NK Zagreb

Nogometni klub Zagreb (Football Club Zagreb), commonly known as NK Zagreb or simply Zagreb (pronounced [zâːɡreb]), is a Croatian amateur football club based in the Croatian capital city of Zagreb. It currently competes in the fourth tier league competition of Croatian football league system, Četvrta nogometna liga Središte Zagreb podskupina A in Croatian (Fourth football league Region Zagreb division A) for the third consecutive season. The club was founded in 1908 as HŠK Zagreb, meaning Hrvatski Športski Klub Zagreb (Croatian Athletic Club Zagreb).[1] After World War II NK Zagreb had a considerable success in former Yugoslavia being enlisted as a notable club (at least 10 top-flight seasons or at least one title) in Yugoslav First League. Zagreb played a total of 18 seasons in the top flight before league got disintegrated in 1991 with only Croatian big teams Hajduk, Dinamo and Rijeka achieving more competitive seasons. The biggest achievement in that period happened in 1964–65 season when Zagreb finished 6th under the management of coach Gustav Lechner[1] and contribution of an all-time club legend, prolific forward Zlatko Dračić, a league top goalscorer.

For other uses, see Zagreb (disambiguation).

NK Zagreb
Full nameNogometni klub Zagreb
(Football Club Zagreb)
Nickname(s)Zagrebaši (*untranslatable)
Pjesnici (The Poets)
Pogorelci (The Smolders)
Bijeli (The Whites)
Short nameZAG
Founded1908 (1908)
as HŠK Zagreb
GroundNogometni centar ZAGREBello
Capacity1,000
PresidentTomislav Čilić
Head coachDražen Madunović
League4. NL Središte Zagreb podskupina A
2020–214. NL Središte Zagreb, 3rd of 18
WebsiteClub website

From 1992 to 2016 Zagreb played in top division of Croatian football then known as Prva hrvatska nogometna liga (Croatian First Football League), short Prva HNL or 1.HNL or simply HNL as a founding club member with the exception of 2013–14 season. The greatest accomplishment in Croatian football came in 2001–02 season. Under the guidance of manager Zlatko Kranjčar, against all odds, NK Zagreb surprisingly won the championship, with club's young striker Ivica Olić securing a title of league top goalscorer. It was the first time since its establishment in 1992 and, by some accounts, the first time in 57 years that the Croatian champion was not Dinamo Zagreb or Hajduk Split,[1] an achievement that was repeated only once, 15 years later by HNK Rijeka.[2] Another rarity that Zagreb achieved in the Croatian football happened in 2013–14 season when they promptly won Croatian Second Football League, thus becoming the only football club in Croatia to ever hold titles in both first and second division. Zagreb were also finalist of 1997 Croatian Football Cup and finalist of Croatian Football Super Cup in 2002.

In October 2018, after eviction from their historical home venue, Stadion u Kranjčevićevoj, NK Zagreb is using their training camp ZAGREBello with an approximate capacity of 1,000 as a home ground for its official fixtures, which is located in Veslačka street. 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 popular nickname of the club is "The Poets", Pjesnici in Croatian, due to their former location of home ground at Kranjčevićeva street, which is named after Croatian poet Silvije Strahimir Kranjčević and became a well-known phrase "club from the street of poet", that was often used by the popular radio sports commentator Ivo Tomić for NK Zagreb when broadcasting football matches.[1]

Although NK Zagreb is currently competing in the fourth tier of Croatian Football League, it competed in the top-level First Croatian Football League for 24 seasons until 2016, when the club was relegated from first division for its second and the last time. Since 2009–10 season due to non-existence of club board, poor management skills and unprofessional behavior of its president the real problems start to kick in for Zagreb. For long period of time, in particular from 1950s to 2010s, NK Zagreb was the second strongest and most famous football club in city of Zagreb and by far the most famous football club in Trešnjevka neighbourhood.[1] 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 filers.

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

FD Zagreb

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.[2] 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).

Croatian football league system

NK Zagreb competed in the First Croatian Football League from the very beginning in 1992 until the end of 2012–13 season when they got relegated to the Second Croatian Football League[1] for the first time.

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.

NK Zagreb is the first club to break the dominance of Dinamo and Hajduk in winning Croatian titles, and is the first Croatian club after 57 years to be a national champion without being Hajduk Split or Dinamo Zagreb. NK Zagreb broke the duopoly for the first time in the championship of 2002.[1]

Standard lineup for the champion team was: Vasilj, Stavrevski, Pirić, Ješe, Bulat, Poldrugač, Duro, Hasančić, Franja, Lovrek, Olić.

In 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]

Downfall

The club were relegated to the third division in 2017 and finished in 9th place in their first season in the league.[2] The club suffered a disastrous start to the 2018 season in which they missed a game against NK Jadran Porec for not having a licensed doctor at the match.[4]

Kranjčevićeva eviction

In 2018 after managing Stadion Kranjčevićeva as their home ground since 1946 for 72 years, NK Zagreb was denied of new managing contract by the city's officials which in the end led to eviction from the venue in October 2018. So, as of 2018–19 season NK Zagreb is using their training camp ZAGREBello venue with an approximate capacity of 1000 as a home ground for its official fixtures which is located in Veslačka street.

