs barely having any finances.As usual we will find out during the season about the financial problems and irregurlarites in what supposed to be a decent professional football league,but in reality has very serious problems which had to be solved a long time ago.

Legendary Shirts:Hajduk Split

From the beautiful Croatian city of Split which is located on the Adriatic Sea comes one of the finest clubs from ex-Yugoslavia and the member of the Big Four during the period of Communist Yugoslavia which is Hajduk Split.Founded in 1911 by four Croatian students who studied in the Czech capital of Prague,Hajduk experienced early success in the end of the 1920s when they were twice champions of the Yugoslav First League (1927,1929) and twice runners-up in 1924 and 1928 and in the 1930s they will be three times runners-up (1932,1933,1937) until they won the title of the Banate of Croatia just before WWII in Yugoslavia started in 1941.During WWII Hajduk was banned by the Italian occupation authorities but it was reborn in 1944 and in the 1950s the club went through a period a reinassaince when won the Yugoslav First League in 1950,1952 and 1955 where the club had in its squad players like Vladimir Beara,Bernand Vukas,Frane Matosic and others.Also in 1950 the oldest supporters group in Europe was founded by Hajduk Split fans the Torcida Split which was founded by Vjenceslav Zuvela who was an engineering student.After the glorious 1950s which were marked with three Yugoslav First Laague titles,two Yugoslav Cup finals in which they ended as runners-up (1953,1955) and a runner-up of the Yugoslav First League (1953).But in the 1960s Hajduk went into a decline and in the seasons between 1963 and 1966 Hajduk finished in the league no better than 10th but only thanks to PEtar Nadoveza who was the league’s top scorer and only won the Yugoslav Cup in 1967.But the 1970s were Hajduk’s golden era in which they won four Yugoslav First Leagur titles (1971,1974,1976,1979-the last time they won the title),five Yugoslav Cups (1972,1973,1974,1976,1977),made a UEFA Cup Winners Cup semifinal in the 1972-73 season and a quarterfinal in the same competition in the 1977-78 season and two European Champions Cup quaterfinals (1975-76,1979-80).In that period the legendary white shirt was worn by players such as Ivan Buljan,Ivica Surjak,Drazen Muzinic and others who wore the legendary white shirt in the golden era of Hajduk Split.Besides that in the 1980s Hajduk went into a decline again and won only two Yugoslav Cups (1984 and 1987) in the period after 1991 when Croatia became an independent country Hajduk went to win the Croatian League title six times (1992,1994,1995,2001,2004,2005) with six Croatian Cup titles (1993,1995,2000,2003,2010,2013).Besides that Hajduk Split didn’t a league title in more than decade nevertheless it is the pride of Dalmatia and it’s white shirt was worn by many greats of the club from Vukas and Matosic in the 1950s,through Buljan and Surjak in 1970s,Sliskovic,Vulic and Gudelj in the 1980s,Asanovic,Bilic,Stimac,Srna,Kranjcar,Rapaic and Kalinic in the 1990s and 2000s.Hajduk Split remains the pride of Dalmatia,its biggest club and it is the 2nd biggest club in Croatia with supporters across the country.But it is the white shirt of Hajduk Split in which they won titles and made a brief run in European competition is what made the club and it is one of the classic shirts of the 1970s and one of the most recognizable ever coming from the former Communist bloc.