2023-09-23 11:09:24
At the end of the Second World War, when Marshal Tito formed the Federal People’s Republic of Yugoslavia, some football clubs were banned. His crime, having been part of Prva NHL, the league that was played between 1941 and 1944 in the Independent State of Croatia, a puppet country of Nazi Germany that included all of Bosnia, Herzegovina and a large part of Croatia. One of those clubs was HŠK Zrinjski, Mostar, which was known to be the team of the Bosnian Croats.
Mostar is the capital of Herzegovina, a mountainous territory in the south of the country, populated mainly by Bosnian Croats. The city, of imposing beauty, is named after the Stari Most, a famous bridge, built by Suleiman the Magnificent, which withstood earthquakes, floods and the passage of German panzers for four centuries, but was demolished by Croatian bombs. during the war.
The ban lasted until 1992, when the terrible wars that shook the Yugoslav territory led to the partition of the country. In the new state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Zrinjski was refounded and was able to compete normally again. From the beginning of the war until 2000, the different ethnic groups in the territory played in their own independent competitions. The 2000-2001 was the first unified championship in the country, the Premijer Liga, where Zrinjski was present.
The first fourteen years were dominated by Zeljezničar from Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and the state, which won five titles. In the last decade, however, Zrinjski has been the great dominator; It has won six titles in ten years and has established itself as the most successful team in the country.
After winning the league last year, Zrinjski gained access to the previous rounds of the Champions League. They surpassed the first, against Armenian FC Urartu, but were eliminated in the second, against Slovan Bratislava. The club fell to the Europa League where it obtained identical results. They eliminated the Icelandic Breidablik in the initial phase, but could not beat the Austrian LASK. Never could a defeat have caused greater joy among a fan, because the mere fact of having passed a round meant direct access to the group stage of the Conference League, a feat that no Bosnian team in history had achieved.
From fear to ambition
Some might think that Zrinjski would be a mere extra in the Conference League, the shy child who stays crossed with his arms in the corner of the playground while the adults play. Nothing is further from reality. Despite being drawn into a very difficult group, with Aston Villa, Legia Warsaw and AZ Alkmaar, Zrinjski came out on top. His debut against AZ, however, couldn’t have started worse. At half-time they were losing 0-3 and the European dream seemed to turn into a nightmare.
The Bosnians, however, did not surrender. His coach, Krunoslav Rendulic, introduced Zvonimir Kozulj at halftime and the change had an immediate effect; As soon as the second half began he scored 1-3. Time was passing and the Bosnians were not able to score the goal that would put them squarely in the game. In the 67th minute, AZ hit the post with a ball that could have been the sentence. The cold sweat that must have invaded the bodies of the Bosnian players had the opposite effect, fear turned into ambition, and in twelve magical minutes they scored three goals, the last one, the work of the revulsive Kozulj.
The Conference League is confirmed as one of UEFA’s great successes in recent years. The introduction of a third competition in the European ranking has increased the chances of the weakest federations of managing to sneak a team among the best on the continent, and consequently, the possibilities of this type of stories emerging, starring small clubs that They don’t usually see their name among the greats, stories, after all, that are worth telling.
#Zrinjski #Mostar #history