GNK Dinamo Zagreb Academy
GNK Dinamo Zagreb Academy, also known as Hitrec-Kacian (Croatian pronunciation: [xîtrets kâtsijaːn]), are the youth team of Dinamo Zagreb. The academy was founded on 27 December 1967. There are a total of ten age categories within the academy, the oldest being the Junior Team (under-19) and youngest being the Zagići II Team (under-8). They have produced many of the Croatia national team stars including Luka Modrić, Vedran Ćorluka, Eduardo, Robert Prosinečki and Zvonimir Boban.[1]
| Full name | Građanski nogometni klub Dinamo Zagreb II |
|---|---|
| Founded | 27 December 1967 |
| Ground | Stadion Hitrec-Kacian |
| Capacity | 5,000 |
| Chairman | Mirko Barišić |
| League | Druga HNL |
| 2020–21 | Druga HNL, 13th |
| Website | Club website |
History
The first junior team was formed in 1945 and the coach was the famous Građanski Zagreb goalkeeper Maks Mihelčić. Soon after that, Márton Bukovi joined the youth squad as an expert coach, but left after two years following his disappointment with the disbanding of Građanski. The junior team won a treble in 1950 (Zagreb's, Croatian and Yugoslav championships) under the leadership of Mirko Kokotović.[2]
In 1952 Branko Horvatek started training one of the best junior generations the club ever had. Some of the famous players that played in that generation were Dražan Jerković, Mladen Košćak, Marijan Kolonić and Mladen Klobučar. The decision to form the youth academy Hitrec-Kacian was brought on 27 December 1967 with Horvatek being elected as its first director.[2] Apart from him, many other famous Croatian coaches worked with the generation that was very successful in the period of 1972-1974 in Yugoslav junior competitions. Some of them include: Zorislav Srebrić, Marko Jurić, Pero Dujmović, Vladimir Čonč, Ivan Đalma Marković, Mirko Belić, Rudolf Cvek and Zdenko Kobešćak.[2]
Honours
Domestics
- Croatian football league system
- Croatian U-19 Prva HNL
- Winner (10): 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2016, 2018, 2019
- Croatian U-17 Prva HNL
- Winner (17): 1992, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
- Croatian U-15 Prva HNL
- Winner (10): 1997, 1998, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2015, 2016, 2017
- Croatian Cup U-19
- Winner (7): 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2013
- Croatian Cup U-17
- Winner (4): 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
- Croatian Cup U-15
- Winner (3): 2015, 2016, 2018
- Yugoslav football league system
- Yugoslav Championship U-19
- Winner (5): 1950, 1955, 1972, 1973, 1974
- Croatian Championship U-19
- Winner (17): 1950, 1951, 1954, 1955, 1963, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1986
- Croatian Championship U-17
- Winner (2): 1959, 1985
- Yugoslav Cup U-19
- Winner (2): 1967, 1973
- Croatian Cup U-19
- Winner (5): 1963, 1967, 1968, 1973, 1978
Internationals
- FIFA Youth Cup
- Winner (1): 2018
- Manchester United Premier Cup
- Winner (1): 2012–13
- Premier League International Cup
- Runners-up (1): 2018–19
- UEFA Youth League
- Kvarnerska rivijera
- Winner (9): 1961, 1967, 1977, 1981, 1984, 1986, 1999, 2008, 2019
- International Nereo Rocco Tournament
- Winner (2): 2002, 2009
Modern times
After the formation of HNL in 1991. Dinamo youth teams play important role with 6 U19 and 9 U17 titles (as of 2010).[3] Since the mid-2000s Dinamo's youth academy is considered one of the best in Europe with their teams winning notable international tournaments.[4] Some of the former Dinamo youth players include Croatian internationals Vedran Ćorluka, Luka Modrić, Eduardo da Silva, Niko Kranjčar, Dejan Lovren, Milan Badelj, Ivan Kelava, Mateo Kovačić and Šime Vrsaljko.
Notable academy graduates
UEFA Youth League record
| Season | Stage | Round | Opponent | Home | Away | Agg. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015–16 | Champions League Path | GS | Arsenal | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1st out of 4 |
| Bayern Munich | 0–1 | 2–1 | ||||
| Olympiacos | 2–2 | 3–1 | ||||
| Knockout stage | R16 | Anderlecht | 2–0 | 0–3 (awd.)[5][6] | ||
| 2016–17 | Champions League Path | GS | Juventus | 2–1 | 1–0 | 4th out of 4 |
| Lyon | 1–2 | 0–2 | ||||
| Sevilla | 2–4 | 1–1 | ||||
| 2018–19 | Domestic Champions Path | 1R | Viitorul Constanța | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 |
| 2R | Astana | 3–1 | 1–1 | 4–2 | ||
| Knockout stage | PO | Lokomotiv Moscow | 1–1 (5–4 p) | |||
| R16 | Liverpool | 1–1 (4–3 p) | ||||
| QF | Chelsea | 2–2 (2–4 p) | ||||
| 2019–20 | Champions League Path | GS | Atalanta | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2nd out of 4 |
| Manchester City | 1–0 | 2–2 | ||||
| Shakhtar Donetsk | 1–0 | 1–1 | ||||
| Knockout stage | PO | Dynamo Kyiv | 0–0 (4–3 p) | |||
| R16 | Bayern Munich | 2–2 (6–5 p) | ||||
| QF | Benfica | 1–3 | ||||
| 2020–21 | Knockout stage | R64 | Rosenborg | Tournament cancelled | ||
| 2022–23 | Champions League Path | GS | Chelsea | 4–2 | 0–4 | 3rd out of 4 |
| Milan | 1–2 | 0–3 | ||||
| Red Bull Salzburg | 2–1 | 0–2 | ||||
Players
GNK Dinamo Zagreb II
- As of 14 January 2023[7]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
References
- ^ "Natjecanja po uzrastima" (in Croatian). Dinamo Zagreb. Retrieved 2010-07-24.
- ^ a b c "Football school info". Dinamo Zagreb. Retrieved 2010-07-24.
- ^ (in Croatian). HNL. Archived from the original on 11 August 2013. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
- ^ "news" (in Croatian). Dinamo Zagreb. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
- ^ Match originally finished 0–2 in favour of Dinamo Zagreb, but was awarded by UEFA as 3–0 win for Anderlecht due to Dinamo Zagreb fielding suspended player Matija Fintić.
- ^ "UEFA rejects Valencia penalty shootout protest after Chelsea youth game". ESPN FC. 29 February 2016.
- ^ "Druga Momčad | Dinamo Zagreb". GNK Dinamo (in Croatian). Retrieved 20 August 2022.
External links