If I had played against Rijeka, we surely would have won and claimed the championship title. Rijeka always suited me, Stjepan Lamza often used to say when reminiscing about Dinamo's historic season. The Blues won the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup that year while chasing the Yugoslav championship title. After his brilliant performance led the team to a historic comeback in which they outplayed Eintracht 4-0 in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup semi-final, Lamza was seriously injured in a fall from a balcony at Villa Rebar during the celebrations after the victory. The first match following was four days later, on June 18th, away against Rijeka. And the hosts won 3-2 in a match where Dinamo actually lost momentum in the title race.

In that same round, Sarajevo, the Blues' direct competitor in the fight for the trophy, beat Vardar 2-1 and pulled away at the top of the table. This meant that with two rounds remaining, Sarajevo had two points more than second-placed Dinamo. This was, of course, a time when a victory brought two points, not three. However, in the remaining two rounds, Sarajevo still had to visit Maksimir, so Zagreb still had a chance, especially with a slightly better goal difference. But already in the next round, Dinamo and Sarajevo played 0-0 in Zagreb and that was practically the end of the story.

In the match in Rijeka, the hosts took the lead in the 15th minute when Boško Bursać took advantage of an awkward reaction by Rudolf Belin and found the net. Mile Tomljenovič doubled the lead in the 25th minute with a powerful strike from outside the penalty area, before the Blues reduced the deficit in the 36th minute when Marijan Novak crossed from the wing and Rijeka defender Duško Devčić awkwardly deflected the ball into his own net. In the 53rd minute, Nedeljko Vukoje hit the crossbar and Bursać collected the rebound to score for 3-1. Slaven Zambata reduced the deficit in the 72nd minute after a move initiated by Krasnodar Rora.

There was an illustrative scene at the very end of the match. Belgrade referee Živko Bajić awarded a free kick to Dinamo near the penalty area. As Belin, considered by many to be the best free kick taker in Yugoslav football history, took his run-up and prepared to take the shot, Bajić – blew the final whistle.