Croatian Football Season 2019/2020

[dnina10]

Watched the dying moments of the Osijek Lokomotiva game. What a way to end such a thrilling fight for Champions League football. I checked, and despite losing, Osijek still ended up with the head to head over Lokomotiva, not that it matters now. Had they equalized, they would have started a round later in the Europa League as a result. Nevertheless, that was nerve-wracking

[kroftek]

Final round

Dinamo-Varaždin 2:0
Gorica-Slaven 0:0
Inter-Hajduk 1:4
Osijek-Lokomotiva 1:2
Rijeka-Istra 4:2

Ladies and gentlemen, it's Lokomotiva. Super Mamić Bros are jumping with joy as they are having two teams in the Champions League qualis. And yet both of them look like they won't have a good time at all over there.

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1. Dinamo	36	25	5	6	62:20	80 [CLCHQR2]
2. Lokomotiva	36	19	8	9	57:38	65 [CLNCQR2]
3. Rijeka	36	19	7	10	58:42	64 [ELQR3]
4. Osijek	36	17	11	8	47:29	62 [ELQR2]
5. Hajduk	36	18	6	12	60:41	60 [ELQR2]
6. Gorica	36	12	13	11	44:48	49
7. Slaven	36	10	9	17	34:51	39
8. Varaždin	36	9	9	18	29:50	36
9. Istra	36	5	10	21	27.59	25 [play-offs]
10. Inter	36	3	8	25	32:72	17 [2. HNL] 

Top scorers:

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Čolak		RIJ	20
Caktaš		HAJ	20
Marić		OSI	20
Lovrić		GOR	14
Oršić		DIN	13
Krstanović	SLB	12
Tolić		LOK	11
Kastrati	LOK	11
Eduok		HAJ	11
Kadzior		DIN	10

Čolak wins the title due to least minutes played inside the trio.

Attendance:

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Hajduk		18	177.552 (9.864)
Rijeka		18	73.592 (4.088)
Dinamo		18	60.899 (3.383)
Osijek		18	54.831 (3.046)
Varaždin	18	37.605 (2.089)
Gorica		18	31.460 (1.747)
Istra		18	23.774 (1.320)
Slaven		18	20.340 (1.130)
Lokomotiva	18	16.971 (942)
Inter		18	13.902 (772)

Total:		180	510.926 (2.838)

Suma sumarum:

-Dinamo solved their status while Bjelica was in charge. Easily cruising to the title, then laying back and making fools of themselves. They definitely need to wake up, new season is just around the corner, and they will certainly be hungry to play CL football once again.
-Lokomotiva played great, there's no denying that, they have (unfortunately) ultimately stanched that second place in a thriller, but players are leaving the club like crazy, and I doubt that Lokomotiva can do anything special in the CL qualifiers. They can surely feel free to prove me wrong.
-Rijeka waited, and waited, and finally settled for the 3rd place. They lost the majority of chances for this battle in the previous rounds, and yet they still had a chance. They still have the cup final to mark a solid season overall.
-Osijek choked, because I predicted them choking not so far ago, and of course they delivered. Let's hope their choking mentality is over soon enough, because Europe does not forgive.
-Hajduk had a forgettable season, just one more in a row. I guess some things never change, and there's not much to expect from them in the upcoming season. I predict a good start and showing off some muscles, and then slowly fading into mediocrity as usual.
-Gorica was supposed to be a pleasant surprise this season, but they have shown their weak points way too many times. They play very good against the big teams, but have lost a truckload of points against the weaker ones. Just an ordinary mid-table team, unfortunately...
-Slaven will certainly be happy with this season. They have shown that they are above the rest of the survival contenders.
-Varaždin was destined to fight hard for survival, and then literally exploded past the break and secured their status several rounds before the end. Still, it remains a mystery whether they can play two good seasons in a row.
-Istra was very weak, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if they win the upcoming play-offs vs. Orijent.
-Inter being by far the worst, they had other problems running throughout the team as well, and they will need to cool down and re-group / re-shape in order to make a quick return.

[kroftek]

So the one and only year that Croatia has a 2nd CLQ team, it is neither of the usual 2nds Rijeka and Hajduk, but Lokomotiva !

Croatia had 2 teams in CL back in 1999 & 2000, Rijeka and Hajduk were those extra teams.

[nogomet]

Lokomotiva deserved it. They played the best football in the league past the winter break, this entire 2020. They will be heavy underdogs in CLQ2, but that role suits them and if they're underestimated, they can do damage in one knockout game. But even if they reach EL GS, I don't see them being a serious contender to win more than a couple of points because they are losing their best players like there's no tomorrow.

[Forza AZ]

Lokomotiva in CL

Omfg.

Lokomotiva will concede 20 goals in 4 games in CLQ2 and ELPO

4 games? And where did EL-Q3 go?

[quelhar]

Lokomotiva in CL :lol:

Omfg.

Lokomotiva will concede 20 goals in 4 games in CLQ2 and ELPO

4 games? And where did EL-Q3 go?

Also, these will be just one leg ties, so 2 games instead of 4? :)

[nogomet]

Fun fact, Dinamo would have still won the league even if they lost all 10 of their post-coronabreak league games.

So this title is entirely Bjelica's. What happened after he left during the coronabreak is irrelevant.

[nogomet]

Lokomotiva has lost only 1 game in the last 15 rounds of the league. They were fifth, 10 points behind second place after round 21.

That is really impressive for such a small club, but is a consequence of premium talent they have access to and top class coaching by a young coaching star Goran Tomic.

[nogomet]

Top scorers:

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Čolak		RIJ	20
Caktaš		HAJ	20
Marić		OSI	20
Lovrić		GOR	14
Oršić		DIN	13
Krstanović	SLB	12
Tolić		LOK	11
Kastrati	LOK	11
Eduok		HAJ	11
Kadzior		DIN	10

Čolak wins the title due to least minutes played inside the trio.

Before the last round the situation was:

Maric 19
Caktas 18
Colak 16

And those three guys scored 7 goals combined in the final round, with the unlikeliest one winning the golden boot.

Maric 19 20
Caktas 18 20
Colak 16 20

with each arrow representing a goal in the final round.

But nevertheless, by far the best striker in the Croatian league is Dinamo's Bruno Petkovic. He scored only 7 goals in the league this season, but he hasn't played that many games. He showed his worth in EL last season, CL this season and Croatian national team where he scored many important goals and is a member of starting XI. This is worth much more than 20 goals in a semi-strong league like Croatia. He's probably the best player of the league overall, now that Dani Olmo has left.

[krdel]

Orijent-Istra 0:3

It is all over. Unfortunately these are also the last qualifiers in this league.