HŠK Zrinjski Mostar

HSK Zrinjski Mostar

In 1896, several distinguished Herzegovinians from Mostar had an idea to form a youth sports society named Hrvatski sokol (Croatian Falcon). The idea at the time was not legal however in 1905 Croat youngsters under the direction of Professor Kustreb were successful. With the assistance from the society for culture Hrvoje, they established Dacki sportski club (Student Sports Club). In 1912, it changed to Gimnazijski Nogometni klub Zrinjski (Gymnasium football club Zrinjski). The club was named in honor of the historical Croatian noble family Zrinski. The first game they played were against Osman sports club Osman in Sarajevo The matches ended with a score of 0-3 and the score was 2-1. The club's activist and player Ivo Coric wrote his first articles on the club at the time. He referred to some of the players as Rudolf Brozovic, Bruno and Edo Novak, Marko Suton, Zeljko and Ante Merdzo, Abid Pehlivanovic, Slavko Jukic, Ivan Bosnjak and Karlo Smit. In 1914, at beginning of World War I Zrinjski was banned from the club. This ban was in place until 1917, when Zrinjski together with an additional Croatian sport team from Mostar, Hrvatski radnicki omladinski sportski klub (HROSK) was formed the club "Hercegovac". A few players from the HROSK players were Jure Zelenika Nikola Paladzic, Miroslav Prpic, Mirko Vlaho, Ante Pavkovic, and Kazimir Zubac.

In 1922 the original nickname Zrinjski Zrinjski was returned and, at the moment, they was beginning to take their sport more seriously. They faced other Mostar teams like Yugoslavian Sports Club (JSK), Velez and Vardar, and teams from across Herzegovina, Bosnia and Dalmatia. in 1923, Zrinjski was the winner of the Mostar Championship with a 1-0 victory against JSK. The players who participated in the game were Vjekoslav Vrancic, Kazimir Vlaho, Zivo Bebek, Rudi Janjusic Husein H. Omerovic, Milivoj Smoljan, Pero Golic, Mijo Milicevic, Muhamed Omeragic August Kucinovic and Franjo Stimac. In the 1930s Zrinjski played games in Zagreb, Sarajevo, Banja Luka and even Montenegro. The year 1936 was the first time Yugoslav officials refused to permit Zrinjski to participate in the Dubrovnik tournament. Dubrovnik due to the fact that they wore Croatian colours on their jerseys. When the tournament was held in 1938 Zrinjski took home a trophy in a match with SK Velez, SK Sloga and SK Makabi. In 1938, they also played three games at night using the lighting they got from the local mine. The club's presidents between 1905 and 1945 included Misko Mikulic, Drago Turkelj, Jaksa Miljkovic and Blaz Sliskovic.

In 1941 after the Nazi invasion of Yugoslavia and the creation of a dictatorship was established. dictatorship was established under the name of the Independent State of Croatia. A football league was established, and Zrinjski was a part of the league when it was accepted into FIFA. 1. Within the football league, Zrinjski played a few historical matches with Gradanski Zagreb.

When the war ended in 1943, Zrinjski took on Jedinstvo in a match that was won with a score of 2-1. This was most likely the last game played before the club was disbanded. At the close in the Second World War, the Independent State of Croatia had been defeated by the Yugoslav Partisans resistance movement. Zrinjski was one of the clubs which were banned in 1945 because of their role as the nationalist propagandists.

Following the time that Bosnia and Herzegovina was declared an autonomous state on the 1st of December 1992. Zrinjski returned to the country in Medugorje. Due to the conflict that was raging during the war, during the initial two years, Zrinjski only played friendly matches predominantly within Herzegovina and Croatia as well as on the other side of Canada as well as Germany. The year 1994 was the first time Zrinjski as well as several other Croat club of Bosnia and Herzegovina helped create the Herzeg Bosnia Football Federation. The club was a part of the league for seven seasons and was one of the best teams throughout the years. Some of the most prominent players of the time included Blaz Sliskovic and Slaven Musa, both FK Velez Mostar players before that. The year 1998 was the first time Zrinjski played in his first round of playoffs that included teams from Bosniak-ruled areas in Bosnia as well as Herzegovina. In 2000 it was announced that the Premier League included both clubs from both the Bosnian-ruled and Croat-ruled areas that were part of Bosnia and Herzegovina for the first time and Zrinjski was among the clubs that played in the league. It remains so today. There were clubs from areas ruled by Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina joined the league in 2002.

The summer of 2000 saw Zrinjski took part in the UEFA tournament for the very first time. They took part in the Intertoto Cup against Swedish team Vastra Frolunda in the IF. Zrinjski lost the opening game at home in Sweden by 1-0, and in Mostar they were ahead by 1-0 in the 90th minute. When overtime began, Zrinjski scored another goal and the result will send them to the next round. However, the final score was the score of 3-2 Zrinjski victory. Vastra Frolunda went through because of goals scored by away players.

