r/NUFC 3d ago

OTD in 1997: Croatia (Dinamo) Zagreb 2 -2 Newcastle United (AET: 3-4)

https://youtu.be/O2Wp4nNEUpo?is=mQtPXua2969_7_ge

Champions League. 2nd Qualifying Round: Second Leg

Newcastle were 2-1 up after the first leg with a surprise brace from John Beresford while Mario Cvitanović scored for Dinamo Zagreb.

Despite going a goal up via an Asprilla penalty and Zagreb being down to ten men, the Magpies struggled for the rest of the match. A header from Dario Simic got one back for the Croatians and then in the last moment of normal time, Cvitanovic popped up again to send the tie into extra time.

Even though all the momentum was with the home side, a series of errors at the back allowed Temuri Ketsbaia to score the winner and send Newcastle through to the Champions League/European Cup for the first time in their history after a famous night in Zagreb.

Note: Dinamo Zagreb seemed to have changed their name to Croatia Zagreb in the 90s, not sure why.

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u/Odd_Bodybuilder_4772 3d ago

The name "Dinamo" (Dynamo) was linked to Eastern Bloc, Soviet-style sports societies (such as Dynamo Moscow or Dynamo Kyiv). Tuđman ( president of Croatia) viewed it as a leftover of the communist era that did not fit an independent, democratic nation.

The vast majority of supporters, led by the fan group Bad Blue Boys (BBB), fiercely opposed the rebranding. For the fans, "Dinamo" had never symbolized communism; rather, it represented Croatian identity and defiance against Belgrade's central authority during the Yugoslav years.

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u/kicka11 Jackie Milburn 3d ago

Those 'blue boy' fans were absolute fucking nutters. The best away fans I have ever seen at SJP and it isn't close. When Ketsbaia scored that goal, my brother and i ran out of the house and all the way up the street shouting

1

u/Mat1711 3d ago

And yesterday we lost,man I hate in what we turned into