Croatian League - Hrvatska nogometna liga

[Daniel91]

Typically, I don't place bets on HNL matches, but with the upcoming Eternal Derby, I'm curious... What's your take on the current line? Do you think it's a wise decision to place a bet on either team?



Dinamo is leading the table with an impressive record of 16 wins, 4 draws, and only one loss. They're currently sitting comfortably at the top of the league, and their recent form has been excellent. On the other hand, Hajduk is in second place, with a record of 13 wins, 5 draws, and 4 losses. They've also been in decent form lately, with some solid performances in recent matches. This will be the third time Hajduk and Dinamo face off in the current season. The first game ended with a 4-1 victory for Dinamo in Zagreb, while the second match resulted in a 1-1 draw in Split.

If I were to bet on this game, I would put my money on Dinamo. It's true that Hajduk is in a decent form lately, but games between these two teams are something special. I'm sure that Dinamo players will put an extra effort in the game. I didn't follow the news from Hajduk, but I see that SofaScore has Livaja as doubtful for the game. I don't like him but he is an important player and I don't see them winning without him.

The results of the matches between Dinamo and Hajduk are always difficult to predict and the position in the league table or the current form are often not a decisive factor.
In fact, I would not agree that Dinamo plays well in the rest of the season, they lost a lot of points, but luckily for them, Hajduk plays even worse.
Livaja is a key player for Hajduk, if he is going to play Hajduk is not without a chance, but without Livaja the match is decided even before the start of the match.
These games are always very tense and quite nervous and usually the team that scores the first goal wins.
There is currently a lot of tension around Dinamo because of the upcoming club assembly and the struggle for power, so I don't know how Dinamo fans will react.

[slackovic]

The result lf today's game between Dinamo and Hajduk (Dinamo won 4-0) perfectly showed the difference in quality between Dinamo and the rest teams. The only way Dinamo can lose a game in the Croatian league is if they let other team win. There is no team that can outplay them... And with this win I'm sure that the race for the title is over. Dinamo will once again win the championship title and it will be well deserved.

[cryptofrka]

It was a game of men vs children. Totally expected though, Hajduk is nowhere near good enough to challenge Dinamo.
It should not be perceived as end of the world though - the difference is realistic, Dinamo has a far bigger budget and more quality and depth.

Hajduk is finally doing some things right, but it's still a long way to the top. History has shown they are impatient and will throw away all the good that has been done so far away soon enough.

[slackovic]

It was a game of men vs children. Totally expected though, Hajduk is nowhere near good enough to challenge Dinamo.
It should not be perceived as end of the world though - the difference is realistic, Dinamo has a far bigger budget and more quality and depth.

Hajduk is finally doing some things right, but it's still a long way to the top. History has shown they are impatient and will throw away all the good that has been done so far away soon enough.

Yeah, Dinamo has a bigger budget which attracts better players but what is stopping Hajduk to do the same? I don't think that Dinamo is that much better in investing their money in players. After all, in a few days Hajduk's juniors will play against Man City in the UEFA Champions League. So it looks like their young players are pretty good. What happens in the senior squad that they can't play against Dinamo?

[cryptofrka]

Yeah, Dinamo has a bigger budget which attracts better players but what is stopping Hajduk to do the same? I don't think that Dinamo is that much better in investing their money in players. After all, in a few days Hajduk's juniors will play against Man City in the UEFA Champions League. So it looks like their young players are pretty good. What happens in the senior squad that they can't play against Dinamo?

Just look at Baturina's example. He was raised in Split, in Hajduk's footballing school. The kid's a fantastic player in the making, and he'll make a big transfer out of Dinamo.
Why? Because Hajduk has a toxic atmosphere, no cohesion in coaching/academy system and no vision. It took Dinamo years to get to the place they are currently at, Hajduk cannot compete with that by simply increasing the budget.

Dinamo is selling players constantly for huge valuations, Hajduk has to sell them as soon as someone's interested just to keep functioning. They are not in the same sentence, and won't be for a while.

[Sirait]

It was a game of men vs children. Totally expected though, Hajduk is nowhere near good enough to challenge Dinamo.
It should not be perceived as end of the world though - the difference is realistic, Dinamo has a far bigger budget and more quality and depth.

