31 DAYS UNTIL CROATIA-ENGLAND III

Well boys and girls, we are just about a month away from Croatia-England III. Most of us still have that bitter Turkey taste in our mouth from EURO 2008. However, this is just the beginning. Besides the Kovač brothers and Šimunič, we are all young and looking to stamp our names in the world cup history books.

With all do respect for Kazakhstan, World Cup Qualification starts on September 10th in Zagreb, where heavyweights Croatia and England will collide.

Today, the HNS has announced ticket prices for this 'American pay-per-view' event.

VIP - 1,500 kuna (roughly $300) This is where celebrities, former coaches and players will sit.

West side VIP - 600 kuna (roughly $120)

West side lower - 400 kuna (roughly $90)

West side upper - 300 kuna (roughly $60)

East side - 250 kuna (roughly $50)

South side - 300 kuna (roughly $60)

North side lower - 80 kuna (roughly $18)

North side upper - 80 kuna (roughly $18)

CroatianSoccerReport.com is in talks of acquiring a reporter for the match in Zagreb. We will keep you posted.

Also, for those of you dying to find out the kickoff time, Croatia-England will kick off at 21:00 (CET) Zagreb time. On September 6th, Croatia-Kazakhstan will kick off at 20:15 (CET) Zagreb time.

~Denis Svirčić, reporting from Šibenik

DINAMO FACE-OFF VS. LINFIELD AT MAKSIMIR

Dinamo Zagreb play Linfield (Northern Ireland) today at Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb in the return leg of their UEFA Champion's League 1st qualifying round affair. When the two teams clashed in Northern Ireland a week ago, Dinamo easily collected a 2-0 win with goals by Croatian international, Marijo Mandžukić, and Dino Drpić.

Dinamo will qualify for the next round as long as they don't lose by more than 1 goal. If Linfield wins 2-0, the match will go into overtime. However, Dinamo dominated the game on the 'emerald isle' and I don't see them having much trouble in Zagreb. The game will kick-off at 8:45 p.m. locally in Croatia.

Dinamo is expected to carry on and would play the winner of the F91 Dudelange (Netherlands)/Domžale (Slovenia) match. Domžale won 1-0 on Dutch soil last week. Should Dinamo and Domžale meet in the second qualifying round, it will be the second year in a row that these 2 teams have met as Dinamo eliminated the Slovenian club in 2007 on a 5-2 aggregate. That was of course with the likes of a Mr. Modrić on the 'blue boy' side.

The game cannot be seen live in America, but should you have Croatian satellite, I'm sure they will re-run it later in the day for all you BBB's.

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.

MODRIĆ MAKES TOP 10 LIST

Croatian super-midfielder, Luka Modrić, has made UEFA's 'Ten Best' list for Euro 2008. This is the first time a Croatian has made the all-tournament list since Davor Šuker did it in the 1998 World Cup- the same year he also won the Golden Boot award.

Croatian press have praised Modrić for his results this tournament and have made it clear that Tottenham have made an extremely smart decision in buying the former Dinamo Zagreb star. Modrić will start playing for his new club when the English Premiership season starts up this August.

Goal.com has the complete story which includes the other 9 members of the Euro 2008 all-tournament list.

FINAL THOUGHTS.....

Well, this is it until world cup 2010 qualifiers in September. Hopefully, all of you have enjoyed the Euro and CroatianSoccerReport.com

Croatia-Turkey

After the victory over Poland, everyone in Zagreb pictured us fighting with Germany for a place in the final. Croatians were predicting scores of 2-0, 3-0, and even 4-0. Remember before the Austria game, many of you had the same thoughts.

I predicted 2-1 for Croatia before the match. On paper we are superior to Turkey and Austria, however no one wins without scoring.

If you would recall, on Monday, June 16th, under "Where is Eduardo???" post, I replied,

If Petrić wakes up, we make the final. However, Olić, Klasnić, and an inexperienced Kalinić, we wont score more than once. Igor Budan is also finished for the tournament.

Klasnić played well in the limited amount of time he recieved. However, a great striker would have scored three times against Poland. Klasnić had half a dozen scoring chances against Poland and didn't convert.

