Today, as nine-time champions preparing for another Champions League qualifying campaign, we proudly look back on a match played exactly 25 years ago.
On the hot summer day of June 25th, 2000, Zrinjski played its first-ever European home match, facing Swedish side Västra Frölunda IF.
The match was part of the UEFA Intertoto Cup, a competition that ran from 1961 to 2008, and since 1995 was under UEFA’s administration.
The Noblemen earned their spot in the competition as representatives of the Football Association of Herzeg-Bosnia, having secured qualification through a playoff against NK Đerzelez Zenica.
In the historic first leg played on June 18th, 2000, at Ruddalens IP Stadium in Gothenburg, today home to a club in Sweden’s fourth division, Västra Frölunda claimed a narrow 1–0 win. A week later, after 120 minutes of intense football in Mostar, Zrinjski won 2–1 after extra time, but it wasn’t enough to advance to the next round and face Macedonian side Pelister.
Zrinjski was led by coach Vladimir Skočajić Taramba, and the starting lineup for the second leg included: Toni Jurjev, Tihomir Skoko, Kenan Lizde, Joško Farac, Slaven Musa, Tihomir Bogdan, Elvis Margeta, Ante Marijanović, Anđelko Kvesić, Hrvoje Erceg, and Berislav Miloš. Substitutes Teo Krešić, Leon Buhić, and Draženko Bogdan came off the bench.
Zrinjski leveled the aggregate score through a goal by Miloš (43’), and the crowd erupted in the sixth minute of extra time when Leon Buhić made it 2–0. However, Västra’s Đorđe Uzelac — the same player who had scored in the first leg — netted in the 105th minute to secure the Swedes’ passage.
Now, 25 years later, Zrinjski is a regular participant in European competitions. This summer marks our 19th European campaign, during which we’ve played 78 matches and recorded 29 wins — more than any other club from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
