Dinamo Zagreb

GNK Dinamo Zagreb

In the year 1911, when Croatia is still part of Austro-Hungarian empire Gradanski was established within Zagreb with Andrija Mutafelija, along with a handful of his associates in reaction to the rumours of a club for football which was to be a part with the Hungarian football league (as as opposed from the Croatian Sports Union) was in the process of being established. Gradanski was thus founded as a multi-sports team with a an distinctly Croatian identity , aiming to cater to the residents of Zagreb with sections devoted to handball, football and cycling. The first time they played, they had grounds in the Zagreb neighborhoods that included Tuskanac, Martinovka, Kanal and Maksimir before they constructed their own stadium on Koturaska street. The stadium was inaugurated on 1924, through Stjepan Radic, a well-known Croatian politician.

In the international arena, Gradanski was on numerous successful tours. one of which in 1923, during the year 1923 in Spain, Gradanski beat Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao. The club regularly toured Austria or Hungary as well as played in friendly games against the best local teams. The year 1936 was the first time they took a tour to England and adopt the WM formation that helped to win the 1936-37 Yugoslav championship. Marton Bukovi, who started using the system in his role as Gradanski director in the year 1936 brought it into Hungary in the latter part of 1940 and later changed it to the well-known WW system that brought players from the Hungary National team into the last match during the 1954 World Cup.

The club participated at the Mitropa Cup, the first European club competition that was an international one, on three occasions : 1928, 1937, and 1940. The year 1928 saw Gradanski was eliminated in the quarterfinals with two legs by Viktoria Zizkov from Czechoslovakia with a score of 4-8 aggregate. A year later Gradanski left early, after being beaten 1-6 in the final against Genova in 1893 FBC. They defeated the Hungarian team Ujpest FC (5-0 on aggregate) in the quarterfinals, however, they were lost in the semifinals by Rapid Bucharest in the semifinal. Both games ended with no goals, and an extra game of the playoffs in Subotica was played, and ended in a 1-1 draw. Rapid advanced to the final stage based on the basis of a coin toss. However, it was not the last game (against Ferencvaros) was never held due to the beginning in World War II.

After being invaded and conquered by Nazi Germany at the time of 1941 in 1941, in 1941, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was disbanded and all sports events across the nation were shut down. One exception could be Croatia, the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) that was an Axis member, was able to enjoy peace, and it was able to continue its national competitions. NDH continued to host national championships with notable Croatian clubs. Four of the seasons launched (1941 41, 1941 and 1942, 1942-43 , and 1943-44) however only the third and fourth editions were completed with Gradanski winning the 1942-43 campaign.

After the war was over in 1945 after which the team was disbanded in 1945 by the communist government of the time (along with its city opponents HASK as well as Concordia Zagreb) and its archives were destroyed as a retribution for participating in the fascist-sponsored, wartime football league. The club's final official match was a draw 2-2 against HASK on the 10th of April 1945, shortly prior to the dissolution of both clubs.

In the immediate following World War II, Gradanski was defunct (along with its city opponents HASK as well as Concordia Zagreb) by a order issued by communist government during June 1945. On June 9, 1945, only three weeks after Gradanski was defunct, a new sport society known as FD Dinamo (Croatian: Fiskulturno drustvo Dinamo) was formed. After the first meeting the football club was established with Ico Hitrec serving as chairman, along with a few former players and members of the administration from Gradanski (Jerko Simic Rudolf Sabljak, Otto Hofman, Franjo Staroveski, Slavko Bobnar, Zvonimir Stankovic) becoming administrators of the club. Of which some were later elected presidents. Dinamo, which was newly founded, Dinamo adopted the colors of Gradanski and name, as well as the fan base that existed prior to war and, in 1969, adopted a logo that was very similar to the one worn by Gradanski. A number of famous players from the time have continued their careers at Dinamo following its creation (including Franjo Wolfl, August Lesnik, Zvonimir Cimermancic, Branko Plese Milan Antolkovic Mirko Kokotovic, Ivica Reiss, Emil Urch and later Ivan Jazbinsek) as well as their coach Marton Bukovi as well as their physiotherapist Franjo Zlof as well as a large number of junior players. The Dinamo's first generation of the youth team was led by former goalkeeper Maks Mihelcic. He also played the position of goalkeeping coach. In the early years the club played home matches at Gradanski's former stadium, Stadion Koturaska, before moving to a brand new stadium in the place of HASK's previous stadium in Maksimir.

