Double crown for juniors, cadets are state champions!
Outstanding results from youth categories
You already know everything about the senior team's double crown. The Blues sovereignly won their 26th league title and 18th Cup, and the celebration that followed after the final match has now entered into legend. Once again, thank you all for your support throughout the entire season and for the spectacular "Day D" - you showed what our beloved GNK means to you and how much it matters.
But this article is dedicated to our youth categories.
And rightfully so.
Marijo Kovačević's team was, quite logically, in the spotlight, but it's wonderful to know that our younger teams also achieved excellent results this season.
Let's start with the pioneers, who won the Cup, defeating Istra 1961 2-0 in the final in Križevci.
They came very close to a double crown, but the league title slipped away in the final round. Nevertheless, Ante Ivande's team showed that this U-15 squad hides enormous talent, and it will be very exciting to follow this generation in the older categories.
The next age group, the cadets, were also very successful. In fact, the pioneers and cadets seemed to have switched roles. The U-17 team couldn't reach the Cup, falling in the semi-final on penalties, but they won the Championship instead. Finishing six points ahead of the runners-up, they defended last season's title. Several very talented players emerged in Tomislav Mikulić's team whom we'll soon be watching in the junior category.
And now we come to the U-19 team. What a season they had! Most importantly - just like the seniors, they also won the double crown! Victory over Slaven Belupo in the Cup final, and in the Championship they battled with city rivals Lokomotiva for a long time, before finally mathematically securing the title one round before the end of the season.
But that's not all. Jerko Leko's team also stood out with impressive results in the prestigious Premier League International Cup, where they defeated teams like Chelsea, Newcastle and Nottingham Forest. Unforgettable was the semi-final against Valencia, when they were losing 3-1, then equalized in the dying moments and eventually won in extra time, earning a semi-final against Spanish and world giants Real Madrid.
The Blue Lions played an excellent match there too, but ultimately fell after extra time.
Our juniors also played in the prestigious Blue Stars Zürich Youth Cup. Of course, this tournament couldn't pass without a notable performance and result from our youngsters, who reached the final.
The double crown remains the highlight of this super successful season, which naturally means that the Blue juniors will compete in the UEFA Youth League again next season.
How valuable this achievement is can be seen from the almost incredible fact that they haven't managed to win both the Cup and Championship in the same season since 2003!
Finally - we invite you to come and greet the champions in the final round, against our biggest rival, Hajduk.
The match will be played on Saturday, May 30th at 11 AM, on the main Maksimir pitch!
The boys have definitely earned such a farewell to the season.
The match will also be broadcast live on our Dinamo Plus app, but we would love for you to visit Maksimir one last time this sunny Saturday, give our youngsters great support and celebrate the titles together at the end!
Let's not forget, they are our future!