Before the game, I figured it would take 2 goals to come out victorious.

Who to hold responsible?

This is a dificult question. With a little luck, Croatia would be in Basel preparing for the Germans.

I would blame Petrić for not showing up. Olić gave 110% and fought every second he was on the pitch. However, it just was one of those days. I would blame Croatia for getting an offsides call the last second of the game. The ref, made the right call. Bottom line, if Croatia can't hold Turkey for a minute after the goal, they don't deserve to advance.

I feel for the Croatian defense and Niko Kovac. Once again, they were unbelievable.

Pictured is the future Davor Suker.

Hopefully, we don't have to wait that long.

CROATIA-TURKEY FROM MY EYES

Once again, I am over 24 hours late in bringing you time sensitive information. However, finding an internet cafe in Vienna at midnight is a difficult task. Also, for some reason, this computer won't allow me to upload pictures, so I guess photobucket is my only option. By clicking on the picture, you will be redirected to photobucket.

Where to start. So much to say, have to organize my thoughts.

Ante has done an excellent job with the preview, summary, and final thoughts on the game. I will try to fill you in on events that ESPN failed to catch.

Hours before the match, Croatian and Turkish fans got into it in front of the Cathedral on the main square. Chairs, beer, cups, and other objects were thrown at 'enemies.' Fortunately, Austrain police was quick to the scene, arresting a few suporters from both sides.

Thousands of Croatian fans flocked to the stadium. For some reason, my eyes are peeled for the women in attendance.

We sat in a neutral section, however, 10 meters from the Turkish section of the stadium.

For some reason, I was a nervous wreck for this game. As time went by, a little man sitting on my shoulder watching the match whispered "penalties." I couldn't see us breaking the Turkish stranglehold, and more importantly, I couldn't picture Ivica Olic putting one in the onion bag.

Fifty or so drunk Croatian fans sitting ten rows down and a bit closer to the Turkish section, gave the Turkish fans the bird, shouted Ustaske words, and gave the Naci salute. Turkish fans retaliated by throwing cups filled with beer. What are 50 Croatians going to do against 5000 Turkish fans. After watching a few Hooligan videos, I was afraid of a stampede. Security was quick to the scene and stood in the aisle to separate the two groups.

The venue is spectacular, gametime around sunset.

Croatian fans with balls..."Against Modern Football"

This game was more than just football. This banner was a shot at the European Union to stay out of Croatia. Also, religion and history played a major part. In the Turkish section, a Bosnian flag was seen. While in the Croatian section, a Vatican flag was waving during the entire match.

Turkey using monkey see monkey do technique

Turkish fans were chanting, "Ustaske Picke"...."Ustase Pussies" Croatian fans were chanting, "Ako san Turcin, ubija bi se." "If I am Turkish, I would kill myself."

Great free kick chance, unlucky

No goals, why we bring flairs?

Croatians are fighting for a ticket, and some clown three seats down falls asleep during extra time. Unbelieveable!

After the equalizer, the Euro was truly over for me. Flashes of World Cup 1998 Semifinal went through my head. As the whistle blew for penalty kicks, the entire stadium knew who would be victorious tonight.
View of the penalty kicks

Last chance by Petric

Croatian Euro Dream ends in tears.

LONGEST POST EVER.... TAKE A DEEP BREATHE

By now you all know that I am extremely late with the 'time sensitive' information. The next post will be mighty long, so those of you that rather prefer the 'short, get to the point, quick' story, I apologize as you will have to make an effort and spend a few extra minutes on this post.

Most of you have seen every picture on google and every video on youtube. I have looked through all of my pictures and decided to post only the rare or extraordinary footage that you wont find anywhere else. However, I will also post some videos that I'm sure is watched all over the world on youtube.

CROATIA****POLAND****KLAGENFURT

We took a 6am bus from Zagreb to klagenfurt. The atmosphere on the bus was terrible, however, a third of the bus was filled with beautiful Croatian girls.

Klagenfurt was full of Croatian and Poland fans. Once again, Croatians outnumbered the opposition 3 to 1. Klagenfurt locals fled like a Frenchman from a cap gun. The media in Klagenfurt brought Austrians such fear of Polish, German, and Croatian hooligans, that most of the locals left the country on vacation or locked themselves indoors. Women received free pepper spray.

