DINAMO OFF TO FACE SHAKHTAR

Domžale needed a miraculous win in Zagreb Wednesday night if they were going to keep their Champion's League campaign alive. Well, they didn't quite make it. Dinamo easily took care of the Slovenian side, 3-2, and wins the two-legged series 6-2 on aggregate. Goals by captain Igor Bišćan (17'), former Hajduk star Mirko Hrgović (50') and Dino Drpić (83') were enough for the one goal win.

Domžale was brave enough to tie the game on two occasions (29',81') but it was not near enough of an effort to get them the result they needed. Dinamo Zagreb fly to Donetsk next week to face Ukrainian champs, Shakhtar Donetsk, who are captained by Croatian international, Darijo Srna. The official date has not yet been set but is expected to be August 12th or 13th. This will be the 3rd and final qualifying round for Champion's League before Group Stage starts September 16th. Should Dinamo upset the Ukrainian side, it will be the first time since the 1999-2000 season that a Croatian team has made it to the Champion's League Group Stage. Dinamo Zagreb (then called Croatia Zagreb) only managed one win in the group against the likes of Manchester United, Marseille and Sturm Graz.

Stay tuned as this is where Champion League games get interesting.

DINAMO DOMINATE DOMŽALE

Dinamo Zagreb and Domžale have a knack of meeting in the UEFA Champion's League 2nd qualifying round; and for the second straight year, Dinamo showed their superiority once again.

Dinamo started off hot and only needed one half of soccer to get the away result they were looking for. Ivica Vrdoljak opened up the scoring with a goal in the 11th minute. Shortly after, Brazilian born Sammir, tacked on another one in the 21'. Finishing off 1st half festivities for Dinamo, Josip Tadić stuck a fork in Domžale's hopes of reaching the next round with a goal in the 40th minute.

With a 3-0 lead at halftime, the rest of the game was merely a conservative training exercise for Dinamo. They succeeded as the score remained the same for the rest of the match. Only a disaster in Zagreb on August 6th would prevent Dinamo from reaching the final qualifying round, which contains some of the 'big boys' of European club soccer: Arsenal, Liverpool, Juventus, Marseille, Barcelona and Schalke 04 are some of the teams that Dinamo can face. They were eliminated by Werder Bremen last year.

Hajduk and Slaven Belupo play the second leg of their UEFA Cup 1st qualifying round games tomorrow, July 31st. Both teams should cruise as they have 4 goal aggregate leads on their Maltese foes.

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.

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.