The three-day Nikola Pokrivač Memorial concluded with a memorial match between GNK Dinamo legends and Croatian national team legends, played on Sunday, April 19, at the Klinček Sports Centre.

It was a series of connected sporting and charitable events aimed at preserving the memory of the premature passing of one of Croatian football's most beloved and recognizable figures, while also creating new opportunities for young athletes.

The match at Klinček attracted a record number of spectators, once again confirming the strong bond between Nikola Pokrivač and the fans and football community. Although it was a memorial match, the encounter played primarily in memory of Nikola was anything but ceremonial. It was played for prestige, we saw a series of hard challenges, and even one "VAR intervention".

The Croatian legends eventually won 6-4, with the hero of the match being Pokrivač's great friend and teammate from the national team, Dinamo and Monaco, Jerko Leko, who scored a hat-trick. Two goals for the national team were scored by Mario Mandžukić, and one by Gordon Schildenfeld. For the Blues, who played in yellow jerseys, Luis Ibáñez was the double scorer, while Ivan Krstanović and Hrvoje Čale each added one goal.

"Nikola constantly came to Klinček, he lived nearby and played here, so this is a great place for such a match. I'm glad that his parents and daughter Nika were present at the event, and we managed to bring at least a little smile to her face because she saw how many friends her dad has. Nikola deserves such a Memorial, especially because he was a great fighter, in life and on the pitch. I'm glad that such a large number of people gathered. And the match? It was interesting. Mandžo said we would take it easy, but in the end we were all competitive, there were challenges and I hope we satisfied the audience," said hat-trick scorer Leko after the match.

For the Dinamo team, Domagoj Antolić, Hrvoje Čale, Etto, Lucho Ibáñez, Ivan Krstanović, Filip Lončarić, Hrvoje Štrok, Josip Tadić and Ivica Vrdoljak played, and the team was managed from the bench by Silvio Marić.

For the national team, Milan Badelj, Niko Kranjčar, Ivan Kelava, Jerko Leko, Mario Mandžukić, Danijel Pranjić and Gordon Schildenfeld played, and they were managed from the bench by Nikola Jurčević.

"It's a sad occasion that brought us together. I grew up with Nikola, we're the same age, we went through all the youth national team selections, and later played together at Dinamo. I'm glad that this Memorial has been launched, which I hope will become traditional. He often played here, he lived for football. As for the match itself, I've never seen such a strong team of former players gather and the match be completely ceremonial. It was tough, but fair", said Hrvoje Čale after the match.

Before the start of the match, Croatian Football Federation Deputy Secretary General Iva Olivari presented Nikola Pokrivač's family with a framed Croatian national team jersey with number 13, which Nikola wore for the senior national team.

As part of the event at Klinček, a silent auction was also held for signed jerseys from Luka Modrić from Milan, Joško Gvardiol from Manchester City and Ivan Perišić and Ivan Klasnić from the Croatian national team, and they all ended up at the same address. All proceeds from the auction will be directed to the "Nikola Pokrivač" Scholarship, intended for young athletes from smaller communities who often lack basic conditions for development.

The Nikola Pokrivač Memorial began on Friday, April 17, with the 18th round HMNL match between Futsal Dinamo and HMNK Rijeka, continued on Saturday, April 18, on the first anniversary of Nikola's death with the match between GNK Dinamo and HNK Rijeka, and concluded with Sunday's memorial match at Klinček.