A lone Klagenfurt Croatian welcomes the crowd outside his living room window..

What do you think? Comments?

A fellow Croatiansoccerreport.com supporter from L.A. and member of 'ludi ljudi' from the Croatian soccer tournament in L.A.

This is what we play for....

'Poljakine nisu kava prema Hrvatice'

Plenty of Austrian police on hand for this nonviolent event.

Tamburica before the match.

Croatian training...

Pregame video of Thompson...

Action from Corner

Where is England? A disappointed Leeds United fan hangs his flag. I feel for the lad.. a little...

Did I fail to mention the Croatian ladies in attendance?

Croatians are pyromaniacs... Niko stretching out... Niko, Niko, Niko..

Some of the players came out to take pictures with the fans after the match..

I will leave you with a chant...

Daj nam sise da se igramooooo...igramoooo...igramooo..

translates to... give us your tits so we can play...we can play...we can play...

The women didnt find this amusing.

Last last thing.. The fans were chanting Slaven Bilic... then chanting 'javi se...javi se' which translates to 'say hello..say hello.' After thirty seconds or so, Slaven waved to the crowd, during the match.... priceless.

ALWAYS LATE BUT WORTH THE WAIT

Ladies and Gentlemen, once again, I have to apologize for not being able to deliver this time sensitive information at an earlier time. After a diet consisting of Austrian wieners and beer, luckily, I have returned to Zagreb in one piece.

In the next few paragraphs I will try to summarize what I experienced in Klagenfurt, Austria during the Croatia-Germany game.

Luka and I left Bratislava, Slovakia at 3pm local time and arrived in Klagenfurt at 10pm local time. Our first objective was to find a hotel, hostel, or anything with a roof over our heads for the night. After a few hours of searching, we ended up at our last resort: fan camp. This organized convention like center, is the last call for fans without hotel reservations. As you can see by the picture, it wasn´t Holiday Inn. Just imagine 800 sweaty, stinky, drunk Europeans under one roof!

There were plenty of pre-night parties all over the city. However, due to fear, most Klagenfurt locals booked early vacations to France and Italy. Every Austrian woman received pepper spray in case the earth was coming to an end. This was a Bonanza ghost town, not an Austrian in sight. The very few Germans that would show up, partied with us throughout the night.

On June 12th, Klagenfurt was truly Croatian for the day. For some reason, Germans were a needle in a haystack. Croatian music was playing all day and night all over the town center, stadium, and throughout Klagenfurt.

After the match, everyone made their way down to the town center to sing the night away. What an incredible achievement for a small nation, but gigantic football nation. In my opinion, this result was third all time next to Germany-Croatia world cup 1998 and Holland-Croatia World Cup 1998.

As the national anthem played, Croatians around the world were singing as one!

Croatians from all over the world; Germany, USA, Argentina, Slovenia, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, were all on hand to support the vatreni in victory. We ended up watching the game in the town center at the fan zone. After every goal, Croatians were drenched with beer. "This is unbelievable. As a realist, I was hoping for a draw, but victory over a superpower like Germany is something that I will remember forever. We are going to the final," said Josip, a Dinamo Zagreb fan.

After a six hour train ride, Luka and I arrived in Zagreb without showering for three days, hair sticky from beer, malnourished, and fatigued. All of this just to watch Croatia play Germany with our people.

For some reason, the media is still bashing Slaven Bilić and his tactics. We should stop criticizing this genius and let him do his magic. The Poland game is pointless; win, lose or draw. Against the Czechs we will be ready, and a semifinal matchup with the Germans will be classic.

Here is a video from Vienna following the Croatia-Austria match. Tamburica was lighting up the rainy skies in front of St. Stephen's Cathedral.

~Denis Svirčić reporting from Zagreb

NEW 'YELLOW CARD RULE' CHANGES THINGS

After doing some research, I have just found out that UEFA has changed the 'yellow card rule' for Euro 2008. In previous years, if players had one yellow card in group play it was wiped away going into the knockout phase. Well that has all been changed for this summer's competition and now should be looked at under a microscope for the Croatian team who will be playing a meaningless game versus Poland on Monday as Croatia has already won Group B. They will play the winners of the Czech Republic/Turkey match June 20th in the quarterfinal round.