After its creation, the club joined the Yugoslav First League in its debut season of 1946-47. They finished fifth in the standings, just five points behind champions Partizan. The following season, 1947-48, Dinamo won their first trophy when they won the Yugoslav championship by five points in front of Hajduk Split and Partizan. In the season of 1951 Dinamo finished as runners-up , but they rewarded by winning their very first Yugoslav Cup title after defeating Vojvodina by 4-0 during the two-legged championship. Dinamo continued to win three cups more (in 1960 1963, 1965 and 1960) as well as two championship wins (in 1953-54 and in 1957-58). Additionally, they were runners-up for the cup at three times (in 1950 1964, and in 1966). Dinamo first participated in European competitions during the preliminary phase of the 1958-59 European Cup however, they was eliminated by Czechoslovak team Dukla Prague. The club had a bit of success in the Champions' Cup of the European Cup when they made it to the semi-finals, but lost to Italian team Fiorentina. They also participated at 1962-62 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, but they failed to make it through the second round where they were eliminated by Barcelona. In the 1962-1963 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, Dinamo was able to make it to the finalbut fell 4-1 to Spanish team Valencia. In the Champions' Cup of the European Cup Dinamo was eliminated early in the opening round following an early loss to Scottish team Celtic. At the time the Dinamo's top players were also part of the Yugoslavian national team, which included Zeljko Cajkovski Zlatko Skoric Krasnodar Rora Denijal Piric Drazan Jerkovic Ivica Horvat Slaven Zambata as well as Rudolf Belin.

Three Yugoslav clubs were able to compete during 1967-67's Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, but they were eliminated early in the competition, with the exception of Dinamo who became the first Yugoslavian team to win the European contest. In the opening round Dinamo was playing against Spartak Brno and, after the aggregate score was set at two, a coin had to be flipped to decide who was the winner. Dinamo went on into the second round in which they faced Scottish team Dunfermline. In the very first match of the Cup that the rule of away goals was implemented and made Dinamo be able to qualify for the third round, after the aggregate score of 4-4. (2-0 in the home stadium and 4-4 away). In their journey to the finals, they beat Romanian team Dinamo Pitesti, Italian powerhouse Juventus and German team Eintracht Frankfurt. In the finals, the team was chosen to play their first game in Maksimir in the final against Leeds United. Dinamo beat Leeds United by 2-0 in front of 33 thousand supporters, with Marijan Cercek and Krasnodar Rora scoring. It sufficed to earn the trophy as the game played at Elland Road finished 0-0. The final games were watched by the president of FIFA Sir Stanley Rous, who handed the trophy to Dinamo's captain as well as most prolific goal-scorer Slaven Zambata.

Dinamo finished the decade of success with a Yugoslav Cup title in the 1969 and the quarterfinals in The 1969-70 Cup Winners' Trophy. However, the glory didn't last into the next decade and they did not achieve a single trophy during the 1970s. The club was involved in three seasons of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup before it was replaced by the UEFA Cup, but failed to have any impact. Dinamo played in the first UEFA Cup season, but fell during the 2nd round of tournament in the second round to Rapid Wien on the away goals rule. The club was in into the UEFA Cup on seven more occasions (in 1976 1977, 1977 and 1989, 1979 1990, and 1992) However, it was never able to repeat the success of the 1960s.

In the 1978-1979 Yugoslav Championship both Hajduk Split and Dinamo Zagreb finished the season with 50 points. Hajduk took the title with the higher goal difference. There was however controversy in the opening round, when Rijeka defeated Dinamo 1-1 at Kantrida. Dinamo claimed Edmond Tomic, who joined Rijeka in the same season as Lirija and was not served an one-match suspension due to two yellow cards that he was issued during his time at the former club. They appealed, and after two months, the decision was made to give the match three-to-one to Dinamo. After numerous appeals by all sides the spring of 1979, the Football Association of Yugoslavia ruled in favor of Rijeka. The case was referred before the Employment Appeal Tribunal, which was later, four years later, ruled Dinamo as the champions. The injustice was never rectified since Dinamo was never recognized by the Football Association of Yugoslavia nor Hajduk, who merely did not acknowledge the ruling. It is still viewed by fans of Dinamo as another instance of the unfair treatment of Dinamo by Yugoslav football officials and as a sign of hypocrisy by their main rivals Hajduk. Hajduk.

