4TH ROUND HNL RESULTS

Dinamo Zagreb [6-0] Cibalia Vinkovci

HNK Šibenik [1-0] NK Zadar

Inter Zaprešić [3-2] Croatia Sesvete

NK Osijek [2-1] Varteks Varaždin

Slaven Belupo [2-0] NK Zagreb

NK Rijeka [3-1] Hajduk Split

Questions and Comments...

Mario Mandžukić had a hat trick for Dinamo as they bounced back with a nice win after the loss earlier in the week to Shakhtar Donetsk in Champion's League. The loss was Dinamo's first since Varteks defeated them on February 23rd.

Croatia Sesvete do not appear to be this year's 'bottom of the barrel' club as Međimurje was last year; who they replaced. This week Sesvete only lost by 1 goal again.

What is going on with Hajduk?!...It's their second loss in a row as they were caught up in a very physical and sloppy match with Rijeka. 9 yellows were given out in the game as well as 2 red cards, Sharbini (Rijeka) in the 67' for his second bookable offense and Buljat (Hajduk) in the 90' received a straight red. I know Hajduk is pumped about their UEFA Cup situation, but they can't lose their sights on the Prva Liga. Hajduk now sits 10th in the table with 4 points in as many games. I know it's still early, but Dinamo becomes an uncatchable juggernaut in the Prva Liga once they get going.

What do you guys think?

...AND THEY'RE OFF!!!

The 2008-2009 Croatian Prva Liga season kicked off Sunday without a hitch. Newly promoted club, Croatia Sesvete, showed promise with a 1-1 draw versus NK Osijek in their first ever 1st League (Prva Liga) game. Sesvete will be playing their home games at Kamen Ingrad Stadium in Velika this season due to their usual stadium, Stadion SRC Sesvete, not meeting Croatian Prva Liga stadium requirements.

This requirement policy of minimum conditions having to be met for stadiums was brought upon due to NK Zadar player, Hrvoje Ćustić's, freak accident last season at Stanovi Stadium in Zadar. Ćustić was running hard after a ball, got tangled up with an opposing player and went head first into a concrete retaining wall just 3 meters off the field. The player was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was put into an induced coma; only to be confirmed brain dead 4 days later.

Because of this tragic accident, 4 teams will not be playing at their hometown stadiums this season. Cibalia Vinkovci will be playing at Gradski Vrt in Osijek, Croatia Sesvete at Kamen Ingrad Stadium in Velika, NK Zagreb at Dinamo's Maksimir Stadium and NK Zadar at Šibenik's Šubićevac Stadium.

Here are the results for the first round of action:

Cibalia Vinkovci (0-0) Slaven Belupo

Croatia Sesvete (1-1) NK Osijek

Hajduk Split (1-0) NK Zadar

Inter Zaprešić (2-3) HNK Šibenik

Varteks Varaždin (2-1) NK Zagreb

Dinamo Zagreb (2-0) NK Rijeka

The league continues its games with the 2nd Round on August 3rd but not before Champion's League and UEFA Cup action picks up again. In their first leg, Dinamo Zagreb take on Domžale in Slovenia on July 30th in second qualifying round play while Hajduk takes on Birkirkara in Malta and Slaven Belupo plays Marsaxlokk (Malta) in the second leg of the UEFA Cup 1st qualifying round. Hajduk and Slaven Belupo both have comfortable 4-0 aggregate leads on their competition and should move on.

DINAMO CRUISES INTO NEXT ROUND

For the second consecutive season, Dinamo Zagreb will face off against Domžale (Slovenia) in the UEFA Champion's League 2nd qualifying round. Last year Dinamo easily dismissed the Slovenian champs 5-2 on aggregate. This year, they will of course be without phenom midfielder, Luka Modrić.

Dinamo secured a spot in the 2nd qualifying round by holding Linfield to a 1-1 draw in Zagreb on Wednesday. This was enough for the Croatian club to get through on aggregate because of the 2-0 win they posted in Northern Ireland last week.

Croatian international, Marijo Mandžukić, opened the scoring before the seats even got warm at Maksimir Stadium with a goal in the 3rd minute. The goal just about sealed Dinamo's entry into the next round- but not without a fight. With hope looking bleak for Linfield, they managed a goal in the 54' by midfielder Michael Gault. That's all Linfield could muster as they have been eliminated and sent home on a sour note.

The dates have not yet been announced for next round tie with Domzale, but we can expect them to play on July 30th in Slovenia.

Stay tuned for more news on upcoming matches which include Hajduk and Slaven Belupo in UEFA Cup action.

WHAT TO LOOK FORWARD TO...

The 2008-09 season is almost upon us and should be a great one for all our Croatian internationals; especially the ones that have recently found new homes. Soon-to-be Croatian squad member, Dario Cvitanić, will be playing for Ajax (Netherlands) after 5 successful seasons at Banfield (Argentina).

Superstar midfielder, Luka Modrić, will have plenty of critics to answer to this season as his expectations remain high after a fantastic Euro 2008 campaign. Tottenham (England) supporters couldn't be happier with the Modrić signing as they now have a legitimate chance of finishing top 5 in the English Premier League and challenging for a Champion's League spot for next season. Ognjen Vukojević signed a healthy deal in the off-season with Champion's League contenders, Dynamo Kyiv (Ukraine), while promising star, Ante Rukavina, has left Hajduk and is heading south for Panathinaikos (Greece).

Dario Knežević is moving to Italian Serie A giants, Juventus, who are in contention for the Serie A title as well as a welcome back into Champion's League competition. Remember that Juventus was not able to qualify for Europe's elite club tournament last year because of a demotion to Serie B in 2006 due to match fixing scandals.

In a surprise move, Ivan Klasnić, has called it quits with Werder Bremen (Germany) and has moved on to newly promoted 1st Division French team, Nantes. If he's on his game he should tear up the league.

Here are the results for the recent poll: Who are you most interested in watching play for his new team?

Modrić for Tottenham (70%)

Cvitanić for Ajax (20%)

Knežević for Juventus (6%)

Vukojević for Dynamo Kyiv (4%)

(105 Total Votes)

My apologies for not putting Klasnić and Rukavina on the list as the news was confirmed after I had already started the poll. I once again would like to thank everyone who voted and look forward to hearing from all of you again in the future.

THE NEW SEASON STARTS NOW

Euro 2008 is now over and it is time to put your national jersey away and pull out your club's colors for the upcoming 2008-2009 Champion's League and Uefa Cup campaigns. Don't get me wrong, World Cup 2010 qualifying starts in only two months time but for sake of argument we will stick for the club sides for now.

Dinamo Zagreb start their Champion's League campaign in the 1st qualifying round versus Linfield FC of Northern Ireland. The first leg will be away for Dinamo on July 15th or 16th with the return leg in Zagreb on July 22nd or 23rd. Dinamo is the only Croatian club team that will be participating in the Uefa Champion's League.

For the other teams that were not so lucky last year is the Uefa Cup. Both Croatian teams that managed to make the first qualifying round will be playing teams from Malta. Hajduk will host Birkirkara on July 17th with the second leg match on the 31st of July. Slaven Belupo heads to Marsaxlokk turf on the 17th with the return in Croatia also on the 31st.