Dinamo Zagreb took out first place at the 21st Annual ‘Memorial of Vukovar Defenders’ U14s football tournament last weekend. This tournament also featured an Australian Croatian Select team (pictured above). It was a proud moment as Dinamo clinched the victory at the Vukovar tournament.
The Zagreb giants secured the gold medal at the international invitational event. They defeated NK Osijek 2-0, a team which just managed to defeat the Aussies 1-0 in their group phase encounter.
Made up of players from NSW, Victoria, South Australia, and Western Australia, the Australian Croatian Select team lost to NK Varaždin 1-4 in the opening game. They went down 0-1 to eventual Finalists NK Osijek in the second match. They then lost 0-1 to HNK Gorica 0-1 in a thrilling final Group phase match.
With just one team advancing to the semi-finals from each group, NK Osijek finished on top of Group D. The ‘Slavonci’ overcame NK Rijeka 3-0 to advance to an ultimately unsuccessful Grand Final showdown where Dinamo emerged as victors.
The Blues from the nation’s capital made it a clean sweep of individual awards. Gabriel Hrmić was named the tournament’s Best Player. The Golden Boot Award went to Luka Tomas with five goals, while goalkeeper Juraj Fink was awarded the ‘Golden Gloves’ award. NK Rijeka received the Fair Play Award.
Despite suffering three losses, the Australian Croatian team performed admirably against professional Academy club sides. These clubs play and train each week. The ‘Klokani’, meanwhile, had assembled for the first time during a couple of training sessions upon arrival in Zagreb a week earlier.
Entire Tour Was Memorable
Coach Josip Lončarić was pleased with the team and their attitude throughout the short tour. He noted that Dinamo’s victory in the Vukovar tournament highlighted an inspiring journey.
“The entire tour was a memorable one for the players, parents as well as the staff,” said Lončarić.
“The boys played three practice matches and three competition matches in the space of just five days. They were able to showcase their ability and talent for the HNS coaching staff, who were in attendance,” he added.
“We played Team USA/Canada in a friendly after the tournament and defeated them 5-4 in a penalty shootout. It was 5-5 in normal time,” continued Lončarić. He added that it was a very open and free flowing match.
The Aussie Croat goalscorers against the North Americans included Kristian Bošnjak, captain Jordan Vonja, Benji Basarić, Luka Mrdjen, and Lucas Jušić.
The tournament was attended by several high-ranking Croatian Football Federation officials. These included Executive Board member and the President of the Sub-Committee for the Croatian Diaspora Ante Kulušić. Also present were HNS Technical Director Stipe Pletikosa, Head Instructor Petar Krpan, official Scout for the Diaspora Zoran Vulić, and advisors to the HNS president Marijan Kustić, Zorislav Srebrić, and Stjepan Merkaš.
