NK Zagreb

Zagreb
Full name Nogometni klub Zagreb
Nickname(s) Pjesnici (The Poets)
Bijeli (The Whites)
Founded 1908 (1908)
(as HŠK Zagreb)
Ground Stadion u Kranjčevićevoj
Ground Capacity 8,850[1]
Chairman Dražen Medić
Manager Dražen Madunović
League Treća HNL
2016–17 Druga HNL, 11th (Relegated)
Website Club website

Nogometni klub Zagreb (English: Zagreb Football Club), commonly known as NK Zagreb or simply Zagreb (pronounced [zâːɡreb]), is a Croatian football club based in the Croatian capital city of Zagreb, currently playing in the Druga HNL. The club was founded in 1908.[2] NK Zagreb's home ground since 1946 is Stadion u Kranjčevićevoj with reduced capacity of 8,850 where they only play their official competitive matches. The team's traditional home colours are white shirts, shorts and socks which is the reason why they are referred to as Bijeli in Croatian, meaning "The Whites". Another, much more popular nickname of the club is "The Poets", Pjesnici in Croatian, due to the location of their home ground at Kranjčevićeva street which is named after great Croatian poet Silvije Strahimir Kranjčević.

So far, NK Zagreb has won the Croatian Football Championship only once, in season 2001–02 which had been the first time since its establishment in 1992 that the Croatian champion was not Dinamo Zagreb or Hajduk Split. Also, NK Zagreb participated several times in the European competitions like UEFA Champions League (2), UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (4), UEFA Intertoto Cup (10) and Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (10).

History

Foundation

The club was founded in 1903 as PNIŠK (Prvi nogometni i športski klub, translated First Football and Sports Club), being one of the first to be formed in Croatia. First secretary was Dragutin Baki, the president was Vilhelm Witte, and the captain of the team and instructor was Czech Jan Todl.

Since there weren't any clubs to play with, the first official match was played between the club's players divided into two groups in 1904. Ticket income from the match was 3 krone and 3 filirs.

The first international match was played in 1905. against Magyar champions Ferencváros on Magyar Athleticai Club's pitch. Home team won with a high 11–1 score. The players who played for Zagreb were: Filipčić, Schwarz, Todl, Mutefelija, Slavnič, Ugrinić, Polivka, Uhrl, Višinger, Koruna, and Torbić.

After WWII

Former logo of Fiskulturno društvo Zagreb used after WWII

However, after World War II, NK Zagreb has been overshadowed by several larger, more successful clubs, especially their local rival Dinamo Zagreb.

One of the most notable matches Zagreb played was on 19 July 1973 when "Great drama in Maksimir" took place – a match between NK Zagreb and NK Osijek on Maksimir stadium. It was a second of two qualifying matches for entering the first league; the first one in Osijek ended 0–0 with attendance of 25,000. The second match was played in Maksimir because of great demand for tickets – the attendance was 64,138 which broke the stadium record and stands to this day. Zagreb won the match after penalty kicks (4–3).

Lineup for this team was: Horvat, Gašparini, Tucak, Antolić, Ivanišević, Lipovac, Markulin, Čopor (Hušidić), Močibob, Rukljač, Smolek (Bakota).

Modern era

Among NK Zagreb's more notable players was Ivica Olić who led the club to its first championship of the Prva HNL in 2002 with 21 goals scored in 29 appearances for NK Zagreb. Also worth mentioning here is Joško Popović (who played in the 1990s), 2nd top-goalscorer ever in Prva HNL.

In the championship of 2002, NK Zagreb broke the duopoly of NK Dinamo and NK Hajduk for the first time. Standard lineup for the champion team was: Vasilj, Stavrevski, Pirić, Ješe, Bulat, Poldrugač, Duro, Hasančić, Franja, Lovrek, Olić.

There are two other football competitions being played in Croatia – Cup and Supercup. NK Zagreb were finalist of Cup in 1997 and finalist of Supercup in 2002.

