Kačavenda is Dinamo's biggest signing this summer
Former Lokomotiva coach Silvijo Čabraja analyzed Dinamo's squad ahead of the match against Viking in Stavanger, with special praise for Lukas Kačavenda and Luka Stojković.
Former Lokomotiva coach Silvijo Čabraja analyzed Dinamo's squad ahead of the match against Viking in Stavanger, with special praise for Lukas Kačavenda and Luka Stojković.
Ahead of the Champions League playoff match against Viking in Stavanger, former Lokomotiva coach Silvijo Čabraja analyzed Dinamo's squad and singled out Lukas Kačavenda as the Blues' biggest signing this summer. Čabraja, who spent four years at the helm of Lokomotiva, knows both young players well, as they came through the club's youth academy.
Čabraja told Sportske novosti that during Samir Toplak's tenure as Lokomotiva coach, he recommended promoting Kačavenda, Stojković, and Roko Šimić to the senior squad, even though they were still youth players.
"Take them, they stand out in quality and will surely bring you something," he told Toplak at the time.
Today, he sees Kačavenda as Dinamo's biggest gain at the moment. "He has brought energy, aggression, and a positive attitude, and as a midfielder, he has started scoring goals, with as many as Dion Drena Beljo," Čabraja said. He added that Kačavenda is returning to his old form and that his performances at the start of his senior career had already caught the attention of clubs from Europe's top five leagues.
Čabraja also revealed that during the winter preparations, while he was coaching Vukovar in their fight for survival in the SHNL, he called Kačavenda in Linz and asked if he wanted to revive his career at Vukovar. The loan ultimately fell through due to numerous obstacles, including poor training pitches that increased the risk of re-injury.
"I never doubted that Lukas would return to where he belongs. He is not only an excellent footballer but also a great character, a down-to-earth guy," said Čabraja, who is currently on an extended vacation after parting ways with Vukovar and is awaiting his next coaching opportunity. He also noted that with Kačavenda among the candidates, coach Mario Kovačević has doubled the competition for another position in a squad that, in his words, is quality and well-balanced.
Čabraja particularly praised Dinamo's defense, stating that the Blues have four top center-backs in McKenna, Dominguez, Radeljić, and Galešić, with Galešić also capable of covering the right-back position without any issues.
He also commented on the goalkeeper situation. Ivan Filipović dropped out of contention due to a red card in Kaunas, while Dominik Livaković is still trying to untangle the career knot he got into in Istanbul. Čabraja, however, expressed confidence in Ivan Nevistić, whom he coached for one year at Lokomotiva after his spells at Rijeka and Varaždin.
"He arrived with a back injury, and maybe he was at fault for a goal or two because that's the life of a goalkeeper-their mistakes are always more exposed to analysis and criticism. But I got to know him as a true professional with an excellent work ethic. Even if he's not brimming with confidence right now, Nevistić certainly has the quality, and I wouldn't worry about him in the matches against Viking," Čabraja said.
Čabraja also touched on the young players who came through his dressing room and are now making waves at the start of the 2026/27 season. Marin Šotiček will expand Hajduk's attacking options, while Varaždin midfielder Ivan Canjuga has emerged as a legitimate successor to Lovre Majer on SHNL pitches.
"Canjuga's talent, his special sense for the game, and his brilliant left foot were impossible to miss during those Lokomotiva preparations in the Netherlands. But young players sometimes have a problem with patience. They want overnight success, so it didn't happen at Lokomotiva, but it's happening at Varaždin, where he originally came from before joining Kajzerica," Čabraja said.
As for the clash with Viking itself, Čabraja believes Dinamo will advance, but also expects progress from other Croatian clubs.
"I'm counting on Hajduk and Rijeka to step up; we need their successes to strengthen the coefficient and make the qualifying path easier in the coming seasons. As for Dinamo, I believe they'll go through because the Blues have brought positive results from Norway in such decisive matches in recent seasons," he said, recalling victories against Molde, Rosenborg, and Bodø/Glimt in the playoffs.
Dinamo is motivated to extract around €30 million in Champions League profit from those Norwegian oil fields.
An interesting comparison to today's trip to Stavanger was provided by Miroslav Rede, a former footballer and longtime reporter for Sportske novosti and Večernji list, who participated in a major Scandinavian tour as a Lokomotiva player in 1963.
"Allow me to point out: a former Dinamo number 8 played against Viking in Stavanger in 1963, back then wearing the Lokomotiva jersey during their big Scandinavian tour," Rede recalled.
"It was 6-1 for the 'Lokosi', and we played in the lineup: Harar, Hügl, Starman, Bašić, Sobočan, Rede, Feldbauer, Zuban, Nadoveza, Papec, Hmelina," he added.
He also shared an interesting tidbit that guest players from other clubs were popular on international tours at the time, so Hajduk's Papec traveled with Lokomotiva to persuade Šibenik's center-forward Nadoveza to join Hajduk while in Norway.
Ahead of the match against Viking, Dinamo's foundation Nema predaje and GNK Dinamo have once again joined Bruno Lerotić's and Team nenormalni's charity campaign to equip schoolchildren. Last year, they equipped more than 1,800 students together, and this year the campaign continues.
Donations of school bags, notebooks, pencil cases, and art supplies can be brought to Dinamo's fan zone on August 18 before the Dinamo - Viking match, on August 22 before the Dinamo - Varaždin match, during Maksimir Days from August 19 to 23, and at the "Živim svoj san" tournament in Vukovina on August 23. Donations can also be sent to the address: Dario Drnić, Ulica Slavka Kolara 18, Kuče, 10419 Vukovina.