The New Yellow Card Rule states that yellow cards from the group stage will now be cancelled after the quarterfinal round. It was changed so that players receiving 2 cards in the quarters and semis cannot miss the Final. This means that if any of our players who currently have a yellow card (Robert Kovač, Luka Modrić, Darijo Srna, Josip Šimunić, and Jerko Leko) get a yellow card versus Poland; they would not be able to play in the quarterfinal game. Should any of these players get a yellow in the quarterfinal game, they would not be eligible to play in the semifinal game should Croatia progress.

This is why I would only let these four starters (excluded: Jerko Leko) play the first half against Poland. We can't let one spurt of agressive play or a bad call by a referee cause suspension for our team. And we all know how Šimunić plays anyways.

Now knowing this, what would be your lineup vs. Poland knowing that none of these players can afford a yellow in the next two matches?

Do you like this new rule and does it change anything for you?

CROATIA CRUISIN' INTO THE QUARTERS!!!

That's right boys and girls, Croatia has already clinched the #1 seed in Group B with their 2-1 win over Germany on Thursday; all done with one more group game to play versus Poland this upcoming Monday. This is the first time ever that Croatia has won their group in a major tournament and also the first time we've made it out of group play since the 1998 World Cup in France. Croatia will play the winner of the Czech Republic/Turkey game in Vienna on June 20th.

So what does this mean? Well, Croatia has never been in such a stress-free situation like this before. Not only do we get to rest some key starters due to normal wear and tear against Poland, but we also get a sneak peak at our future. Obviously, I do not know coach Slaven Bilić's plan for the game, but I would give the likes of Nikola Kalinić , Nikola Pokrivač, Anas Sharbini and Ivan Klasnić plenty of gametime to get some solid experience. I'd like to see what Klasnić's physical condition is since we haven't seen him in the first 2 Euro games.

I'm actually a bit disappointed in Bilić for substituting Petrić for Olić instead of letting Klasnić get some time with a 2-0 lead. Petrić did nothing for a second game in a row. Croatia played so much better with Ivan Rakitić in the 4-5-1 formation. Modrić ran the midfield beautifully using Kranjčar and Rakitić on the wings. Ćorluka and Pranjić played solid 'D' while making full runs upfield with the ball. Croatia controlled tempo majority of the game and was unlucky to have more goals.

As well as Niko Kranjčar played today, he could not put the ball in the back of the net. He had two amazing looks on goal putting 1 over and the other right at German goalkeeper, Jens Lehmann.

The other thing we need to fix is how to deal with these 2 goal leads. Just like in the match at Wembley, Croatia easily breaks down when having this kind of lead. Why? We stop playing two-way ball and put 9 players on defense and hope that will hold them off for the next 20 minutes or so. We play kickball and just clear it out of the zone when anything gets close instead of playing possesion and keeping the other team honest with attacking football. This is exactly how Podoloski scored his goal and it will happen again in this tournament if Bilić keeps playing this style late in the games.

Speaking of Bilić, what kind of substitutions is this guy making these days?! First, he puts in Petrić for a tired Olić instead of seeing what Klasnić has to offer. At this point in the game with a 2 goal lead, the striker is only there to put pressure on the defense when the ball is cleared anyways. Petrić did a mediocre job even at this. And then my favorite one of all-----JERKO LEKO for Srna in the 80th!- you've got to be kidding me. What has he done lately? Nothing. What did he do in the game? Nothing. I thought the ovbious choice was Vukojević, especially when he was subbed in against Austria. Maybe there's some madness behind Bilić's plan that I don't see. Please educate me on the matter if you have an answer.

All in all, it was obviously a great day for Croatian soccer. We beat the tournament favorites, secured a spot in the quarterfinals and don't even have to show up against Poland. I'm looking forward to seeing the rookies play, but we can't forget who our coach is; from what I remember, last time Bilić and company had already qualified and were up against a team that had everything to play for...we brought it and we brought it hard. I'm sure you know the rest of the story.

WHERE IS ENGLAND???