On August 2015 Zagreb players declared strike and refused training practice in preparation for the 5th round and away game against RNK Split bringing in question the game itself and so on the regularity of Prva HNL which was already seriously shattered. The club was in debt, players not receiving wages for six months. Zagreb president Dražen Medić had several offers for players that would at least somewhat stabilized the situation in the first division club from Kranjčevićeva, but refused them all. Strike was ongoing for a week ahead of matchday with players demanding to be paid at least partially.[3]

Stadium

Stadion u Kranjčevićevoj

Stadion u Kranjčevićevoj ulici (English: Kranjčevićeva Street Stadium), known as Stadion Concordije between 1921 and 1945, is a multi-purpose stadium located in the Trešnjevka neighourhood in Zagreb, Croatia. The stadium at what was then called Tratinska cesta (English: Tratinska road) began construction in the 1910s and was completed in 1921. At the time of its completion it was the biggest stadium in Zagreb and was owned by Concordia. In 1931 the first floodlit match held in Zagreb was played at the stadium, in which Zagreb XI beat Real Madrid 2–1. After World War II, Concordia was disbanded for political reasons and the stadium was handed over to the newly formed Fiskulturno društvo Zagreb (English: Zagreb Sports Society), whose football section later evolved into today's NK Zagreb football club. NK Zagreb's third jersey is green in honour of Concordia, whose old stadium is now their own.

In November 1977 a large fire destroyed the west stand and in the following years the stadium went through several reconstructions and modifications. The most significant of these was an extensive overhaul and the construction of the adjoining facilities in preparation for the 1987 Summer Universiade. Later that year a lightning strike destroyed the floodlights during a match between NK Zagreb and NK Osijek and the stadium was without any floodlight capabilities for almost 20 years until 2008, when new ones were installed by the City of Zagreb.

After the season 2006–07 and prior to the game against Vllaznia in the Intertoto Cup stadium's capacity was reduced due to UEFA standards from 12,000 to 8,850 people by placing numbered plastic chairs in the west stand and reducing the space for visiting supporters at the eastern stand. The stadium consists of two stands. The west stand is fully seated and can hold 3,850 spectators. It houses the press box and the VIP area. The east stand has 5,000 standing places and is mainly used for travelling fans. The stadium also has a cycling track around the pitch which is used for track cycling events. In June 2008 UEFA inspection had visited the stadium and gave it a 3-star rating, but criticised the lack of floodlights (which have been installed two months later) and press box provisions.[4] The stadium can hold 8,850 people, which makes it the second biggest stadium in Zagreb, behind Stadion Maksimir. Currently within the stadium, there are two restaurants and a driving school. Today, the stadium is in function only on the day when the official match occur while friendlies and training sessions are conducted in a training camp "Zagrebello", where the headquarters and offices of NK Zagreb are also located.

Colours, logo, and nicknames

Zagreb's home colour white have been traditional colour since its foundation. It is little known that second color was red. It came from first coat of arms of Zagreb which contained the symbol of the city, the walls of the tower, and later three towers which was also the symbol of the city, its three forts and was red as well as the official coat of arms of the city at the beginning of the 20th century. The coat of arms was divided in two parts. In the upper part of the coat of arms was icon who symbolized the city of Zagreb while the lower part was filled with white and red lines. Over the years that followed, especially during the second world war, when Zagreb was banned many links with the "old" Zagreb were lost and abandoned. After the second world war, at one point, in combination was white and black jersey. In the end it was blue that was accepted for Zagreb's second colour. White with tiny blue combinations was used for home jersey while various shades of blue, dark, royal, light, sky, navy blue were used for away appearances. The coat of arms also changed for several times in that period, but always contained a city silhouette or city emblem, the fortress, the walls of the three-ture, with the gates opened. Colors varied in shades of blue with yellow, gold, white and black detailing until 2008. In the season 2007–08 Zagreb started to use full red jersey for away games and in April 2008 there was a change in the coat of arms, explained from club management as redesign that will allow a progress and new momentum in markentig and clubs position on the market, which in the end was not achieved by the administration. On the contrary, they achieved the opposite effect. The interest of the media, sponsors, spectators and fans every season is getting smaller. The club market is not working, financial dubiousness are getting bigger and bigger, while sport results are getting worse in each new season. The last four seasons club spent saving their first league status in the last round. Since then, the fans and club management are in constant conflict that is still ongoing.

A popular nickname for the club is "The Poets" (Pjesnici in Croatian; first mentioned by a radioreporter Ivo Tomić). Kranjčevićeva street, where their stadium is located, is named after Croatian poet Silvije Strahimir Kranjčević.

