We concluded our 18th European campaign with yesterday’s defeat against Portuguese side Vitória (0:4) in the play-off round of the UEFA Conference League.
Zrinjski was unable to repeat last season’s remarkable success when we became the first club from Bosnia and Herzegovina to qualify for the group stage of a UEFA competition, but this season’s European run still deserves positive recognition.
As winners of the BiH Cup, the Nobles entered in the second qualifying round, where they eliminated Slovenian side Bravo (0:1, 3:1), followed by a third-round victory over Bulgaria’s Botev (1:2, 2:0).
Our third consecutive play-off appearance brought Vitória (0:3, 0:4) as our opponent. While we believed in an upset, the Portuguese club proved too much for Mario Ivanković’s squad.
What stands out is that by reaching the play-offs again, we secured a UEFA coefficient of 2.500 for the current season, becoming the first club from Bosnia and Herzegovina to reach a coefficient of 10.000 over the five-year cycle that determines club rankings for draws.
To emphasize the importance of this achievement, that coefficient would have granted us a seeded status even in this season’s UEFA Conference League play-off, whereas with a 9.500 coefficient, we were seeded “only” in the second and third qualifying rounds.
It’s also worth noting that with two more victories, we reached a total of 29 European wins in UEFA competitions, solidifying our place as the most successful club from Bosnia and Herzegovina in terms of wins (FK Sarajevo 27, FK Željezničar 26).
In terms of matches played, we have now competed in 78 UEFA matches, surpassing FK Željezničar (75), with only FK Sarajevo (86) ahead of us.
This season also saw us score our 100th European goal, which was netted by Frano Mlinar in the victory over Bravo (3:1).