Hajduk is finally doing some things right, but it's still a long way to the top. History has shown they are impatient and will throw away all the good that has been done so far away soon enough.

even though they had to lose to Dinamo due to differences in player quality and strategy, Hajduk played quite well and produced 3 'shots on target' against Dinamo's goal. livaja is a great striker hajduk who is the current top scorer, luckily dynamo has a very good goalkeeper (livakovic) so livaja failed to score a goal.

[Daniel91]

Yeah, Dinamo has a bigger budget which attracts better players but what is stopping Hajduk to do the same? I don't think that Dinamo is that much better in investing their money in players. After all, in a few days Hajduk's juniors will play against Man City in the UEFA Champions League. So it looks like their young players are pretty good. What happens in the senior squad that they can't play against Dinamo?

Just look at Baturina's example. He was raised in Split, in Hajduk's footballing school. The kid's a fantastic player in the making, and he'll make a big transfer out of Dinamo.
Why? Because Hajduk has a toxic atmosphere, no cohesion in coaching/academy system and no vision. It took Dinamo years to get to the place they are currently at, Hajduk cannot compete with that by simply increasing the budget.

Dinamo is selling players constantly for huge valuations, Hajduk has to sell them as soon as someone's interested just to keep functioning. They are not in the same sentence, and won't be for a while.

On the other hand, the Hajduk juniors achieved a fantastic result and qualified for the quarterfinals of the Junior Champions League after defeating the big favorite of the competition, Manchester City.
This is proof that the Hajduk junior team is doing a great job and that they have a lot of young and very talented players, but the question is how many of these players will ever play for the Hajduk senior team?
Most likely, the club's management will sell the best juniors for small money to the first bidder, in order to cover the club's financial debts.
Hajduk simply does not have enough patience, a plan and a long-term vision for the development of the club.
Osijek and Rijeka are also in a big crisis, so Dinamo currently has no serious competition in the Croatian league.

[slackovic]

On the other hand, the Hajduk juniors achieved a fantastic result and qualified for the quarterfinals of the Junior Champions League after defeating the big favorite of the competition, Manchester City.
This is proof that the Hajduk junior team is doing a great job and that they have a lot of young and very talented players, but the question is how many of these players will ever play for the Hajduk senior team?
Most likely, the club's management will sell the best juniors for small money to the first bidder, in order to cover the club's financial debts.
Hajduk simply does not have enough patience, a plan and a long-term vision for the development of the club.
Osijek and Rijeka are also in a big crisis, so Dinamo currently has no serious competition in the Croatian league.

I just remembered now to watch the highlights. Unfortunately I couldn't watch the game. I see that Man. City attacked more than Hajduk, but they couldn't score except for that one goal. When I see how juniors are playing against top European teams, I can't help but wonder what are they (Hajduk board) doing wrong? It can't be that they are so shortsighted that they can't see a quality young player in their squad. Something is seriously wrong with that club if their juniors can play in the quarterfinal of the Youth UCL and seniors play like a bunch of amateurs in the game against Dinamo.

[swogerino]

It was a game of men vs children. Totally expected though, Hajduk is nowhere near good enough to challenge Dinamo.
It should not be perceived as end of the world though - the difference is realistic, Dinamo has a far bigger budget and more quality and depth.

Hajduk is finally doing some things right, but it's still a long way to the top. History has shown they are impatient and will throw away all the good that has been done so far away soon enough.

even though they had to lose to Dinamo due to differences in player quality and strategy, Hajduk played quite well and produced 3 'shots on target' against Dinamo's goal. livaja is a great striker hajduk who is the current top scorer, luckily dynamo has a very good goalkeeper (livakovic) so livaja failed to score a goal.

That pretty much sums up well what has been going on in the Croatian Liga 1 for some time now.Dinamo is the strongest team there and it looks like other clubs like Hajduk their historical rival together with Rijeka sometime are not able to fight back or create a really good team in order to compete with them.

Even if Hajduk has been consistently producing good players from their academy we are not seeing any result here because most likely these players move away to other clubs for more money than Hajduk can afford to pay them.

[Daniel91]

On the other hand, the Hajduk juniors achieved a fantastic result and qualified for the quarterfinals of the Junior Champions League after defeating the big favorite of the competition, Manchester City.
This is proof that the Hajduk junior team is doing a great job and that they have a lot of young and very talented players, but the question is how many of these players will ever play for the Hajduk senior team?
Most likely, the club's management will sell the best juniors for small money to the first bidder, in order to cover the club's financial debts.
Hajduk simply does not have enough patience, a plan and a long-term vision for the development of the club.
Osijek and Rijeka are also in a big crisis, so Dinamo currently has no serious competition in the Croatian league.