At the start of the 80s, Dinamo achieved its sixth Yugoslav Cup title, defeating Red Star Belgrade 2-1 on the aggregate. They were then invited to the 1980-81 Cup Winners' Trophy but lost the first game to Benfica. The following year, Dinamo won their 4th Yugoslav championship, and later in 1983, they won seven Yugoslav Cup, the club's final trophy in the context of SFR Yugoslavia. Following Benfica the other Portuguese club won Dinamo's European season, but this time around in the 1982-1983 European Cup when they lost to Sporting CP. They took part in the 1983-84's Cup Winners' Cup season but were eliminated again by Portuguese team Porto. The club was not able to achieve any success in the later decade of the 1980s except for 2 consecutive finishes in second position at the Yugoslav championships in 1989 and in 1990.

After SFR Yugoslavia was dissolved, Dinamo was part of the creation of the Prva HNL and the initial season began in 1992. In the same year the club decided to change their name from HASK Gradanski. Another name change was made in 1993 in which the club changed its name as Croatia Zagreb. This name change was regarded as a political decision by the ruling party of independent Croatia with the aim to distance this club from their communist history. Because it was not accepted by the supporters, they changed the name of itself back to Dinamo on February 14, 2000. In the era of Croatia Zagreb, the club had won six league titles, of which five of them were consecutively won from 1996 until 2000. In that time they also was awarded four times the Croatian Cup four times.

In the latter part of 1990 the club participated in for two seasons consecutively within the UEFA Champions League group stage. In 1998-99, they were placed into a group that included Ajax, Olympiacos and Porto. After a disappointing performance during the first three games that they were able to draw with Ajax at home, and lose their away games in the final against Olympiacos and Porto They performed admirably in the final three games winning Porto on their own and Ajax away in addition to winning against Olympiacos in their home stadium. They failed to reach the quarterfinals as the second-placed team after Olympiacos. The 1999-2000 season was when they were as a team with the champions who were defending their title Manchester United, Marseille and Sturm Graz, but managed only fourth place in the group, with two draws and a win. They notably held Manchester United to a goalless draw at Old Trafford in their opening Champions League match that season. The club also played in two seasons of the UEFA Cup. In 1997, the club was thrown out of the qualifying round. However, in 1997 season, they managed to make it through the third round but lost in the third round to Atletico Madrid 2-1 on aggregate score.

The new millennium brought more success for Dinamo Zagreb continued to land more awards and won at least one competition in the domestic league each season, with the exception of 2004-05 when they were eliminated from the Croatian Cup and finished seventh in Prva HNL.

Following the title-winning season of 1999-2000, Drazen Ladic, Goran Juric, Robert Prosinecki, Tomislav Rukavina Krunoslav Jurcic Daniel Saric and Igor Biscan all quit the club or retired, and was replaced by a brand new generation of players. They include Luka Modric Eduardo, Vedran Corluka, Niko Kranjcar, Mario Mandzukic, Ivica Olic, Tomislav Butina, Dino Drpic, Bosko Balaban, Tomislav Sokota, Ivan Turina, Dario Zahora, Mihael Mikic, Danijel Pranjic and Ivan Bosnjak, among others.

The club changed its name in Dinamo Zagreb on 14 February 2000. The previous nickname, Croatia Zagreb, adopted in 1993, not really been accepted by the fans.

The new millennium brought more success for Dinamo Zagreb continued to land more awards and won at least one competition in the domestic league each season, with the exception of 2004-05 when they were eliminated from the Croatian Cup and finished seventh in Prva HNL.

Following the title-winning season of 1999-2000, Drazen Ladic, Goran Juric, Robert Prosinecki, Tomislav Rukavina Krunoslav Jurcic Daniel Saric and Igor Biscan all quit the club or retired, and was replaced by a brand new generation of players. They include Luka Modric Eduardo, Vedran Corluka, Niko Kranjcar, Mario Mandzukic, Ivica Olic, Tomislav Butina, Dino Drpic, Bosko Balaban, Tomislav Sokota, Ivan Turina, Dario Zahora, Mihael Mikic, Danijel Pranjic and Ivan Bosnjak, among others.

The club changed its name in Dinamo Zagreb on 14 February 2000. The previous nickname, Croatia Zagreb, adopted in 1993, not really been accepted by the fans.

