Bayern's opening opponents in the Champions League, Dinamo Zagreb, travel to Munich carrying not just their luggage, but also the weight of a fresh defeat. Four days before their visit to the Allianz Arena, Sergej Jakirović's team lost 1-0 at home to Hadjuk Split in the prestigious Croatian “eternal derby” (Vječni derbi).
Marko Livaja scored the all-important goal in 70th minute for Hajduk, which also knock their rivals - last year's double winners - off the top of the table in Croatia's first division. “Every defeat hurts, especially in a derby,” explained coach Jakirović after the final whistle, hinting that the upcoming game in Munich had affected his players' concentration. “No matter how much I warned them about it, there is all this euphoria surrounding the Champions League, everyone is only talking about the game against Bayern,” the 47-year-old stated. “The league is the most important thing. Everything else is a bonus.”
Croatia's record champions
Dinamo (13 points) are now one point behind Rijeka and arch-rivals Split (both on 14 points), sitting in third place after six matchdays. For Zagreb, the derby defeat was a setback, but by no means an indication of the rest of the season. The capital city club's dominance in recent years has been all-too great, being crowned champions in 18 of the last 19 seasons since 2006. They are only the country's record champions (25 titles), but also record cup winners (17).
Dinamo have therefore been flying the Croatian flag in the Champions League for a long time. Apart from Zagreb, only rivals Hajduk (1994/95) have represented the nation in the competition. It's the capital club's 10th appearance in the Champions League. And after their derby defeat, Dinamo will be starting this campaign with a fire burning inside them.
Bayern, on the other hand, gained confidence in Kiel for the Champions League opener:
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