ZVONIMIR BOBAN IS THE NEW PRESIDENT OF THE MANAGEMENT BOARD OF GNK DINAMO

tsg_news April 14, 2025

Zvonimir Boban is back in Dinamo! The legendary GNK Dinamo captain returned to his beloved club, and on Monday afternoon, he was officially presented in the Blue Lounge. The presentation aroused exceptional media interest, and Boban, Velimir Zajec, and Zvonimir Manenica attended the conference. Boban especially thanked Manenica, who gave him the position of President of the Management Board from June 1. Manenica will continue to act as a member of the Management Board in charge of finances.

Boban made his Dinamo debut at 18, scored his first goal as a teenager, and quickly became captain. His playing charisma and recognizable ten on his back marked the beginning of the nineties and remained a symbol of Croatian football. Almost 34 years after leaving Maksimir, Boban returns as the President of the Management Board and takes over his official mandate on June 1.

The club’s executive board unanimously supported President Zajec and the current president of the Manenica management board’s proposal that Boban take over the leadership role. Manenica remains a member of the Finance Board, while Boban will be explicitly focused on the sports segment of the club.

Zvonimir Boban’s football journey in Dinamo began as a 15-year-old, following in the footsteps of his older brother Dražen. Father Marinko was then Dinamo’s commissioner for Imotski, and the family moved to Zagreb in 1983 so that the sons could develop their careers at the Hitrec-Kacian school. Boban debuted for the senior team on December 12, 1985, against Radnik from Velika Gorica, when he scored two goals. He scored his first official goal on September 21, 1986, against Budućnost from Podgorica, just 17 days before his 18th birthday.

By the summer of 1991, he had made 114 official appearances and scored 43 goals for Dinamo; twice, he was the Yugoslavian runner-up. His role in the events of May 13, 1990, during the riots at the match between Dinamo and Crvena zvezda, is primarily remembered, which became a symbol of the struggle for Croatian independence.

Farewell to Dinamo came in the summer of 1991 after the match against Olimpija in Ljubljana, when Boban scored a goal and assisted two more goals. Not long after, as a Milan player on loan in Bari, he played against Dinamo in a humanitarian match for the children of Croatia.

He moved from Dinamo to Milan, where he won the UEFA Champions League in nine seasons, four Italian championship titles, three Italian Super Cups, and the UEFA Super Cup. His farewell to his playing career on October 7, 200,2, in Maksimir was a real spectacle, with exhibition matches and emotional recognition from fans.

Boban once said:

I came to Dinamo as a child, grew up here, developed, my parents followed my brother and me, took risks. Dinamo is my first and only club.

The return of Zvonimir Boban to the head of Dinamo marks a new chapter in the club’s history, with a legend who left an indelible mark on and off the field.