I just remembered now to watch the highlights. Unfortunately I couldn't watch the game. I see that Man. City attacked more than Hajduk, but they couldn't score except for that one goal. When I see how juniors are playing against top European teams, I can't help but wonder what are they (Hajduk board) doing wrong? It can't be that they are so shortsighted that they can't see a quality young player in their squad. Something is seriously wrong with that club if their juniors can play in the quarterfinal of the Youth UCL and seniors play like a bunch of amateurs in the game against Dinamo.

Yes, it is very difficult to explain and understand.
Hajduk has long had a tradition of being a top youth football school, dating back to the time of the former Yugoslavia.
But few of these young players played for Hajduk, and most of them had to go to some other clubs to succeed.
As far as I remember, both Boban and Modric were not recognized by Hajduk's coaches as talents and were kicked out of the club.
Maybe there lies the answer to the question why Hajduk is not at the level of Dinamo.

[Sirait]

That pretty much sums up well what has been going on in the Croatian Liga 1 for some time now.Dinamo is the strongest team there and it looks like other clubs like Hajduk their historical rival together with Rijeka sometime are not able to fight back or create a really good team in order to compete with them.

Even if Hajduk has been consistently producing good players from their academy we are not seeing any result here because most likely these players move away to other clubs for more money than Hajduk can afford to pay them.

the Croatian league is not too big so the development of the players will also be very slow, if players who graduate from their academy move and try to get more money from outside clubs that I think is a natural and humane thing.

yesterday's match, rijeka managed to win 2-0 over istra 1961, jankovic is the man of the match. In a few hours we will see the match between Varazdin vs Sibenik, looking at the history of the two teams it seems that the quality of the two is balanced but the chances for Varazdin to win are greater.

[slackovic]

the Croatian league is not too big so the development of the players will also be very slow, if players who graduate from their academy move and try to get more money from outside clubs that I think is a natural and humane thing.

yesterday's match, rijeka managed to win 2-0 over istra 1961, jankovic is the man of the match. In a few hours we will see the match between Varazdin vs Sibenik, looking at the history of the two teams it seems that the quality of the two is balanced but the chances for Varazdin to win are greater.

Croatian league may not be big, but I think that Croatia doesn't have a problem with developing young players. That's evident now that Hajduk's juniors won against Manchester City juniors. The problem is when juniors becomes senior players. That's the time when it becomes evident that Croatian league doesn't have enough high quality teams where they can play. And then juniors sign with foreign clubs because they offer them salary and other things Croatian clubs simply can't offer. That's why Croatian national team is much better than Croatian clubs.

[Daniel91]

the Croatian league is not too big so the development of the players will also be very slow, if players who graduate from their academy move and try to get more money from outside clubs that I think is a natural and humane thing.

yesterday's match, rijeka managed to win 2-0 over istra 1961, jankovic is the man of the match. In a few hours we will see the match between Varazdin vs Sibenik, looking at the history of the two teams it seems that the quality of the two is balanced but the chances for Varazdin to win are greater.

Croatian league may not be big, but I think that Croatia doesn't have a problem with developing young players. That's evident now that Hajduk's juniors won against Manchester City juniors. The problem is when juniors becomes senior players. That's the time when it becomes evident that Croatian league doesn't have enough high quality teams where they can play. And then juniors sign with foreign clubs because they offer them salary and other things Croatian clubs simply can't offer. That's why Croatian national team is much better than Croatian clubs.

In football, it all comes down to finances in the end.
With the exception of Dinamo, almost all Croatian clubs are barely surviving financially and depend on the sale of their best players to cover their costs and be able to continue doing business.
I just read the news somewhere that Rijeka and Osijek were financially fined by UEFA due to financial debts.
Of course, when you are forced to sell your best players in order to survive financially, then you are not competitive in European competitions and that is why Croatian clubs, with the exception of Dinamo, have not been able to make any notable results in European competitions for a long time.
However, the true quality of Croatian football players can be seen when the Croatian national team performs at world and European competitions.
Croatia is simply too small a country and does not have enough sponsors and fans to be able to compete with other, financially stronger European leagues and clubs.