Supporters

The club ultras group are called "White Angels" (Bijeli Anđeli). The fans are strongly left-wing and are part of the anti-fascist movement.[5]

Honours

Winners (1): 2001–02
Runners up (2): 1992, 1993–94
Third place (3): 1992–93, 2004–05, 2006–07
Winners (1): 2013–14
Runners up (1): 1996–97
Runners up (1): 2002
Winners (6): 1953–54, 1963–64, 1972–73, 1975–76, 1979–80, 1990–91
Runners up (1): 1974–75
Third place (2): 1970–71, 1971–72
Winners (1): 1989–90
Third place (1): 1988–89

Results by season

Season League Cup European competitions Top goalscorer
Division P W D L GF GA Pts Pos Player Goals
1992 1. HNL 22 14 5 3 34 9 33 2nd DNQ Renato Jurčec 8
1992–93 1. HNL 30 15 10 5 50 27 40 3rd R2 Joško Popović
Robert Špehar		 9
1993–94 1. HNL 34 20 9 5 58 30 49 2nd SF Robert Špehar 19
1994–95 1. HNL 30 14 11 5 41 26 53 4th QF Joško Popović 9
1995–96 1. HNL 32 8 9 15 31 50 33 6th SF Intertoto Cup GS Joško Popović 10
1996–97 1. HNL 30 13 6 11 43 39 45 5th RU Vjekoslav Škrinjar 5
1997–98 1. HNL 32 14 8 10 51 39 50 5th SF Cup Winners' Cup R1 Mate Baturina 18
1998–99 1. HNL 32 9 9 14 47 53 36 10th R1 Nino Bule 13
1999–00 1. HNL 33 9 12 12 42 49 39 8th SF Nino Bule 9
2000–01 1. HNL 32 11 5 16 51 58 38 6th SF Krunoslav Lovrek 11
2001–02 1. HNL 30 20 7 3 71 24 67 1st QF Intertoto Cup R1 Ivica Olić 21
2002–03 1. HNL 32 9 9 14 40 52 36 6th QF Champions League QR2 Radomir Đalović 8
2003–04 1. HNL 32 8 12 12 33 41 36 10th R2 Intertoto Cup R1 Radomir Đalović 9
2004–05 1. HNL 32 15 5 12 50 42 50 3rd QF Mladen Bartolović 9
2005–06 1. HNL 32 11 4 17 26 43 37 10th R1 Mladen Pelaić 5
2006–07 1. HNL 33 18 4 11 57 40 58 3rd QF Krunoslav Lovrek 18
2007–08 1. HNL 33 11 11 11 51 40 44 6th SF Intertoto Cup R1 Krunoslav Lovrek 14
2008–09 1. HNL 33 13 8 12 38 39 47 5th SF Davor Vugrinec 11
2009–10 1. HNL 30 9 6 15 43 49 33 14th QF Davor Vugrinec 18
2010–11 1. HNL 30 9 8 13 32 39 35 13th QF Ivan Krstanović 19
2011–12 1. HNL 30 13 6 11 36 42 45 6th SF Damir Šovšić 5
2012–13 1. HNL 33 7 6 20 28 60 27 12th ↓ R2 Besart Abdurahimi 12
2013–14 2. HNL 33 20 7 6 59 26 67 1st ↑ R2 Gabrijel Boban 18
2014–15 1. HNL 36 13 7 16 45 54 46 5th R1 Gabrijel Boban 13
2015–16 1. HNL 36 3 8 25 27 64 17 10th ↓ QF Gabrijel Boban 10
2016–17 2. HNL 33 6 11 16 34 50 29 12th ↓ R1 Edin Šehić 10

European record

Summary

Competition Pld W D L GF GA Last season played
UEFA Champions League 2 1 0 1 2 2 2002–03
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 4 3 0 1 9 7 1997–98
UEFA Intertoto Cup 10 2 4 4 8 10 2007
Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 10 3 2 5 16 13 1969–70
Total 26 9 6 11 35 32

Source: uefa.com, Last updated on 9 January 2010
Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against. Defunct competitions indicated in italics.
Note: This summary includes matches played in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, which was not endorsed by UEFA and is not counted in UEFA's official European statistics.