'FANTASTIC TRIO' TO START VS. GERMANY

Slaven Bilić has just been quoted in various Croatian newspapers that his new 'fantastic trio' will shine versus Germany. This trio includes the likes of Niko Kranjčar, Luka Modrić, and yes, Ivan Rakitić! It looks like Croatia will finally start with the much talked about 'super midfield' versus Germany with Ivica Olić as the lone striker atop. Petrić will start the game on the bench and it looks like Dario Šimić will also start in the back. Everything else will remain the same as far as the starting 11 goes from the Austria game.

KICKOFF AT HIGH NOON(ET) ON ESPN2!!!

CROATIA TEAM UPDATE

We are now less than 32 hours from the Croatia-Germany clash in Klagenfurt and there's some important decisions to be made by coach Slaven Bilić. The question all Croatian fans are asking is what two strikers will play up top as well as whether Ivan Rakitić will be in the plans for the big game. There have been reports on Euro2008.com that Bilić will sit Pranjić for Simić and he will also be moving the entire strike force around because of Sunday's subpar performance.

This is good news in my eyes. I'd like to see Klasnić start up top and have Rakitić play an offensive midfielder role and leave Petrić and Olić on the bench. I just need to email Ivan Klasnić and make sure he wears his Werder Bremen jersey under his #17 Croatia and make him believe this is just another BundesLiga game. With all the Germans involved in this game and all the Croatian ties back to Germany, I think it just might work and we could see him score 2 goals or something like that; because we all know that he only shines when playing in Germany.

In other news, the Hrvatski Nogemetni Savez (HNS) was fined 8,000 Swiss Francs for inappropriate fan behavior. Croatian fans managed to sneak in flares and light them after the Modrić penalty as well as a fan running onto the pitch near the end of the game. As much as I find this funny because this fan made a security guard look extremely silly as he slipped; this does nothing for Croatian soccer and their pursuit of hosting a Euro tournament in the near future.

THE BEST WE HAVE???

I can be optimistic right now and say Croatia got the 3 points they were looking for against Austria, but let's be real here for a second. Croatia played like garbage and didn't deserve the win if you ask me. Here's a couple things we learned from the Austria game today.

Croatia is indeed still in a post-party hangover mode from the England match. It now appears that in beating England at Wembley and sending Croatia to the top of all European headlines, we might have done more harm to ourselves than we know regarding ego and how good we really are.

All those people who said we'll be fine without Eduardo and will find other ways to score- WRONG! Eduardo's ability to find the back of the net will be truly missed this tournament. Olić and Petrić did nothing as strikers against Austria. I understand coach Slaven Bilić's reason for starting these two, but to substitute Budan in late instead of Klasnić has me confused. I would have liked to see him sub Klasnić and Rakitić in for Olić and Petrić around the 60th minute.

I'm content with the 1st half as Croatia dominated ball possession and tempo of the game. They however needed to pounce on the Austrians after the Modrić penalty and put the game away right there and then.

As much as I hate to go here, I now must because it was in fact a close 1-0 game. Just remember that we wouldn't be having this conversation if Croatia put the game away early. Dutch referee, Pieter Vink, was as inconsistent as I've seen a referee. After setting the bar of the 'foul calling' with the penalty shot and yellow card to Austrian defender, Emanuel Pogatetz in the 3' for arguing, Vink did not show Pogatetz a second yellow for an absolute mugging on Ivica Olić in the corner in the 29'. The thing I really hated about this is that Vink originally motioned towards his pocket for the yellow and then thought again about it when I believe he realized he had already given Pogatetz a yellow. This would have put Austria down to 10 men and absolutely destroyed their morale and composure. But once again, we wouldn't be talking about this if Croatia blew the game out like they should have.

The 2nd half was dreadful for Croatia. Bilić looked like he was throwing in the white flag midway through the half on any scoring attack plan. Croatia played a lot of kickball and didn't use Modrić and Kranjčar at all in the midfield. The Austrians had too many scoring chances in the last 20 minutes and the game could have easily ended in a draw. Let's all thank Stipe Pletikosa for being on his game and bailing Croatia out with some nice saves.