In the 2003-04 season, the board was reconstituted with new members joining the club, with new sponsors. Their main objective was to create Zrinjski among the best club in Croatia before the 100th anniversary celebration in 2005. Zrinjski was then able to sign four players who were on loans from Dinamo Zagreb: Luka Modric, Marko Janjetovic, Ivica Dzidic, and Davor Landeka. Following the season, Dzidic and Landeka were able to stay on for the duration of the season. Even though Zrinjski was not at the top, the foundation for the following season was established. In the summer of 2004 Zrinjski signed some of the top stars in their league like Zoran Rajovic, Dusan Kerkez, Velimir Vidic along with Sulejman Smajic. The team, which was led by the manager Franjo Dzidic was crowned champions quickly, with a substantial advantage over the runners-up Zeljeznicar. Zoran Rajovic was top scorer in the league.

Many of Zrinjski's best players were on one-year contracts, and then left the team following the season. The team didn't perform well in the first half of the season. It was surprised to be eliminated from the UEFA Champions League first qualifying round by Luxembourg team F91 Dudelange. Zrinjski won the opening game away by 1-0, but was defeated at home in overtime, 4-0. After the first game in the league, Blaz Sliskovic was appointed manager.

Zrinjski finished the 2005-06 season in third place, earning a place in the Intertoto Cup, where Zrinjski knocked out Maltese team title="Marsaxlokk F.C. ">Marsaxlokk (3-0 home, 1-1 away) in the first round and lost to Israel team title="Maccabi Petah Tikva F.C. ">Maccabi Petah Tikva (1-1 away, 1-3 at home) at the end of the round.

In the 2006-07 season Zrinjski placed second and earned an UEFA Europa League place. The winter break was when Zrinjski dropped one of its most talented player Lamine Diarra who was transferred into Beira-Mar and then signed Zoran Rajovic, who was a star player in the past, as a free transfer. Zrinjski also made a deal with a former player - a veteran midfielder Mario Ivankovic from Brotnjo.

in 2007 and 2008, Zrinjski fell in the opening qualifying round against FK Partizan of Serbia 11-1 overall. But, Partizan was expelled from the tournament due to trouble with the crowd and Zrinjski advanced to the second round, where they lost 2-1 against FK Rabotnicki of Macedonia. In their domestic competition, they come in fourth place, but their victory at the Cup of Bosnia and Herzegovina brought them a spot in the UEFA Cup once again.

In the 2008-09 season Zrinjski achieved a 5-1 aggregate over FC Vaduz in the opening qualification round for the UEFA Cup, but lost 3-1 against SC Braga the following round. The team also took home their second Premier League for the second time, led by the talisman player Kresimir Kordic who scored the most goals with 13 goals in the league.

The title of league means that Zrinjski will be in an additional round in qualifying to the UEFA Champions League, just their second time participating in the tournament. However, they fell 1-4 in aggregate to SK Slovan Bratislava with a 1-0 home victory. An unsatisfactory 2009-10 season in the league put Zrinjski in fourth position.

Zrinjski's time in European football continued for longer during the season 2010-11 than other seasons, with the club winning both FC Tobol and Tre Penne before losing to Odense Boldklub in the third round of qualifying for the UEFA Europa League. Zrinjski was lower in the league rankings and was able to secure seventh place, meaning that the team would not be playing European football the following season. In the season of 2011-12, Zrinjski was able to improve just a little bit: a sixth-place finish meant the team would not be able to participate in continental football in the next season. In 2012-13, the season turned out to be one of the most difficult in the past 10 years. The team falling to a ninth place finishedfinish, however, they were able to be eligible for European football with a strong cup performance, and made it to the semi-final.

The 2013-14 season will remain in the hearts and memories of Zrinjski supporters. After a lengthy three-way race to win the title between themselves, NK Siroki Brijeg and FK Sarajevo, Zrinjski came with a victory to take home their third Premier League title, their first since 2004-05. The win over the title during the previous season again resulted in Zrinjski into an UEFA Champions League second qualifying round in which they were drawn against NK Maribor.

In the time from 2015 to 2018, Zrinjski had a dominant run in from 2015 to 2018 in the Premier League, winning three league titles in succession Two of them were taken with manager Blaz Sliskovic and the third from Vinko Marinovic. The club also improved in European competitions, playing in the third qualifying round in the UEFA Europa League in the 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons. In the 2018 season, Zrinjski got eliminated in the third round by Bulgarian club Ludogorets Razgrad, in 2019, by Swedish club Malmo and in 2020 almost to be eliminated by Cypriot team APOEL. Incredibly, during the initial two European "campaigns" in the first two "campaigns" club was managed by Croatian managers Ante Mise and Hari Vukas respectively. In the third, Zrinjski was managed by Bosnian manager Mladen Zizovic.

After a disappointing season in 2020-21 season In the following 2021-22 season the club was named league champions for the record seven times under the direction of manager Sergej Jakirovic.

Please see below.