In the 2015–16 Champions League, they defeated Fola Esch 4–1 (1–1 at home, 3–0 away) in the second qualifying round, Molde 4–4 (1–1 at home, 3–3 away, winning on away goals) in the third qualifying round, and Skënderbeu Korçë 6–2 (2–1 away, 4–1 at home) in play-off round, later being drawn into group F alongside Bayern Munich, Arsenal and Olympiacos, where they notably defeated Arsenal 2–1 at home on 16 September 2015. The club won the domestic double, securing both the league title and the national cup.

In the 2016–17 season, Dinamo failed to win the league title for the first time since the 2004–05 season, and also failed to win the cup for the first time since 2014. In the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League, they defeated Vardar 5–3 (2–1 away, 3–2 at home) in the second qualifying round, Dinamo Tbilisi 3–0 (2–0 at home, 1–0 away) and Red Bull Salzburg (1–1 home, 2–1 away after extra time). They were drawn in Group H against Juventus, Sevilla and Lyon. However, the club endured an extremely unsuccessful group campaign, scoring zero goals and conceding fifteen in six matches. The club also failed to win the league title and the cup, losing both trophies to rivals Rijeka. The 2016–17 season was considered by many as one of Dinamo's most unsuccessful seasons in the club's history.

In the 2017–18 season, Dinamo agreed a kit deal with German multinational company Adidas. Their qualifying campaign for Europa League began in the third round, beating Norwegian club Odds, 2–1 on aggregate (2–1 home, 0–0 away), but were knocked out by Albanian side Skënderbeu Korçë (1–1 home, 0–0 away, losing on away goals). The club failed to qualify for European competition for the first time since 2006. The club's league campaign was successful, going unbeaten for 21 games before losing to rivals Hajduk Split, but two abysmal performances against Rijeka and Lokomotiva caused Mario Cvitanović to resign from his position as manager. Nikola Jurčević then took over as manager. However, after a disastrous form in early May, Jurčević was sacked as manager.

Following a lot of discussion, Nenad Bjelica, who was recently let go from his former team Lech Poznan, took over as the club's manager. Dinamo took home the 2017-18 Prva HNL title, and was crowned in 2017-18 the Croatian Cup, beating Hajduk in the final.

On June 6, 2018, the head of the executive and advisory committee to the organization, Zdravko Mamic was handed a six-and-a half-year prison term for corruption. The same day, the club published an official statement on their website, where they declared they are "shocked" by the verdict. They also claimed it was because they "firmly believe" that Zdravko Mamic and all the others who were sentenced were innocent.

For the season 2018-19 of the UEFA Europa League, Dinamo was selected for the knockout stage this was only the second time in the past 49 seasons that Dinamo will participate in European competitions during winter. For the round of 32 Dinamo faced Czech club Viktoria Plzen, losing 2-1 in the first game, however coming back for an aggregate victory with the score of 3-0 at home. The Round 16 Dinamo played Portuguese team Benfica winning 1-1 at home in front of 29,704 fans. For the return match with Benfica, Dinamo conceded 1 goal, before going to extra period of time. In the extra-time period, Benfica managed to score two more goals, and eventually win the match 3-0, and in the aggregate, 3-1, and progressing into the quarterfinals. Thanks to Dinamo's performance during the 2017-18 UEFA Europa League The Prva HNL was able to reach 15th on the UEFA coefficient table for the country that will give them two spots for 2020-21 UEFA Champions League qualifying campaign which means that 50% of Prva HNL will participate in European tournaments.

The start in the season 2019-20 Dinamo defeated Saburtalo Tbilisi 5-0 on aggregate in the second qualifying round. Ferencvaros 5-1 an aggregate score in the 3rd qualifying round, and Rosenborg 3-1 average in play-offs for the 2019-20 UEFA Champions League and securing an opportunity to play in the group stage for the third time in three years. The draw ended that Dinamo will be part of Group C along with Manchester City, Shakhtar Donetsk and Atalanta. Although Dinamo was considered to be an outlier from the Group C, and to the delight for many Dinamo defeated Atalanta, which was last in previous seasons in Serie A, 4-0 at home in Zagreb this was the most successful win ever during the Champions League for Dinamo in the past history that the team has played. But, Dinamo could not be able to qualify for the next round. It finished in the bottom position of the Champions League group with a victory and a loss to Atalanta (4-0, 2 -) and two drawn games with Shakhtar Donetsk (2-2 3-3) and two defeats against Manchester City (0-2, 1-4).