If Croatia shows up like that on Thursday, they will not have a chance against Germany who beat Poland 2-0. I can only pray that the same team that prevented England a Euro 2008 dance card shows up against the Germans. The Germans are looking for revenge as Croatia knocked them out in the 1998 World Cup quarterfinal round in a stunning 3-0 game.

You can call me crazy for demanding more from this team or even argue that Croatia got the 3 points they must have had against Austria- end of story, but if this team is going to legitimately challenge teams for the EuroCup, they're going to have to score goals, real goals, and not get away with robbery on a dicey penalty kick call against a 92nd ranked team who only qualified because they are hosting the tournament.

I know I promised you guys fan footage from the train ride from Zagreb to Vienna today but Denis had trouble uploading all the content in Austria. Apparently, internet cafes in Vienna don't have picture programs, or maybe they just knew Denis was Croatian. Who knows. They'll be on the site soon though.

DINAMO PICKS UP ARGENTINE STRIKER

FIFA.com has confirmed that Dinamo Zagreb has signed Argentine striker, Guillermo Suarez, for an undisclosed amount from his former club, Tigre. This is a good pick up for Dinamo who just lost Luka Modrić to Tottenham.

Dinamo Zagreb has been very successful into turning their star players into top-tier transfers for the big leagues in Europe. In recent years they have managed to transfer Vedran Čorluka to Manchester City, Eduardo da Silva to Arsenal and of course Luka Modrić to Tottenham. So if you're asking yourself why this kid would go to Dinamo Zagreb from the top Argentine league, this would be my guess. If he plays well and Dinamo promotes him like they have the others, Suarez can be playing in Spain or England in a couple seasons. But Dinamo also wants to make a decent run into Champions League this season. They are always one of the stronger qualifying teams.

Dobro Došli to Croatia Guillermo Suarez!!!

And just on a side note, Croatia dropped 2 spots in Fifa rankings to #15. But you already know my thoughts on the Fifa World Rankings so I won't go on.

2 TICKETS TO PARADISE

This is how they look, ladies and gentlemen.

When Eddie Money sang "two tickets to paradise," he was referring to this.

I will be in Austria for the first and third match, and will stop in Zagreb for the Germany match. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to pick up tickets in the Croatian block. Hopefully, i can sneak my way in somehow.

I happened to run across these on the net. Aren't they beautiful?

This will be going through my head on the flight to Europe:

Got a surprise especially for you,
Something that both of us have always wanted to do.
We've waited so long, waited so long.
We've waited so long, waited so long.

I'm gonna take you on a trip so far from here,
I've got two tickets in my pocket, now baby, we're gonna disappear.
We've waited so long, waited so long.
We've waited so long, waited so long.

I've got two tickets to paradise,
Won't you pack your bags, we'll leave tonight,
I've got two tickets to paradise,
I've got two tickets to paradise.

oh-oh-uh-oh-uh-oh-uh-oh-uh-oh-uh-oh
oh-oh-uh-oh-uh-oh-uh-oh-uh-oh-uh-oh

I'm gonna take you on a trip so far from here,
I've got two tickets in my pocket, now baby, we're gonna disappear.
We've waited so long, waited so long.
We've waited so long, waited so long.

I've got two tickets to paradise,
Won't you pack your bags, we'll leave tonight,
I've got two tickets to paradise,
I've got two tickets to paradise.

THE FINAL TIME LUKA WILL FLY FOR DINAMO

In just a few hours time, NK Rijeka will kick off against Dinamo at the famous Maksimir stadium in Zagreb. More importantly, this will be Luka Modrić's final game in the Dinamo blue.

As a Hajduk fan, I have been waiting for this day for many years. As a Luka fan, I have been waiting for his transfer to a bigger club, where Luka can finally spread his wings and fly.

What will you remember the most about Luka and his days in Zagreb?

Good luck Luka. We at CroatianSoccerReport wish you as much success with Tottenham as you had here in Zagreb with Dinamo.