Zrinjski Mostar's primary adversaries are Velez Mostar, the other major football team in Mostar. The highly-contested game between the two teams is known as"the Mostar derby. Zrinjski initially played Velez Mostar in the 1920s and 1930s, however after Zrinjski was exiled (1945-92) for his involvement during the fascist league there were no matches between the two rival teams played. In the period between 1945 and 1992, Velez became a successful club in the former Yugoslavia and it was backed by the majority of Mostarian residents. When Zrinjski's ban on league play had been lifted, the club was one of the key symbol that represent the Croatian entity located in Mostar which was mostly supported by Croats. The opposition team, Velez, is mostly supported by local Bosniaks. It is a highly contested game. Mostar derby is highly debated like it is the derby between Sarajevo and Zeljeznicar. On March 1, 2000 Zrinjski along with Velez played an international friendly match at the very first game in 55 years. The match took place at Sarajevo and resulted in a draw. The first match played by the two teams was played in the Premier League of BiH at the Bijeli Brijeg Stadium on 13 August 2000. It the winner was Zrinjski with a score of 2-0.

The two fan groups that have a strong support for the respective teams are

• HSK Zrinjski supporters: Ultras Mostar
• FK Velez supporters: Red Army Mostar

Both fanbases continue to represent the division of ethnic groups The Ultras are nearly exclusively Croats as well as The Red Army are mostly Bosniaks. The shared ethnicity of both fanbases causes fierce clashes during The Mostar derby. Additionally, certain extreme sections of the Red Army are left-wing-inspired, while the extreme Ultras are right-wing-inspired, which exacerbates their rivalry.

Other noteworthy rivals of Zrinjski include Sarajevo club Sarajevo as well as Zeljeznicar. The clubs that have a storied tradition, as well as Zrinjski are favored to be at the top spot on the table nearly every season. Another factor to this competition is the fact that Mostar is the capital of Herzegovina as well as Sarajevo is the heart of Bosnia and also the capital of the whole nation. There is a war with Siroki Brijeg and Siroki Brijeg, the second premier club from Herzegovina. The rivalry began in the league Herzeg-Bosnia (1994-2000) and it continued to be a part of the Premier League. The games of Siroki Brijeg and Zrinjski are typically referred to as"the Herzegovina derby.

Zrinjski's main group of supporters is known as Ultras Mostar.

Officially officially, it is officially known as the Ultras-Zrinjski Fan Club was founded in the month of March 1998, as the Citizens Associations Act was adopted into Registry of the Citizens' Associations of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton and has been operating as an unregistered support organization since 1994. They are a proponent of all the areas of the sports Club Zrinjski however they tend to follow the football department. Their name was first introduced in 1998, just six years after Zrinjski's work had been reinstated. They were named their fan-based Ultras Movement in European football. The official tune of Ultras supporters who support HSK Zrinjski Mostar, is "Gori brate" They also support their team by standing in the grandstand of Stajanje. The colours employed by Ultras on boards and transparencies are white, black and red.

Zrinjski plays its games on Stadion pod Bijelim Brijegom (English: White Hill Stadium). The stadium was constructed in 1971, and was utilized by rivals of the city Velez from 1991. The capacity for the stadium today is 9,900 seats (former standings of 25,000) However, in the 1970s and 1980s, certain games saw more than 35,000 fans. It was the second biggest venue located in Bosnia and Herzegovina (before the chairs were put up) after the Asim Ferhatovic Hase Stadium in Sarajevo.

League and Cups

• Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina:
  • Winners (7) 2004-05 and 2008-09, 2013, 2014-2015 2015-16, 2016-17 2017-18 2021-22 (record)
  • Runners-up (2): 2006-07, 2018-19
• First League of Herzeg-Bosnia:
  • Runners-up (2): 1993-94, 1997-98

• Bosnia and Herzegovina Cup:
  • Winners (1): 2007-08

Detail of the players as below mentioned.

• Hrvoje Barišić
• Filip Brekalo
• Josip ÄŒondrić
• Mario Ćuže
• Gregor Gulišija
• Slobodan Jakovljević
• Ivan Jukić
• Marin Magdić
• Frane Maglica
• Matija Malekinušić
• Nikola Mandić
• Petar Sučić
• Josip Radoš

As per detail below.

As of 24 September 2020

Competition	Played	Won	Drew	Lost	GF	GA	GD	Win%
UEFA Champions League	12	2	4	6	6	18	−12	16.67
UEFA Cup / UEFA Europa League	33	16	7	10	56	47	9	48.48
UEFA Intertoto Cup	6	2	2	2	8	7	1	33.33
Total	51	20	13	18	70	72	−2	39.22

Legend: GF = Goals For. GA = Goals Against. GD = Goal Difference.

2021 - 2022 Season

As of 1 May 2022.

Key

League: P = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; Pts = Points won; Pos = Final position;

Cup / Europe: PR = Preliminary round; QR = Qualifying round; R1 = First round; R2 = Second round; Group = Group stage; QF = Quarter-final; SF = Semi-final; RU = Runner-up; W = Competition won;