On the 16th of April, 2020 during the COVID-19 epidemic, Bjelica announced that he has decided to leave the club following talks with the board of directors through an agreement.

Following Bjelica's departure, as well as the brief tenure in the role of Igor Jovicevic, the club announced that Zoran Mamic will be appointed as the new manager.

After a disappointing 2021-21 UEFA Champions League qualifying campaign, Dinamo qualified for the 2020-21 UEFA Europa League, after defeating Estonian team Flora Tallinn 3-1 in the play-off round. Dinamo was selected in Group K together with Feyenoord, CSKA Moscow and Wolfsberg. They began their group stage play with two draw-less games in the group stage against Feyenoord along with CSKA Moscow. In the third game that was part of their group Dinamo won their first game by securing a 1-0 victory over Wolfsberg. After that, Dinamo went onto a four-game winning streak, after defeating Wolfsberg by three goals, Feyenoord with 2-0 and CSKA Moscow with 3-1, which saw them reach an 2020-21 UEFA Europa League Round of 32 undefeated with just one goal conceded, which makes them the team with the lowest number of goals conceded during the 2021 UEFA Europa League group stage.

In the 34th minute of their final game of their group in the group stage against CSKA Moscow, Dinamo Zagreb achieved a record by not scoring a single goal over 526 minutes. This record was previously set by Manchester United, which is the longest duration without conceding a goal in all the soccer tournaments organized by UEFA as well as the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League.

in the round of 32 Dinamo were drawn alongside Krasnodar who made it to in the round of 32 following finishing 3rd within the 2020-21 UEFA Champions League group stage. In the initial leg, Dinamo were able to defeat Krasnodar away by a score of 3-2. Meanwhile, in the second game, Dinamo beat Krasnodar with the score of 1-0, winning eight times during the 2019-2021 UEFA Europa League. Dinamo were then selected to face Tottenham Hotspur in the Round of 16. Due to COVID-19's travel restrictions, Dinamo and Tottenham were forced to change the order of tie-breaking and consequently Dinamo were able to play the first match away, where they were defeated by 2-0. In the second leg the result was different. Mislav Orsic's three goals, with the last goal came in the extra-time for a comeback led Dinamo to the quarterfinals, beating 3-2 in an aggregate basis.

On March 15, Mamic resigned from the post of club director of sports and management following the decision from the Osijek Municipal Court was confirmed by the Supreme Court of Croatia. Mamic along with three other players (including Zdravko, his elder sister Zdravko) were accused of tax evasion amounting to 12.2 million HRK as well as the stealing of 116 million HRK in the transfer to players at Dinamo. The assistant coach Damir Krznar was appointed Mamic's replacement that same day.

Dinamo Zagreb's record of 23 Prva HNL titles is the best ever recorded in Croatian football. They finished runners-up on four occasions within the competition only four times have they finished the season with Prva HNL finishing out of the top two spots on the standings final standings. Prva HNL has also been the best Croatian Cup competitor, appearing at 23 of the 29 finals that have been staged with 16 of them winning. have won. Additionally, the team has the distinction of holding the record for the most Croatian Supercup titles, appearing in 11 matches as well as winning 7 times. Additionally, the team was able to reach the double 12 times, and was both champions and Croatian Cup winners. Prva HNL champions, as well as Croatian Cup winners. Croatian Cup winners from 1996 until 1998, and again between 2007 and 2009, then from 2011 to 2012, from 2015 until 2018 and lastly in the 2020-21 season.

In the period that Dinamo played within the Yugoslav football league system the team was Yugoslav First League champions nine times. The team was a part of seven Yugoslav Cup editions. In total, the team had won the official title of 63 domestic titles as well as one tournament in the international competition. The club also holds titles it won in that HSK Gradanski time. Titles that were won by Gradanski are in italics. The title for the 2014-2015 season is highlighted because it was the only undefeated season in Croatian First Football League history.

As per detail below.

