Coach Vahid Halilhodžić made a winning debut. After the Blues slipped out of the Champions League qualifying round where they were defeated by Moldovan side Sheriff on penalties, they moved into the Europa League play-off. In the first away match, they beat Hungarian side ETO Győr 2-0.

It was the debut of new coach Halilhodžić who stepped in after Velimir Zajec's departure. The hero of the match was another newcomer, Maksimir striker Ante Rukavina. He had actually debuted two weeks earlier, but in Győr he was the driving force behind Dinamo's victory and scored twice. No less impressive was Maksimir's Brazilian Etto, who played in the role of right winger on this occasion. It was Etto who got the ball on the right flank in the 20th minute, skillfully set up Rukavina near the penalty area, and he furiously beat the defender and scored into the bottom corner from 12 meters. He scored again in the 28th minute. This time too, Etto led the attack down the right side, sent a return pass to Sammir which the opposing defenders managed to block, but Rukavina got to the ball and with a skillful move from seven meters found the corridor to the net. The Blues later also won the return leg in Zagreb 2-1 and qualified for the Europa League group stage.