After four years of hibernation, Dinamo B is back on the scene. The young Maksimir team came to life in 2014, was in competitive action until the summer of 2022, after which it temporarily ceased operations. The decision that B teams of Croatian first division clubs no longer have the right to compete in the second tier, but at most in the third tier of Croatian football, led to the dissolution of Dinamo B. In the meantime, however, the green light was given for participation in the second tier, so the young team of the Blues will, after a four-year absence, return to competitive rhythm this season. In the coaching role, they will be led by Jerko Leko, the former celebrated Dinamo midfielder and Croatian international, who coached the Maksimir youth team last season.

This Sunday, Dinamo B will officially start competitive play. In the 1st round of the First NL, the Blues will visit Bijelo Brdo where they will be welcomed by the home team BSK at 15:45 on the artificial turf pitch.

Of course, Dinamo B has no right to compete in the elite division, and in this first season, according to an agreement between all participants, it has been decided that there is a "moratorium" on relegation to a lower division.

– I'm glad the season is starting, I think we had good preparations. We had an agreement about swapping home fixtures so at the start we have a series of four away matches which is a challenge for the players, but also an opportunity to immediately feel what lies ahead. Right in the 1st round we face a good opponent, BSK is known as an aggressive team, I know their coach Igor Budiša well, his teams play with pressing which will be challenging for us. We'll play on artificial turf, and that might allow us some playing possibilities considering that some pitches in friendly matches weren't adequate for what we want to present. I'm personally interested to see how certain players will cope, especially if we consider that we don't have older footballers in the squad, we don't have an experienced leader who could help the younger ones. It's all a challenge and we're ready to meet it – coach Leko emphasized.

How good and challenging is it for a development team to face a tough, demanding opponent right from the start?

– BSK is one of the more demanding opponents, especially on their home ground which means we're going in "hard" right away. It doesn't matter, that awaits us in the season anyway, sooner or later. It's good that the boys see and feel all that immediately. If they manage to compete in the 1st round, if they manage to impose certain things, if they're not surprised by the demands, then it will be good however the match ends. That would mean they got a good foundation for what awaits us ahead. And we have three more consecutive away matches ahead of us, first Orijent then Vukovar 1991 and Kustošija... So, good opponents. There are many players with first division experience there. Mistakes will be costly, the boys must experience competition against such older opponents. Well, they're there to become players.

The main goal of Dinamo B is certainly the development program. Results are still secondary.

– The most important thing is to develop players, but that will be harder if results are poor. We know every beginning is difficult, that won't be an excuse, but we won't put pressure on them that, say, after three rounds we must have seven or nine points. The goal is to see that the boys are progressing, maturing, that they've adapted to playing against older opponents... That's the first goal. At the end of August and in September we have many matches ahead, there's also an away trip to England, to the Premier League International Cup. So, it will be demanding, but we knew that, we prepared for it and I believe we'll respond well.

Who will make up the core squad of Dinamo B for the new season?

– There will be 90 percent of players I coached last season in the youth team. There are two older ones – Lovre Kulušić and Borna Orlić. They were born in 2006, and the rest are either 2007 generation as graduating youth players or 2008 as players who still play for the youth team, but are needed by the B team due to specific positions. Some, for example, started preparations with us, played for the youth team at the Mladen Ramljak tournament... Where and how we'll use them will depend on need, form, agreement between Milan Badelj as youth coach, me as Dinamo B coach and Alberto Capellas as academy director. We have absolute mutual trust there. We'll be careful, for instance, that a good player doesn't end up in Dinamo B sitting on the bench instead of playing for the youth team. So, the goal is for him to play for the youth team then. We'll balance it so that everyone in the B team roster gets a chance, so we see them and know who we can count on after winter, in the next season... Only Sven Šunta has joined the first team so far, but he should otherwise be with us.

Is there concern that some players who move "down" from a "higher" to "lower" category, say from the first team to B team or from B team to youth, might lose motivation, that it might psychologically hinder them?

– That might be a "problem", but it shouldn't be. If at these ages, at 17, 18 or 19, you're going to be picky or don't want to play somewhere, we'll run into problems sooner or later. We're doing all this for their good, for more playing time. Why are some still in the youth team when they could compete for the B team? Because there are other boys there, a year older, who we also must see and give a chance. That's why the B team was created, to see if we can extract a player for the first team from it, how much he can progress. If someone doesn't accept that or thinks they can skip steps, that will be their problem

In the First NL, strong opponents and tough competition await you.

– We have several clubs that entered the league, like Segesta, Kustošija, Mladost from Ždralovi, Jadran from Ploče... All four clubs see themselves in the upper part, they have ambition. Recently my former teammate El Arabi Hilal Soudani called me, he's now at Kustošija, reminded me that we'll face each other in the 4th round. Many have strengthened with experienced players, and all that is a challenge for our boys. It will be harder for them, but my God, that awaits them in senior football anyway. There's no more choosing, now they must survive in these circumstances. It will be interesting for them. It's true that in the first season they can't be relegated from the league, but that doesn't mean it will be easy for them. Nor does it mean it will be easy for me as coach. But I'm glad I'm leading a promising team. Dinamo cultivates a winning mentality, and that will be hard to achieve in this league. Nobody expects us to be among the top three, but we still must win, we must create that winning spirit with the players. We'll do everything to go in that direction – coach Leko concluded.