GNK Dinamo Zagreb Academy, also known as Hitrec-Kacian (), are the youth team of Dinamo Zagreb. The academy was founded on 27 December 1967. There are a total of ten age categories within the academy, the oldest being the juniors (under-19) and youngest the zagići II (under-8). They have produced many of the Croatia national team stars including Luka Modrić, Vedran Ćorluka, Eduardo, Robert Prosinečki and Zvonimir Boban.
History The first junior team was formed in 1945 and the coach was the famous Građanski Zagreb goalkeeper Maks Mihelčić. Soon after that, Márton Bukovi joined the youth squad as an expert coach, but left after two years following his disappointment with the disbanding of Građanski. The junior team won a treble in 1950 (Zagreb's, Croatian and Yugoslav championships) under the leadership of Mirko Kokotović.
In 1952 Branko Horvatek started training one of the best junior generations the club ever had. Some of the famous players that played in that generation were Dražan Jerković, Mladen Košćak, Marijan Kolonić and Mladen Klobučar. The decision to form the youth academy Hitrec-Kacian was brought on 27 December 1967 with Horvatek being elected as its first director. Apart from him, many other famous Croatian coaches worked with the generation that was very successful in the period of 1972–1974 in Yugoslav junior competitions. Some of them include: Zorislav Srebrić, Marko Jurić, Pero Dujmović, Vladimir Čonč, Ivan Đalma Marković, Mirko Belić, Rudolf Cvek and Zdenko Kobešćak.
Honours Domestics
Croatian football league system Croatian U-19 Prva HNL Winner (10): 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2016, 2018, 2019 Croatian U-17 Prva HNL Winner (17): 1992, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 Croatian U-15 Prva HNL Winner (10): 1997, 1998, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2015, 2016, 2017 Croatian Cup U-19 Winner (7): 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2013 Croatian Cup U-17 Winner (4): 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 Croatian Cup U-15 Winner (3): 2015, 2016, 2018
Yugoslav football league system Yugoslav Championship U-19 Winner (5): 1950, 1955, 1972, 1973, 1974 Croatian Championship U-19 Winner (17): 1950, 1951, 1954, 1955, 1963, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1986 Croatian Championship U-17 Winner (2): 1959, 1985 Yugoslav Cup U-19 Winner (2): 1967, 1973 Croatian Cup U-19 Winner (5): 1963, 1967, 1968, 1973, 1978
Internationals
FIFA Youth Cup Winner (1): 2018 Manchester United Premier Cup Winner (1): 2012–13 Premier League International Cup Runners-up (1): 2018–19 Semi-finals (1): 2025-26 UEFA Youth League Quarterfinals (2): 2018–19, 2019–20 Kvarnerska rivijera Winner (11): 1961, 1967, 1977, 1981, 1984, 1986, 1999, 2008, 2019, 2023, 2026 International Nereo Rocco Tournament Winner (2): 2002, 2009
Modern times After the formation of HNL in 1991. Dinamo youth teams play important role with 6 U19 and 9 U17 titles (as of 2010). Since the mid-2000s Dinamo's youth academy is considered one of the best in Europe with their teams winning notable international tournaments. Some of the former Dinamo youth players include Croatian internationals Vedran Ćorluka, Luka Modrić, Eduardo da Silva, Niko Kranjčar, Dejan Lovren, Milan Badelj, Ivan Kelava, Mateo Kovačić and Šime Vrsaljko.
Notable academy graduates
Milan Badelj Igor Bišćan Zvonimir Boban Tomislav Butina Vedran Ćorluka Eduardo Joško Gvardiol Alen Halilović Ivan Kelava Mateo Kovačić Andrej Kramarić Niko Kranjčar Jerko Leko Dejan Lovren Luka Modrić Robert Prosinečki Zvonimir Soldo Dario Šimić Šime Vrsaljko Dino Drpić
UEFA Youth League record SeasonStage RoundOpponentHomeAwayAgg. Champions League Path Arsenal0–22–1 1st out of 4 Bayern Munich0–12–1 Olympiacos2–23–1 Knockout stage Anderlecht2–0 2016–17 Champions League Path Juventus2–11–0 4th out of 4 Lyon1–20–2 Sevilla2–41–12018–19 Viitorul Constanța2–01–0 3–0 Astana3–11–1 4–2 Knockout stage Liverpool1–1 (4–3 p) Chelsea2019–20 Champions League Path Atalanta1–00–2 Manchester City1–02–2 Shakhtar Donetsk1–01–1Knockout stage Dynamo Kyiv0–0 (4–3 p) Bayern Munich2–2 (6–5 p) Benfica 1–32020–21 Knockout stage Rosenborg Tournament cancelled2022–23 Champions League Path Chelsea4–20–4 Milan1–20–3 Red Bull Salzburg2–10–22023–24 İstanbul Başakşehir2–13–1 5–2 Basel0–00–2 0–22024–25Champions League Path Bayern Munich1–221st out of 36 Monaco1–0 Red Bull Salzburg2–3 Slovan Bratislava2–2 Borussia Dortmund0–0 Celtic2–1 Knockout stage FC Barcelona (youth)2–2 (3–5) p
Players GNK Dinamo Zagreb II
References
External links Official website (archived 29 July 2010)