BY Our Man in Zagreb
STADION MAKSIMIR, Zagreb—The old girl is showing her age, and last night, she was a theatre of pain for Dinamo Zagreb as they were utterly dismantled by a ruthless Real Betis side.
The famous Stadion Maksimir, a ground steeped in Croatian football history but also notorious for its crumbling concrete and partially renovated stands, truly lived up to its reputation as a disaster zone.
The Spanish visitors treated the place like a glorified training pitch, strolling to a shock 3-1 Europa League victory that had the home fans groaning louder than the structure’s worn foundations.
Dinamo were playing like a team haunted by their own surroundings. The roar of the Bad Blue Boys couldn’t save them as Betis turned on the style.
The home side’s defence crumbled faster than the stadium’s east stand in an earthquake, allowing Betis to bag three first-half goals in a stunning 10-minute blitz.
An unfortunate own goal by Sergi Dominguez Viloria on the half-hour mark got the ball rolling for the visitors. Two minutes later, Spanish winger Rodrigo Riquelme doubled the advantage, weaving through the Zagreb defence as if they were stationary fixtures in the Maksimir rubble.
The final insult to the old arena came just four minutes later, with Brazilian star Antony chipping the ball into an empty net after Dinamo’s keeper went walkabout.
Three goals conceded in just seven minutes—it felt less like a football match and more like a demolition job on the very stadium that hosted it.
While Dinamo showed a flicker of life with Dejan Ljubicic grabbing a late consolation goal, the damage was done.
The historic stadium has seen plenty of great nights, but last night was not one of them. For Dinamo Zagreb, Maksimir proved to be less of a fortress and more of a fixer-upper after Betis finished their raid.
The Spanish side continue their impressive unbeaten run in the competition, leaving Zagreb with three points and the Dinamo faithful wondering if their team’s performance was more tragic than the state of their beloved, yet ancient, home ground.
