SRNA & COMPANY BRING DINAMO BACK DOWN TO EARTH

Well, there goes that. Dinamo Zagreb finally lost a game. Granted it was against the reigning Ukrainian champs, Dinamo just could not find the back of the net.

It only took Shakhtar Donetsk 3 minutes to score their first goal. Croatian star, Darijo 'Beckham of the Balkans' Srna did what he does best and blasted a free kick from just outside the box past 20 year-old backup keeper, Ivan Kelava. Brazilian born, Brandao, tacked on a 2nd goal for the Ukrainian side in the 31'.

Although a 2-0 loss for Dinamo isn't impossible to come back from, especially with a home game in 2 weeks time, the fact that they couldn't muster up the all-important 'away goal' is probably going to prevent them from making group stage. The most optimistic, yet realistic, scenario a Dinamo fan can be hoping for is a 2-0 win at Maksimir, which would force extra time. Should Shakhtar score a goal in Zagreb, Dinamo will have to win by 3 goals to go on.

So what's next for Croatian soccer?...

The UEFA Cup 2nd qualifying round starts tomorrow. Hajduk Split are in Spain to take on Deportivo and Slaven Belupo travel to Greece to face Aris Thessaloniki. Should either Croatian team upset their competition, they will qualify for the UEFA Cup 1st round, where Dinamo will end up unless they come up with a miracle win in Zagreb on the 27th.

Here's some highlights from the match...

CAN DINAMO STAY PERFECT???

Dinamo Zagreb has exploded out of the gates to start the 2008-09 season. They have earned maximum points in 3 games in the Croatian Prva Liga and have an undefeated record in the first 2 rounds of Champion's League qualifying.

The real test begins tomorrow when Dinamo takes on Ukrainian champs, Shakhtar Donetsk. The meeting kicks off the 3rd qualifying round for both teams with the return in Zagreb a fortnight (2 weeks) later. The winner shall qualify for the UEFA Champion's League group stage, which is considered the 'real' start to the football season in Europe.

For Croatia, which is currently ranked the 26th best league in Europe, to send a team to group stage; would really say something about our current state of soccer, especially after a successful Euro 2008 campaign.

Roster up-date: Tadić will start up top for Balaban and 20 year-old second string goalkeeper, Ivan Kelava will start for Tomislav Butina who has a stomach injury.

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.

UEFA SCHEDULE RELEASED

UEFA has has released the schedule for the Champion's League 3rd qualifying round games as well as the Uefa Cup 2nd qualifying round matches. Hajduk Split has been paired up with Deportivo, who last year finished 9th in the Spanish La Liga. Slaven Belupo will match wits with Aris Thessaloniki of the Greek Super League. Aris finished 4th last year in their respected league. Both of these UEFA Cup encounters start on the road for the Croatian clubs on August 14th before returning home for the second leg a fortnight later (2 weeks later or 14 days for those of you who are unfamiliar with the lingo) on August 28th. Hajduk and Slaven aren't expected to do much against these proven teams but it's always nice to see what they're made of and what kind of trouble Torcida can get into next.

On the other side of the spectrum, should Dinamo Zagreb move onto the next and final Champion's League qualifying round (and we all expect they should with an away 3-0 win), they would face off against Darijo Srna's club team, Shakhtar Donetsk, of the Ukranian Premier League which would be a fantastic test for the team from Zagreb.

More news is on the way as pre-season tournaments are on the brink and the major European leagues are almost ready to kick off the new season.

Stay tuned guys!

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.