Prva HNL

• Winner (23, record): 1992–93, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–00, 2002–03, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22

Croatian Cup

• Winner (16, record): 1993–94, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2003–04, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2017–18, 2020–21

Croatian Super Cup

• Winner (7, record): 2002, 2003, 2006, 2010, 2013, 2019, 2022

Yugoslav First League

• Winner (9): 1923, 1926, 1928, 1936–37, 1939–40, 1947–48, 1953–54, 1957–58, 1981–82

Yugoslav Cup

• Winner (7): 1951, 1959–60, 1962–63, 1964–65, 1968–69, 1979–80, 1982–83

Independent State of Croatia League

• Winner (1): 1943

Inter-Cities Fairs Cup

• Winner (1): 1966–67

• League and Cup: 1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2017–18, 2020–21
• League and Super Cup: 2003, 2006, 2010, 2013, 2019, 2022
• Cup and Super Cup: 2002

GNK Dinamo played their first European Cup match against Czechoslovak team Dukla Prague in 1958. In the 60s Dinamo had their most successful period of domestic as well as European football. They were able to achieve 4 Yugoslav Cups but failing to win a single championship and finishing runners-up five times between 1960 between 1960 and 1969. On the European scene the club enjoyed two winning seasons during the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, reaching the finals two times. In the final in 1963, Dinamo defeated Valencia however, in 1967, they defeated Leeds United in England. Leeds United. It was the last European silverware awarded to the Yugoslav team until Red Star Belgrade won the 1990-91 European Cup 24 years later. Dinamo was a semifinalist in the UEFA Cup Winners Cup in 1960-61 as well as two quarterfinals in 1964-65 as well as 1969-70. They made it to UEFA Europa League quarterfinal in 2020-21, and the round of 16, in the 2018-19 season. Dinamo also was the winner of their first Balkans Cup in 1976.

As of 25 June 2022

Rank	Team	Points
27	Atalanta	55.500
28	Red Bull Salzburg	54.000
29	Rangers	53.000
30	Dinamo Zagreb	50.500
31	Slavia Praha	47.500
32	Sporting Lisbon	42.500
33	Club Brugge	41.000

Dinamo Zagreb is a registered corporate personhood, or more specifically an organization for non-profits which, unlike football clubs that are limited companies, doesn't issue shares and, as per Croatian law that governs citizens association, does not have to pay tax on income. This means that the club is required to issue publicly assessed memberships. Every legally competent member of Dinamo can participate in the democratic process of Dinamo such as the elections of the chairperson and the chairmanship of the club.

After a club record deficit of EUR15.2m in the calendar year 2017 improvements under the new manager Nenad Bjelica and a number of successful transactions with players led to an improvement in the club's finances, resulting in an EUR9.8m profit in the year 2018. The total turnover for 2018 was EUR58.6m roughly 63% came from sales of players and 25% of it was UEFA prizes. In terms of costs the expenses of players (wages) was around EUR25m and the amortization for players was EUR5.1m. Some of the deals include Filip Benkovic EUR14m, Borna Sosa EUR6m and Ante Coric EUR6m. The top-paid players currently are Mario Gavranovic and Kevin Theophile-Catherine who make about EUR800k annually. In the past, Dinamo had Hillal Soudani who was paid EUR1.5m.

The supporters of the group called Zajedno za Dinamo (Together to support Dinamo], made up of supporters of Dinamo Zagreb, claim they were knowingly privatized by its executive director Zdravko Mamic and operates as an egregiously illegal "public limited citizens association". In the aftermath, the tax exemption given to the club by Constitutional law was met with severe critique, particularly in context that the team's record-breaking transfer arrangements that were arranged in the early years of the decade. Jutarnji reporter Romana Eibl asserted that during this time, the club was able to earn upwards of 1.36 billion kuna in untaxed revenues, mostly from selling its players at exorbitant prices as well as around 360 million kuna came from public funds. Director of the former club Damir Vrbanovic said that transfers don't provide long-term revenue for the club and the club has a legitimate reason to remain a non-profit entity.

In spite of all the criticism, Mamic is genuinely praised for being the only person to have arranged some of the club's highest-profit transfer of Croatian players to the top European clubs. The most notable of these are the transfers to Bosko Balaban Aston Villa for EUR7.8 million in 2001; Eduardo to Arsenal for EUR13.5 million, and Vedran Corluka to Manchester City for EUR13 million in 2007. Luka Modric's move and Luka Modric to Tottenham Hotspur for EUR21 million in 2008. Dejan Lovren's transfer and Dejan Lovren to Lyon in exchange for EUR8 million. Mario Mandzukic to Wolfsburg for EUR7 million in 2010 as well as Mateo Kovacic to Internazionale for EUR11 million in 2013.

