Dinamo Zagreb 3 - 0 A.S Jeunesse Esch

Rados stars as Dinamo register opening-day win

Division 3C - Dinamo Zagreb breezed past newly promoted side A.S Jeunesse Esch 2-0 yesterday, strolling to a comfortable win at Maksimir.

A 36 min Olexandr Buryi goal and a Luis Gonzalez header 6 minutes from regulation were enough to see off a weakened but resilient Jeunesse side. Young winger Ivo Rados once again served up a reminder of why he is so highly regarded, with a splendid display orchestrating the Zagreb attack all afternoon. Although he did not score, Man of the Match Rados notched an assist in the opening goal and was involved heavily in the other.

Dinamo Zagreb fielded 4 new signings, with Arne Repvik and Igor Morozov in defence and Buryi and Gonzalez in the middle of the park. Buryi was forunate as Rados' dangerous cross from the right was deflected off a defender and into his path, but he made no mistake with a rising drive into the opposition net and past stranded Jeunesse goalkeeper Yves Bernard, who had come off his line in an attempt to clear the ball.

A.S Jeunesse Esch were missing star winger Constant Kaïper, but it was just not their day as they struggled to find any sort of form in this match. Jeunesse defender Tor Erling Feen Larsen was having a torrid time containing Zagreb's relentless attacks, and brought down an onrushing Ivo Rados just outside the box in the 83rd min. That earned him a yellow card as Rados took the free kick. The delivery was exquisite and the set-piece perfect as Ruslan Kostishin at the near post drew two defenders with a dummy header and Inaki was on hand to head the ball down to an unmarked Gonzalez. The latter's glancing header gave Bernard no chance, leaving him with nothing to do but pick the ball out of the net.

Jeunesse manager Gijs Simons was gracious in defeat, pointing out that he had not expected much out of this match, and stating that Zagreb were the better team that day.

Dinamo's Jatex Cole told assembled journalists at the post-match conference that he was satisfied with the performance, but thought there was still room for improvement with a few of the players still shaking off the lethargy from the off-season.

"Hopefully, we'll get better as we go," he commented, "It's lucky for us that the first match was a fairly routine one, but I told the players we should have put away more of our chances. Rados did more than was expected of him but some of the players were guilty of wasteful passing and finishing. We'll look to improve before the next match comes around."

Rados and Repvik were also included in the Team of the Round for the division.

Zagreb Unveils Pres-season Signings

Club may still be looking for reinforcements

Dinamo Zagreb today released the official list of players who had either joined the club or left it in the pre-season period. The manager stated that it was not a complete list as he was still looking to add to his squad.

"I'm hopeful of one or two more signings. The board has been very supportive of our dealings so far and we at the club hope we can repay our fans with some good performances this season.

The list is as follows.

Players In


Kjell-Frode Borgersen - Brann - p/x
Luis González - Brann - p/x
Arne Repvik - Brann - p/x
Anders Sæternes - Brann - p/x
Ivan Paskov - Nacional - £1m+p/x
Olexandr Buryi - Montreal Impact - p/x
Christian Oetling - Chiapas - £5.2m
Igor Morozov - Atlectico Madrid - p/x


Players Out


Thomas Manfredini - Brann - £9m+p/x
Niclas Rasck - fc Vaduz - £2.5m
Salvatore Lanna - Brann - p/x
Damir Milinovic - Brann - p/x
Zan Karlo Braovic - Nacional - p/x
Peter Eriksson - Montreal Impact - p/x
Rudolf Moravek - Montreal Impact - p/x
Jacques Padovani - Montreal Impact - p/x
Fabricio Frohlich - Brann - Loan
Joonas Siikala - Brann - Loan
Josko Kurtovic - Paris St-Germain - Loan
Roy Keane - Montreal Impact - Loan
Harris Lurling - Atletico Madrid - p/x
Ivan Paskov - Atletico Madrid - p/x

Cole Lets Slip About Transfer Plans

Division 1 Defender Apparent Target

Dinamo Zagreb manager Jatex Cole unwittingly let slip about his transfer plans in the run-up to thie first league matches of the season. At an impromptu press conference held at their Hitrec - Kacijan football school training ground, where the players were going through their paces, Cole was commenting on the readiness of his squad.

"We are very strong in midfield this season, with Ivo Rados truly ready to lead the team. In attack, we are fairly competent too with Juan Manuel Gutiérrez de Cos having successfully made the transition to the first team. Defensively however we are a bit weak. But I'm looking to change this in the near future. In fact today, I have verbally agreed on a deal with... erm well I wasn't supposed to reveal that..."

Cole chuckled as the assembled journalists roared with laughter. "Well, since I have already let slip about that, I may as well tell you that he is a strong defender from the first division and we will be very lucky to have him. His club made a huge sacrifice in letting him come over here and we will be grateful to them."

The gaffer has already signed new players this season. Notable among them have been Olexandr Buryi from Montreal Impact, in a move taht saw Roy Keane going the other way in a loan deal and Arne Repvik from feeder club Brann.

"We have lost some vital experience at the back, having let club captain Damir [Milinovic], Thomas [Manfredini] and Salvattore [Lanna] move to Brann."

Cole rounded off the conference by stating that while Zagreb were in a rebuilding process once again, he was hopeful that the club could challenge for top spot and gain top spot, "The sad truth to Division 3C and what sets us apart from the other Div 3s is that there are only two sets of clubs here, those fighting for promotion and those fighting relegation. Of course, we certainly hope to be among the former. It'll be tough but we have belief in ourselves."

Zagreb Outloans Completed For Now

Dinamo Zagreb today announced that 4 of its players had gone on loan at three different clubs. Manager Cole mentioned that no other player would be allowed to leave on loan until perhaps later in the season.

"We've reached our maximum number of outloans already and besides our squad is looking quite thin by our usual standards. I had trouble finding 11 names to put on our teamsheet for today's home friendly."

Zagreb is to play today against Norweigian side Brann, in it's annual two-legged tourney. Last season, Zagreb reserves totally whitewashed their opponents and won the inaugral Challenge Trophy. However, today's match pits Cole against two of his youngsters on loan at Brann, Finnish striker Joonas Siikala, who had found it hard breaking into the first team at Zagreb, and 19 year old Brazillian centreback Fabricio Frohlich, who looks to have a promising future ahead of him.

Earlier, young hotshot winger Josko Kurtovic completed his loan move over to division rivals Paris St Germain. Kurtovic has long been seen as one of Zagreb's hottest properties, though he has yet to break into the first team. Last season saw some outstanding displays from the Croatian wunderkid at Brann but it looks like he'll have to gain more experience before challenging for a first team place at Zagreb.

Defender Roy Keane also completed his one month loan move to Montreal Impact today, in view of securing a permanent deal. It looks like Keane's days at Zagreb are numbered after a row with manager Cole about his playing opportunities. Keane was reportedly said to be furious at the fact that Cole was still looking for one or two more quality defenders. When asked, Manager Cole responded sombrely, "We had a few words today yeah. Besides, I had enough of his whining too about wanting to go over to America... Seems Zagreb's not warm enough for him at the moment (it's 1°C and his balls are freezing) so the players got together and pooled money for him to take the early flight out. Now, we can finally have peace and quiet and take the earplugs out before training."