Croatia’s capital Zagreb is a football metropolis. Home to the country’s top club, Dinamo, the Maksimir Stadium is also where the national team plays many of its games.
Dinamo date back to 1945. Under Tito, in the post-war Republic of Yugoslavia, Građanski, HAŠK and Concordia were disbanded as one and Dinamo Zagreb were founded in their place. They later took over the Maksimir from HAŠK, their blue colours and their fan base.
Set alongside the park of the same name, established by a local bishop who had this area of greenery landscaped and opened to the public in the late 1700s, the Maksimir has hosted soccer for 110 years. Organised football was first played here in 1912, the year the Croatian FA was formed.
It was here that Dinamo staged three successful Yugoslav League campaigns and here that the ‘Plavi’ overcame Leeds in the first leg of the successful Fairs Cup win of 1967.
And it was also here, one sunny May afternoon in 1990, that Dinamo’s notorious Bad Blue Boys took on their counterparts from Red Star Belgrade, the Delije, fans fighting on the pitch at a Yugoslav league game between the two. The riot is seen as a symbolic prelude to the full-scale war that would break out between Serbs and Croats a year or so later. It is also known for the kick that Dinamo hero Zvonimir Boban aimed at a policeman, springing to the defence of a Dinamo fan.
After Croatian independence, renovations to the Maksimir continued for decades as debate raged over the rebuilding of a new stadium. The terrible earthquake that shook Zagreb in 2020 put the issue on hold. Capacity of 35,000 is currently down to 25,000 after damage to the East Stand, Tribina Istok. This faces the West one, Tribina Zapad, along the long sideline. The home North end (Tribina Sjever) and the South one (Tribina Jug) opposite are behind the goals, the handful of visiting fans gathered in the South Stand.
Transport
Take tram 4, 5, 7, 11 or 12 to the stop right by the stadium, still shown on some maps as Bukovačka, recently renamed Park Maksimir. The 11 and 12 run from the main square, Trg bana Josipa Jelačića; The 4 runs from the train terminus, Glavni kolodvor. Some regional trains stop at Maksimir, the small station behind the stadium a ten-minute walk to the ground through a tangle of residential streets.
Stadium bars
As you approach the stadium from town, sundry bars line Maksimirska cesta. Kocka (No.104), Boro’s (No.119) and Storm (No.123) are closest to the stadium. Further along, immediately below the stadium, the BBB fan bar is decked out in Dinamo history but is out of bounds on match days. Also on this side of the road, just inside the park gates, the Restoran Maksimir is a lovely restaurant and terrace bar, tables spread out on a wide, gravel space backdropped by trees. There’s a full Croatian menu too, including the Zagreb specialities of štrukli pastry, breaded meat, plus a hulking great house platter for two hungry carnivores.
Across the road, at the junction of Maksimirska cesta and Donje Svetice by the stadium car park, Caffè Royal and Maksimilijan are standard Croatian café-bars. The latter has a TV and slightly more atmosphere. Further down, Daba is more comfortable.
On this side of the stadium, turning left at the Svetice transport stop, the Ožujsko Pub Maksi on Budaka Divka is a league above, a large, modern sports bar/restaurant with beer brewed on-site.
Within the ground, Plavi Korner kiosks serve snacks and, depending on the fixture, Ožujsko beer.
City transport
Zagreb’s Franjo Tuđman Airport is 17km (10.5 miles) south-east of the city centre. Half-hourly buses (45 kuna, 30min journey time, pay on board) run to Zagreb bus station. A taxi should cost about 220-250 kuna.
Croatia will soon adopt the euro – until then, the local currency is the kuna, the exchange rate roughly 7.5 kuna to one euro. Payment by card is widespread.
The transport network comprises trams, night trams and buses for outlying areas. Trams 2 and 6 run three stops from the bus station to the train station (Glavni kolodvor), route 6 going on to the main square, Trg bana Josipa Jelačića. A ticket costs 6 kuna from the driver. A day ticket is 30kn.
Taxis are parked outside either station or call +385 1717.
City bars
On the main bar street of Tkalčićeva, winding the other side of the market from the main square, you’ll find the Oliver Twist (No.60) and the Pivnica Mali Medo (No.36), with its in-house beer, alongside several spots with football on large outdoor TV screens. History (Nos.57-68) puts more emphasis on food.
Also close, on parallel Radićeva, Pinta appeals to local football fans with its homely atmosphere, TV and lack of tourists. A few buildings up, the MK Bar known as ‘Krolo’ after the writer Miroslav Krleža who lived here, is equally lived-in. By the market, Harat’s is the extremely popular local branch of the successful Russia-wide chain of sports pubs.
Another main bar hub on the other side of the main square includes Charlie’s (Gajeva 4), pub/club/restaurant Bulldog and the Golf. Rock bar Alcatraz is a lively spot, often full of locals. American-style Brewbites at Gajeva 10 is lined with TV screens showing sport, decked out in memorabilia and is serious about its burgers.
Croatian football museum
Right by the main square on the corner with Petrinjska, Budi ponosan (‘Be Proud’) (Tue-Sat 10am-6pm) tells the story of Croatian football, from its beginnings to the World Cup final of 2018 and beyond. The emphasis is on these recent triumphs but you can still pick out newspaper reports from the early 1990s when the newly independent country was forming its first national side, with details of famous players through the ages. Although in a prominent location – with a Dinamo Zagreb store next door – the space isn’t big enough to cover much more. Admission is free, and it’s well worth a look around.