By season

Season Competition Round Opponent Home Away Agg.
1964–65 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup R1 Austria GAK 3–2 6–0 9–2
R2 Italy Roma 1–1 0–1 1–2
1965–66 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup R1 Belgium RFC Liège 2–0 0–1 2–1
R2 Romania Steagul Roșu Brașov 2–2 0–1 2–3
1969–70 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup R1 Belgium Charleroi 1–3 1–2 2–5
1995–96 Intertoto Cup Group
6		 Austria LASK Linz 0–0  –  –
Iceland Keflavík  – 0–0  –
France Metz 0–1  –  –
Scotland Partick Thistle  – 2–1  –
1997–98 Cup Winners' Cup QR Republic of Macedonia Sloga Jugomagnat 2–0 2–1 4–1
R1 Norway Tromsø 3–2 2–4 5–6
2001–02 Intertoto Cup R1 Republic of Macedonia Pobeda 1–2 1–1 2–3
2002–03 Champions League QR2 Hungary Zalaegerszeg 2–1 0–1 2–2 (a)
2003–04 Intertoto Cup R1 Slovenia Koper 2–2 0–1 2–3
2007–08 Intertoto Cup R1 Albania Vllaznia Shkodër 2–1 0–1 2–2 (a)

Record by country of opposition

CountryPldWDLGFGAGDWin%
Albania Albania 2 1 0 1 2 2 +0 050.00
Austria Austria 3 2 1 0 9 2 +7 066.67
Belgium Belgium 4 1 0 3 4 6 −2 025.00
France France 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1 000.00
Iceland Iceland 1 0 1 0 0 0 +0 000.00
Italy Italy 2 0 1 1 1 2 −1 000.00
Hungary Hungary 2 1 0 1 2 2 +0 050.00
Republic of Macedonia Macedonia 4 2 1 1 6 4 +2 050.00
Norway Norway 2 1 0 1 5 6 −1 050.00
Romania Romania 2 0 1 1 2 3 −1 000.00
Scotland Scotland 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 100.00
Slovenia Slovenia 2 0 1 1 2 3 −1 000.00
Totals 26 9 6 11 35 32 +3 36.84

Pld – Matches played; W – Matches won; D – Matches drawn; L – Matches lost; GF – Goals for; GA – Goals against

Players

Current squad

As of 3 May 2017 [6]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
1 Croatia GK Bruno Javor
2 Croatia MF Daniel Šutić
3 Croatia DF Antonio Sekulić
4 Croatia DF Dominik Kovačić
5 Croatia MF Domagoj Muić
7 Croatia MF Marko Tešija
8 Croatia FW Alen Jurilj
10 Croatia FW Salih Abdullahi (on loan from Udinese)
11 Croatia FW Anto Gudelj
12 Croatia GK Josip Čondrić
13 Croatia DF Ennio Travaglia
14 Croatia MF Damir Ćavar
15 Croatia GK Matija Gašparić
17 Croatia MF Pono Pintarić
18 Croatia MF Bruno Čengić
No. Position Player
19 Croatia DF Matias Šulc
20 Croatia FW Ivan Primorac
21 Brazil MF Bruno Pralas
22 Croatia FW Niko Tokić
23 Croatia FW Filip Matijašević
24 Croatia MF Zvonimir Medić
25 Kosovo MF David Jurak
27 Croatia DF Stjepan Stubičan
28 Croatia MF Nino Patafta
29 Croatia DF Edin Šehić
30 Croatia DF Matej Jazvić
Croatia FW Petar Musa
Croatia FW Franko Surač
Croatia MF Tin Džaferović
Croatia MF Bernardo Matić

Managerial history

 

Player Records

Club management

Administration

Source: nkzagreb.hr, Last updated unknown

Coaching staff

Source: nkzagreb.hr, Last updated unknown

References

  1. ↑ "Stadion u Kranjčevićevoj" [Kranjčevićeva Street Stadium] (in Croatian). nkzagreb.hr. Retrieved 2015-05-01.
  2. ↑ "Nogometni klub Zagreb" [Zagreb Football Club] (in Croatian). mapiranjetresnjevke.com. Retrieved 2015-05-01.
  3. ↑ "Igrači Zagreba u štrajku!" [Zagreb players on strike!] (in Croatian). Večernji list. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  4. ↑ "Pripreme počinju u srijedu" (in Croatian). Sportnet.hr. Retrieved 9 June 2008.
  5. ↑ http://rebelultras.com/latest-news/europe/white-angels-zagreb/
  6. ↑ http://nkzagreb.hr/main.asp?dir=momcad
  7. 1 2 "Zagreb profile". UEFA.com. Retrieved 13 April 2010.
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