Youngster Badelj gives Dinamo 3 points

Dinamo, mostly thanks to 19 year old Milan Badelj and substitute Sammir, started the new season with a win against a defense-oriented Rijeka.

Against Rijeka, Dinamo was just a shadow of last season and only thanks to two late goals did they get the three points from a below-par match.

Sammir’s great pass followed by Badelj’s superb handling and finishing resulted in a goal in the 82nd minute. A second goal followed ten minutes later, again after an assist from Sammir. This time the executor was Dinamo’s veteran, Bosko Balaban, who didn’t have much trouble in beating Rijeka’s goalkeeper, Velimir Radman.

The game didn’t feature many spectacular moves besides two shots from out of the box late in the first half. First it was young Badelj who used a roulette to shrug off two defenders and then a superb body feint to pass a third and make space for a shot that went past the right post. Just minutes later Pedro Morales used the little space he had to fire a shot that tested Radman’s ability to stretch.

Badelj was one of the few Dinamo players that were in a creative frame of mind. Mihael Mikic was one of Dinamo’s most dangerous players as Morales only showed glimpses of why he was brought to replace Luka Modric.

Dinamo’s fan group, Bad Blue Boys, continued their troublesome behavior. They repeatedly chanted against the management. Several players were victims of immense hissing, most notably Dinamo’s newcomer Mirko Hrgovic who played for Dinamo’s rival, Hajduk. However, the rest of the fans showed their disapproval of such behavior and often countered BBB’s actions.

On Friday Dinamo’s Vice-president, Zdravko Mamic, announced that the game against Rijeka would be played in an empty stadium, only to withdraw the decision 2 hours later. The question now remains how long it will be until firm actions against BBB’s behavior will be made.