Name changes
  • Hrvatski športski klub Zagreb (1908 – June 1912)
  • Hrvatski tipografski športski klub Zagreb (June 1912 – July 1918)
  • Športski klub Plamen (July 1919 – 1920)
  • Športski klub Zagreb (1920 – June 1941)
  • Fiskulturno društvo Zagreb (10 October 1946 – 1950)
  • Nogometni klub Zagreb (1950–8 August 1960)
  • Grafički nogometni klub Zagreb (9 August 1960 – 1961)
  • Nogometni klub Zagreb (1961–present)[1]

Stadium
Main article: Stadion u Kranjčevićevoj
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 neighbourhood in Zagreb, Croatia. The stadium at what was then called Tratinska cesta (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.[1] 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 (Zagreb Sports Society), whose football section later evolved into today's NK Zagreb football club.[1] 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. 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.[5] 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.

The peculiarity of this stadium is the non-existence of the usual athletic track. Instead, a profiled circular cycling track was built, the so-called cyclodrome, unique in Croatia and is used for track cycling and bicycle racing sport events.[1]

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.[6]

Honours
Winners (1): 2001–02
Runners up (2): 1992, 1993–94
Third place (3): 1992–93, 2004–05, 2006–07
Winners (1): 2013–14
Third place (1): 2020–21
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
2017–18 3. HNL 34 13 5 16 46 51 44 9th R2 Filip Matijašević 17
2018–19 3. HNL 34 4 3 27 26 96 15 18th ↓ R1 Marko Bubnjić 10
2019–20 4. HNL Center 16 7 6 3 25 20 27 6th R1 Antonio Regović
Lovro Medić		 7
2020–21 4. HNL Center 34 20 8 6 71 36 68 3rd R2 Lovro Medić 17

Key

1st 2nd/RU ↑ ↓
Champions Runners-up Promoted Relegated

Top scorer shown in bold when he was also top scorer for the division.

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.

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

Record by country of opposition
  • Correct as of 14 June 2011
CountryPldWDLGFGAGDWin%
Albania 2 1 0 1 2 2 +0 050.00
Austria 3 2 1 0 9 2 +7 066.67
Belgium 4 1 0 3 4 6 −2 025.00
France 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1 000.00
Iceland 1 0 1 0 0 0 +0 000.00
Italy 2 0 1 1 1 2 −1 000.00
Hungary 2 1 0 1 2 2 +0 050.00
Macedonia 4 2 1 1 6 4 +2 050.00
Norway 2 1 0 1 5 6 −1 050.00
Romania 2 0 1 1 2 3 −1 000.00
Scotland 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 100.00
Slovenia 2 0 1 1 2 3 −1 000.00
Totals2696113532+336.84

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

Player records

Managerial history
 

Club management

Administration
  • President: Dražen Medić
  • Vice President: Tomislav Čilić
  • General Director: Vincenzo Cavaliere
  • Sports Director:
  • Technical Director: Igor Šestić
  • Head of Accounting and Finance: Anđelka Matić
  • Secretary: Tino Madunović
  • Spokesman: Zlatko Abramović

Source: nkzagreb.hr, Last updated unknown

Coaching staff
  • Coach: Željko Kopić
  • Asst. Coach: Zlatko Bašic
  • Fitness coach: Vedran Naglić
  • Goalkeeping Coach: Željko Nježić
  • Youth Team Coach: Dražen Madunović, Ivo Milić

Source: nkzagreb.hr, Last updated unknown

References
  1. "NK Zagreb" [NK Zagreb] (in Croatian). Mapiranje Trešnjevke. January–February 2014. Retrieved 3 October 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. Jurišić, Predrag (4 August 2018). "Jedini klub koji je uz Dinamo, Hajduk i Rijeku osvajao naslov prvaka; nemam sponzora, a ni navijača: pitanje je dana kada će postati samo dio povijesti" [The sole club that won the Championship alongside Dinamo, Hajduk and Rijeka; without sponsors, without fans: it is a matter of day when it will become a thing of the past] (in Croatian). The Morning Paper/Sports News. Retrieved 5 December 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. "Igrači Zagreba u štrajku!" [Zagreb players on strike!] (in Croatian). Večernji list. Archived from the original on 26 February 2017. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  4. "Kakva šamarčina! NK Zagreb zadnji u Trećoj HNL, jučer nisu odigrali utakmicu zbog bizarnog razloga". Germanijak.hr. 30 September 2018.
  5. "Pripreme počinju u srijedu" (in Croatian). Sportnet.hr. Archived from the original on 10 June 2008. Retrieved 9 June 2008.
  6. "White Angels Zagreb – Rebel Ultras". rebelultras.com. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015.
  7. "Zagreb profile". UEFA.com. Archived from the original on 29 March 2010. Retrieved 13 April 2010.
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