[minime0105]

Croatia league is not a pronounced league so we shouldnt be expecting much from the teams invloved. In This season in the croatia league, Dinamo Zagreb's form is Very Good with the overall 17 wins, 4 draws, and 1 losses.This performance currently places Dinamo Zagreb at 1st out of 10 teams in the Croatia league Table, winning 77% of matches. Dinamo Zagreb's home form is very good with the following results, 11 wins, 1 draws, and 0 losses. And their away form is considered very good, as a result of 6 wins, 3 draws, and 1 loss. Dinamo Zagreb has scored a total of 59 goals this season in their league table. Their meeting with osijek in the next match will be more favourable to them considering their previous record with osijek.

[cryptofrka]

So, Hajduk lost 4-3 to Lokomotiva at home. It will be interesting in Split in the next few days..

Leko tried with 4 at the back, it looked even worse than with 3 recently. They need at least 2-3 CB's in the summer.

[Sirait]

So, Hajduk lost 4-3 to Lokomotiva at home. It will be interesting in Split in the next few days..

Leko tried with 4 at the back, it looked even worse than with 3 recently. They need at least 2-3 CB's in the summer.

after Dinamo defeated Hadjuk last week, yesterday Hadjuk lost again to Lokomotiva, it seems that Leko has to find a new strategy for the Hadjuk squad, continuing to lose like this will only make Hadjuk's position in the standings even more threatened. Meanwhile, Dynamo was successfully held to a draw by Osijek, the counterattack that was carried out by Osijek was really effective.

[slackovic]

So, Hajduk lost 4-3 to Lokomotiva at home. It will be interesting in Split in the next few days..

Leko tried with 4 at the back, it looked even worse than with 3 recently. They need at least 2-3 CB's in the summer.

Hajduk need much more than two or three CB's in the summer. The whole club need a complete overhaul. I don't know what exactly is wrong with them, but something is definitely off. I don't know if the problem is something in the team, the manager (although they change few of them this season) or somewhere else. How can you be a professional football club and let so many good players leave the club only to become stars in new team?

[cryptofrka]

Hajduk need much more than two or three CB's in the summer. The whole club need a complete overhaul. I don't know what exactly is wrong with them, but something is definitely off. I don't know if the problem is something in the team, the manager (although they change few of them this season) or somewhere else. How can you be a professional football club and let so many good players leave the club only to become stars in new team?

What Hajduk needs most of all is time. It is something they haven't been getting for years.

They are comfortably 2nd in the league, meaning that the progress has been made. Their goals of challenging Dinamo are unrealistic and if they went step by step, they would maybe be close in 2-3 years. If they rush it, they will destroy all the good things they have done.

Knowing the mentality of the people there, they will rush it - they simply can't take it that you can't challenge Dinamo overnight. Dinamo is by far the best club in the Balkan region.

[slackovic]

What Hajduk needs most of all is time. It is something they haven't been getting for years.

They are comfortably 2nd in the league, meaning that the progress has been made. Their goals of challenging Dinamo are unrealistic and if they went step by step, they would maybe be close in 2-3 years. If they rush it, they will destroy all the good things they have done.

Knowing the mentality of the people there, they will rush it - they simply can't take it that you can't challenge Dinamo overnight. Dinamo is by far the best club in the Balkan region.

Yeah, but have you ever met a dalmatian (a person, not a dog) that have patience? Because I haven't. But you are right. They should be given time to build a decent team that will be competitive against Dinamo and them they will be competitive in the European games also. But the problem is that in the mean time they will change 10 managers and 2 boards.

[Daniel91]

So, Hajduk lost 4-3 to Lokomotiva at home. It will be interesting in Split in the next few days..

Leko tried with 4 at the back, it looked even worse than with 3 recently. They need at least 2-3 CB's in the summer.

Hajduk need much more than two or three CB's in the summer. The whole club need a complete overhaul. I don't know what exactly is wrong with them, but something is definitely off. I don't know if the problem is something in the team, the manager (although they change few of them this season) or somewhere else. How can you be a professional football club and let so many good players leave the club only to become stars in new team?

In my opinion, the problem is the management system of the club itself.
The club's fans have a decisive influence on the management of the club, even though they are minority owners and do not have the expertise and knowledge to manage the club's sports policy.
Fans elect the supervisory board based on big promises rather than realistic expectations.
Such a supervisory board, which is not an expert and knows nothing about football, elects the same board of directors, and the board of directors, without any clear plan and strategy, buys and sells players and selects coaches.
The result of that experiment with the fans is that the club stagnates and regresses somewhat, and is further away from the professional level of Dinamo and from Europe.
After 20 years of waiting, Hajduk can still only dream of the title of national champion.