GNK DINAMO DEFENDED THE TITLE IN A HISTORICAL TIME, BUT WHAT NEXT?

GNK Dinamo is the champion, but the beginning of the season did not start very well for the new-old Croatian champion. Except for winning the Super Cup, there were hot and cold games for the club that always shot high. The biggest rival Hajduk, it seemed at the time, had a point advantage, and based on euphoria, they were holding on to the top. It was clear that they did not have a team for the championship title, but the Dalmatians claimed that this was their season and that they would surely win the Croatian championship.

THE BEGINNING OF THE SEASON WAS BAD

Dinamo was then playing on three different fronts and was being hit from all sides. The media did not favor him, especially Sportske Novosti, whose editor-in-chief is a declared as Hajduk fan. Few thought that Dinamo would come back and that they would somehow win the league title. Dinamo was not confident in itself. They were playing hot and cold, and everything seemed to be falling apart. Luckily it ended differently.

But the first part of the season ended. Dinamo has had a very difficult period since they have dominated Croatian football. It’s as if everyone was waiting for Dinamo to fall in all segments so that they could start “taunting” it. It was important for them that someone else win the championship, as long as it wasn’t Dinamo. But at the end of the season, it became clear what the real state of affairs is in Croatian football. However, Dinamo is the one that brings money to Croatian football, and in that way keeps Croatian clubs alive.

After half the season, the second part of the season started. Dinamo and Lokomotiva swapped hosts, and Duje Čop, Lokomotiva’s forward, outclassed Dinamo with three goals. It was a complete flood for Dinamo and it seemed to be the complete end of everything that all the stakeholders of the club were hoping for. But obviously, the preparations were difficult, so the result against Lokomotiv was not realistic. Dinamo was somehow getting better in shape. He started winning in the championship, knocked out Real Betis in Europe (the Spaniards don’t seem to care about competition like the UEFA Conference League), and the Greek PAOK, and not in a very nice way. But the rest are championship and cup.

But the club’s first democratic elections have come. The fans woke up and caused some kind of euphoria around the club, and in the end, the euphoria itself rose to a higher level at the end of the season. Velimir Zajec and his team have won the elections. This started a new era in Dinamo. Dinamo got in shape, Easter came, and on Holy Saturday, Dinamo beat Hajduk in Split 1:0, and a few days later, with the same result and at the same place, the Split club was kicked out of the Croatian Football Cup.

We reached the last quarter of the championship, and Dinamo took the lead in the championship and played in the Cup final. In the last few games, Dinamo created an advantage that Rijeka could not achieve (even mathematically). With that, Dinamo won another championship title, and before the last match against NK Rudeš, they won the national cup.

The fact that they celebrated the championship title on the main square in Zagreb, and they last celebrated there in 2007, speaks volumes for the state of affairs around GNK Dinamo. And a real army of fans led them there. Proudly and happily. Just the way Dinamo deserves it.

WHAT NEXT?

More than two months have passed since the first historic elections at GNK Dinamo, and fan favorite Velimir Zajec won and became the club’s first “democratic” president. Before Velimir Zajec and his team, it was a big task. And they started working on it. A new sponsor is coming, the UEFA award will come in handy, the financial structure is coming together, and new reinforcements are being agreed upon.

The financial policy of the club must be closed, quality reinforcements must be brought in, while keeping Bruno Petković and Martin Baturina. Dinamo has connected with the fans, but they need to be retained and new ones should be acquired so that it is easier to communicate with them. It would be good for Dinamo to create a business club like European clubs, but also some Croatian clubs such as Futsal Dinamo and KK Dinamo. All this should be connected and a blue ideology should be created.

COMPETITION WITHIN THE EURO FRAMEWORK IS IMPORTANT

Now it is already known that Dinamo will qualify for the UEFA Champions League, but the question is when the European challenge begins. For Dinamo, it would be good for Real Madrid to win the UEFA Champions League so that the European competition can start at the end of August. Then Dinamo would free up a large part of the summer part of the competition in Europe, and the players would have less pressure. Let’s mention that the Croatian football championship starts at the beginning of August, which should happen in the following seasons as well. In this way, Dinamo could better and better prepare for the upcoming competitions.

The reality is that Dinamo should play in the UEFA Europa League, but now that they are one step away from the UEFA Champions League, why not collect the money and go to the Europa League from that competition? Anyway, it would be good for Dinamo. You have a relatively calm start to the season, you collect money and go far in Europe, while at the same time raising your own and national coefficient.

A STADIUM AND SPORTS CAMP ARE NEEDED

Dinamo has the opportunity for a good European journey. But the Maksimir Stadium, where they will play, is in bad shape, and a completely new stadium is needed. On the other hand, the soccer or sports camp should be separated from the stadium and built in another part of the city, but closer to the stadium and Maksimir.

We have already written about how Dinamo would need a stadium of approximately 65,000 seats that could be partially closed depending on which and what kind of match is being played. Of course, the field for multi-purpose use should also be adapted there, and Lille, Real Madrid, and some other European clubs already have something like that. Also, the new stadium should have a roof so that as many people as possible could come to the game.

Camp is a different story, but it is necessary to have it. Of course, it should be done in another place, not so far from the stadium and not outside the city. If the camp were to be separated from the stadium, then a comfort zone would be obtained for a larger stadium and a larger parking lot capacity, while the camp has the possibility of a peaceful development of a sports school.

The stadium and the camp must have their facilities. Of course, all according to the needs of both. You need to think about the future now and immediately because later nothing will be done. Dinamo is a big club, and it deserves to have a quality stadium with the necessary content and a camp that covers everything needed for the development of players and everyone connected to the club.

CONNECTING WITH OTHER CLUBS

At the last match between Dinamo and Rudeš, cadets and juniors, as well as the most important one – Futsal Dinamo, came out on the field at halftime. With this, they introduced the “younger brother”, who is the Croatian champion for the second year in a row. But should GNK Dinamo be associated with other clubs bearing the Holy name?

Dinamo needs to connect with other clubs that bear the Holy name. This includes Futsal Dinamo, KK Dinamo, OK Dinamo, RK Dinamo, and other clubs. This completes the story around Dinamo and connects every segment of the sports world, as well as the business world, that is related to Dinamo.

AT THE END OF EVERYTHING…

When everything is added up and subtracted, Dinamo had a turbulent season, which it pulled off in the best possible way. By winning the double crown, Dinamo has shown that they can rise. And this even though there is no support from the City of Zagreb, the Republic of Croatia, or the media. For the time being, they didn’t need it because the fans and people around the club had the strength to get everything out in the best possible way.

All stakeholders of the club, from the fans to the club’s management, must not allow themselves to complain and “whisper”. The season was not easy, but Dinamo regained its meaning and has all the predispositions to advance and develop properly. Nobody around the club should allow themselves to persuade players to come to the club. Why? It’s very poor and complex, and Dinamo has results. That’s why it’s only strong in all segments, but not in this way.

Dinamo has been reborn, it has created the first conditions for further progress. We believe that it will be easy to recognize that the blue club has great potential for further progress and great progress in all fields, including fan, financial, playing, and other segments that are necessary for the club’s operation.