DINAMO SQUEAKS BY HAJDUK

Dinamo 1

Hajduk 0

38' Vrdoljak header from a corner

(pictured---Vrdoljak mobbed by Dinamo after goal)

DINAMO - HAJDUK ***LIVE***

Hajduk-Dinamo

LIVE

Line-ups

Dinamo

Koch, Carlos, Bišćan, Mikulić, Etto, Guela, Vukojević, Modrić, Vrdoljak, Mandžukić, Balaban

Hajduk

Varvodić, Jozinović, Tudor, Maloča, Pelaić, Andrić, Linić, Gabrić, Čop, Rukavina, Kalinić

Events

1'Derby is underway. Dinamo kicks off!

4'Hajduk comes out of the gate like a raging Bull.

4'Shot on goal by Ognjen Vukojević easily saved by Hajduk keeper Varvodić

6'Hajduk returns on the counterattack. Kalinić shot is first blocked by Igor Bišćan, then cleared from danger by Mikulić

8'An excellent through ball by Luka Modrić found Balaban. However, Hajduk's Maloča kicks out for a Dinamo corner.

11'Siniša Linić is the first to be cautioned with a yellow card for holding Vrdoljak.

20'After getting by terrible Dinamo defense, Srđan Andrić shoots wide from 18 meters.

21'Hajduk again on the counterattack pressures the Dinamo defense. Kalinić and Rukavina work a one two that leads to a long shot from Kalinić that doesn't trouble Koch.

23'Ante Rukavina is second Hajduk player booked today because of simulation.

30'Hajduk misses opportunity to go up one-nil. Andrić close shot blocked by Koch.

36'Dinamo corner delivered by Modrić, headed to far post by Bišćan, misseed opportunity by Mandžukić from four meters out.

38'GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL. Dinamo. A corner by Guele turns into a Vrdoljaka header in the Hajduk goal. Dinamo 1 Hajduk 0

44'Tomislav Mikulić is cautioned by the Rijeka Referee

HALFTIMEAfter 45 minutes of action, it's Hajduk Split 0 Dinamo Zagreb 1

Second Half...

46'Second half resumes after a ten minute delay because of smoke from the bad blue boys section of the stadium. Dinamo shot on goal.

48'Great play by Mandžukić and Vrdoljak results in a Mandžukića low shot from 13 meters out which doesn't trouble Hajduk keeper Varvodić.

50'Hajduk free kick. Andrić shoots low right which Dinamo keeper kick saves out.

55'Čop gets booked for a harsh challenge and Andrić gets booked for arguing.

60'Balaban is done for the night. Josip Tadić relieves will try to do better than Balaban. Hajduk counters with a Bušić for Kalinić swap.

69'Dinamo make their second substitution of the evening. Guele is brought in for Mihael Mikić.

70'Hajduk now counters with a sub. Čop is done for the night, with Milić looking to cause havoc for Dinamo.

76'Nothing interesting to report. As both Dinamo and Hajduk players look uninterested and inattentive.

77'Hajduk manager, Rober Jarni still barking at the officials over Čop yellow card.

79'Hajduk makes final change as Jarni inserts Marin Ljubičić for Srđan Andrić.

80'Hajduk's Milić receives yellow card for rough challenge on Dinamo Mikić.

83'Onoe of the most dull and uneventful Hajduk-Dinamo derbies of all time. Both Torcida and Bad Blue Boys are disappointed and embarrassed by both teams lack of effort. Fans from both sides are rushing the exits.

84'Vukojević is in the books for Dinamo after a rough challenge on Pelaić.

90'Rijeka referee announces 4 minutes of extra time

92'Soldo gives Domagoj Antolić a minute of action as he is brought in for Dinamo captain Luka Modrić.

Dinamo 1 Hajduk 0 Final!Referee blows for time and ends one of the most disappointing derbies in recent memory.

DINAMO - HAJDUK SATURDAY 10PM PACIFIC

Croatian soccer followers living in the United States will have the opportunity to catch this Saturday's Hajduk Split - Dinamo Zagreb match on delayed Croatian satellite television at 10PM Pacific standard time.

Croatian satellite HTV: slika Hrvatske will also air 2 replays on Sunday at 6am and 2pm(PST)

Fellow CSR writer, Ante Kvartuc and I are looking for Dinamo and Hajduk fans to join us in Los Angeles for what hopes to be another memorable "eternal derby." Please feel free to email us if you are interested.