Dinamo Zagreb's home ground can be found at Stadion Maksimir. It is located in the northeastern area of Zagreb and is located in front of the city's biggest municipal park Maksimir and also gives its name to the neighbourhood named for it. The stadium was officially inaugurated on May 5, 1912, and was significantly renovated several times over the years and most recently in the year 2011. The stadium was originally utilized by HASK and the club took over the lease in 1948, following the stadium was renovated. Before the move to Maksimir the club played home games at the Gradanski Zagreb's Stadium Stadion Koturaska. It was there that the club played its first official game on the 23rd of June 1945. The club's first match at Stadion Maksimir was played on 19 September 1948, in front of an audience of 40,000.

The layout for Stadion Maksimir initially included a single grandstand that was in the shape of a horseshoe facing the smaller stand that was located to the north. The north stand was modified from the beginning in 1998, after which it was replaced with an all-seater stadium that could seat 10,965 as well as a building that consists of 15,000 square meters of office space, which was covered with an encased façade. The capacity of the north stand has currently decreased to 9460 seats. For the grandstand that was originally built the stadium is now surrounded by three stands however, their current design was conceived following a lengthy and exhausting process of improvements, which began shortly following the stadium's reconstruction in 1948. Many of the top Croatian architects of the time, including Vladimir Turina, Eugen Erlich and Franjo Neidhardt, were involved in this design. Prior to Croatian independence from Yugoslavia The reorganization of the stadium was not completed as efficiently as it was originally planned, mainly because of a myriad of bureaucratic hurdles. Finally it was put into order to host in 1987 for the Summer Universiade, but even the final appearance for the venue was not satisfying than was anticipated.

A little progress was achieved in 1997 when seats were put in both the south and east stands. In the days prior to it was time for the Summer Military World Games, the west, and the biggest stand in the stadium was revamped. It was home to 12,600 seats and a VIP section , with 718 seats, which also comprised the presidential lodge. In the year 2000 the overall maintenance costs at Stadion Maksimir have climbed up to 362.4 million dollars. In 2006, then-mayor in Zagreb Milan Bandic announced a project of EUR150 million, which would have Stadion Maksimir fully renovated. In 2010, Zagreb's taxpayers had invested an additional 288 million kuna in maintaining and restoring the stadium, yet there were no major improvements made. The proposed rebuilding of Stadion Maksimir soon became an huge financial burden for the city. for a short period of time Bandic was planning to hold an election in which Zagreb residents Zagreb would be able to decide whether or not to keep investing in Stadion Maksimir, or rather to construct a modern Stadion Kajzerica. The referendum was not held and both plans were put on hold in 2012. However, significant work was carried out in the period between 2011 and 2013 in which the club replaced all of the seats on the four stands in the stadium as well as installed the under-soil heating, improved the inside of the stadium and also made some cosmetic changes including the color of the stands as well as the track that surrounds the field. At present, Stadion Maksimir is listed as a 35,123-seat all-seater.

While the club has had plenty of fans when it first began but the first organized group of supporters came together in 1986, under an alias of Bad Blue Boys (often abbreviated BBB). On the official website of the BBB, it's claimed that the group's name was an inspiration from the 1983 film Bad Boys. Since its inception the group sparked great attention from the city of Zagreb as well as its affiliates began appearing in all the areas of Zagreb. They were also noticed across Yugoslavia due to their flexible travels to games at Dinamo Zagreb, desiring to show their loyalty to the club as well as to show their support for both Zagreb as a City of Zagreb and Croatia. In home games of the team they BBB usually sit in the north side in Stadion Maksimir. The BBB along with the majority of the club's supporters regard Hajduk Split's supporters as their biggest adversaries, and more specifically the former's ultras club, Torcida Split.

The BBB are frequently accused of hooliganism. This has led to both UEFA as well as the Croatian Football Federation disciplinary bodies imposing financial sanctions on Dinamo Zagreb on several occasions for their flagrantly illegal and violent behavior. The uncivil behavior includes destruction of property, fighting with apparati that are repressive (both inside and outside of stadiums) as well as flare throwing. Despite all this however, they BBB were lauded for their continuous and outstanding support throughout the games of Dinamo Zagreb and for their humanitarian actions.

