Lokomotiva Zagreb

Ground: Stadion Kranjceviceva (Stadion NK Zagreb)

Visits: 1

Date: 21st July 2016

Match: Lokomotiva Zagreb - Rovaniemi 3-0 (UEFA Europa League, qualifying)

Attendance: 630

The UEFA draw for the 2nd qualifying round was kind to me. Dinamo Zagreb played at home on Wednesday evening and Lokomotiva Zagreb hosted Rovaniemi on Thursday evening. With Rovaniemi being a low key opponent Lokomtoiva could play at their own ground, Stadion Kranjceviceva. Stadion Kranjceviceva is situated in central Zagreb and after a late breakfast I went to the ground to find out what it looks like. From my hotel the combined journey time, walking + tram, was 20 minutes or so and once at the ground I found an open gate where I sneaked in. Stadion Kranjceviceva is quite a basic ground with only one seated stand. That stand, in the south side of the ground has around 2 500 seats. The far side is an open terrace which of course will be closed tonight. There is also (what looks like) a velodrome surrounding the pitch. Stadion Kranjceviceva is the home of NK Zagreb as well and sometimes the ground is called Stadion NK Zagreb. After a few pictures I continued with the tram to the city centre where I did some sightseeing. With the temperature being 30 °C I didn´t stay for too long in the sun though. Back at my hotel I enjoyed a late lunch before going to my room where the AC made it quite comfortable for me.

Kick-off was as early as 18.00 and my guess is Lokomotiva Zagreb wanted to save money by not switching on the floodlights. I was back at Stadion Kranjceviceva around 16.30 and bought a ticket for the game. Tickets were priced 30 HRK (£3) which I couldn´t complain about. Rovaniemi is situated in northern Finland, only 5 km from the Arctic Circle, and had for this game they had sold 35 tickets. Considering the distance and size of the club that is a respectable figure. Most of the fans were having a pre-match drinks at the bar opposite the ground. The local police was also drinking at this bar, coffee and soft drinks for them though. The first leg finished 1-1 so the tie was far from over. It was unreserved seating and I decided to sit next to the away fans. There was no segregation by the way. There was a group of 6-8 away fans who gave their team a great vocal support for most of the game. One local was so impressed he bought this group a beer each shortly before half-time! Unfortunately Lokomotiva were the better team and once they had taken the lead, shortly before half-time, this game could only have one winner. Rovaniemi lost 3-0 and had two players sent off but most of their fans seemed happy anyway and shook the hands of the stewards after the game. To be fair the Rovaniemi fans didn´t like the referee and towards the end chants like "We pay more" and "UEFA mafia" could be heard. I was back at my hotel by 20.30 where I had something to eat and drink before watching the Hajduk Split game on TV. Tomorrow I´ll leave Zagreb and head to Rijeka for the third game of this tour.

Sightseeing pictures from Zagreb

cathedral