Dinamo's most formidable adversaries include Hajduk Split, and the games between both teams are referred to by their nicknames "Eternal Derby" or "Croatian Derby." Matches between these two teams are regarded as the most anticipated match of Croatian club football. This draws the largest number of people and draws the greatest media attention of all football matches in Croatia. Also, there is a competition with HNK Rijeka.

In Yugoslav times, the most significant rivalries also involved Serbian teams Red Star Belgrade and Partizan. Although they spent the majority of their history with Dinamo in the same division Dinamo and coming from the similar cities, NK Zagreb are not thought of as major rivals to Dinamo by supporters.

Detail of the players as below mentioned.

As of 26 July 2022

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK ​ CRO Danijel Zagorac 2 DF  IRN Sadegh Moharrami 3 DF ​ CRO Daniel Štefulj 4 DF ​ CRO Boško Šutalo 5 MF  MKD Arijan Ademi (Captain) 6 DF  DEN Rasmus Lauritsen 7 MF ​ CRO Luka Ivanušec 8 MF   BIH Amer Gojak 9 FW ​ CRO Bruno Petković 10 MF ​ CRO Martin Baturina 11 FW  AZE Mahir Emreli 12 MF ​ CRO Petar Bočkaj 13 DF  MKD Stefan Ristovski 14 MF  AUT Robert Ljubičić 18 FW   SUI Josip Drmić 20 FW  CRO Antonio Marin 21 MF ​ CRO Marko Brkljača 24 MF ​ CRO Marko Tolić 26 MF  WAL Robbie Burton 27 MF ​ CRO Josip Mišić 28 DF  FRA Kévin Théophile-Catherine 31 MF ​ CRO Marko Bulat 33 GK ​ CRO Ivan Nevistić 37 DF ​ CRO Josip Šutalo 40 GK ​ CRO Dominik Livaković (Vice-captain) 55 DF ​ CRO Dino Perić 66 DF  AUT Emir Dilaver 70 MF  BIH Luka Menalo 77 FW ​ CRO Dario Špikić 99 FW ​ CRO Mislav Oršić

GNK Dinamo Zagreb Academy, also called Hitrec-Kacian (Croatian pronunciation: [xitrets Katsija:n[xitrets katsija:n]) is youngsters of Dinamo Zagreb. The academy was established on the 27th of December, 1967. There are 10 age categories in the academy, with the oldest is that of the Junior Team (under-19) and the youngest is that of the Zagici II Team (under-8). They have produced a number of the Croatia players for the national team, such as Luka Modric Vedran Corluka Eduardo, Robert Prosinecki and Zvonimir Boban.

Nogometni Klub Lokomotiva Zagreb (English: Lokomotiva Zagreb Football Club), popularly referred to in the media as Lokomotiva Zagreb, or just Lokomotiva it is an Croatian professional football club that is based in Zagreb. It is a member of the Croatian First Football League, the top division in Croatia. It was founded in 1914. The club's only time of growth was in the latter half of 1940 and into the early 1950s, and then it spent the majority of the next five decades within lower leagues.

In 2007-2009,, they were promoted three times consecutively to go from fourth level to become the first one in the Croatian football league system. They played home matches in Stadion Maksimir for a couple years prior to moving towards Stadion Kranjceviceva, as their home ground located in Novi Zagreb's Kajzerica area isn't suitable for top-level football.

This is a list of ex- Dinamo players who been a significant contributor to the club during their time playing in its first team. The list is sorted alphabetical order and is in line with the criteria for inclusion. The players who were selected in the team's "Best 11" squad are not listed on the list.

in 2016, Dinamo's top team in the Dinamo's history Dinamo was picked by a panel of experts. They, along with the fans of the club. They chose the 11 Dinamo Zagreb's current and former players to make up the ideal team for 4-4-2. In brackets, you can see an era when the players were part of the first team of the club.

Goalkeeper

• Dražen Ladić (1984–2000)

Defenders

• Rudolf Belin (1959–1970)
• Velimir Zajec (1974–1984)
• Ivica Horvat (1945–1957)
• Tomislav Crnković (1950–1961)

Midfielders

• Luka Modrić (2000–2008)
• Željko Perušić (1958–1965)
• Zvonimir Boban (1983–1991)
• Marko Mlinarić (1978–1987, 1995–1996)

Forwards

• Dražan Jerković (1954–1965)
• Davor Šuker (1989–1991)

Below are the top players according to the amount of appearances as well as goals for Dinamo Zagreb, as of 14 May 2022. The figures include official and non-official games.