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| Full name | Hrvatski športski klub Zrinjski Mostar | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | Plemići (The Nobles) | |||
| Short name | Zrinjski, ZRI | |||
| Founded | 1905; 120 years ago (1905) 1992; 33 years ago (1992) (refounded) | |||
| Ground | Stadion pod Bijelim Brijegom | |||
| Capacity | 13,000 (planned under reconstruction) | |||
| Chairman | Denis Lasić | |||
| Manager | Igor Štimac | |||
| League | Premier League BH | |||
| 2024–25 | Premier League BH, 1st of 12 (champions) | |||
| Website | www | |||
 Current season | ||||
| Active sport clubs ofZrinjski Mostar | ||||||||||||||||||
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HŠK Zrinjski Mostar (Croatian:Hrvatski športski klub Zrinjski Mostar,lit. 'Croat Sports ClubZrinjski Mostar'), colloquially referred to asZrinjski Mostar or simplyZrinjski, is a professionalfootball club, based inMostar,Bosnia and Herzegovina. The club plays in thePremier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina and with nine won Premier League championships, Zrinjski is one of the most decorated football clubs in the country. The club plays its home matches atStadion pod Bijelim Brijegom in Mostar. Zrinjski's fans are calledUltras Mostar and the fan club was founded in 1994. In 2023, they became the first-ever club from independent Bosnia and Herzegovina to participate in the group stage of a European club competition, reaching the group stage of the2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League.
Zrinjski Mostar was founded byCroat youth in 1905 in what was thenAustria-Hungary and is the oldest football club in Bosnia and Herzegovina. AfterWorld War II, all clubs that had participated in the wartimeCroatian league were banned inYugoslavia, Zrinjski being one of them.[1] The ban lasted from 1945 to 1992. The club was reformed after the independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It played in theFirst League of Herzeg-Bosnia until 2000 when it joined the Premier League. In 2005, Zrinjski celebrated its first championship crown in the Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Today, the football team is part of theZrinjski Mostar sports society. They have a bitter rivalry with city neighbours,Velež.[2]
In 1896, several distinguishedHerzegovinians from Mostar had an idea to form a youth sports society namedHrvatski sokol (Croatian Falcon). At the time, this was not allowed, but in 1905, Croat youth led by Professor Kuštreb succeeded. With the help of the cultural society "Hrvoje," they formed the "Đački športski klub" (Student Sports Club). In 1912, it evolved intoGimnazijski nogometni klub Zrinjski (Gymnasium Football Club Zrinjski). It was named after the historic Croatian noble familyZrinski. Some of the first games they played were against the sports teamOsman fromSarajevo: the games ended 0–3 and 2–1. Club activist and player Ivo Ćorić wrote the first reports about the club at that time. He named some of the players: Rudolf Brozović, Bruno and Edo Novak, Marko Suton, Željko and Ante Merdžo, Abid Pehlivanović, Slavko Jukić, Ivan Bošnjak and Karlo Šmit. In 1914, at the outset ofWorld War I, the club was banned. This ban lasted until 1917 when Zrinjski, along with another Croatian sports club from Mostar,Hrvatski radnički omladinski športski klub (HROŠK), formed a new club called "Hercegovac". Some of the HROŠK players were: Jure Zelenika, Nikola Paladžić, Miroslav Prpić, Mirko Vlaho, Ante Pavković and Kažimir Zubac.
In 1922, the original name "Zrinjski" was revived, and at that time, the team began to compete more seriously. They played against other Mostar teams, likeYugoslavian Sports Club (JŠK),Velež andVardar, and also teams from all overHerzegovina,Bosnia andDalmatia. In 1923, Zrinjski won the Mostar Championship with a 1–0 victory over JŠK. The players that played in that game were: Vjekoslav Vrančić, Kazimir Vlaho, Živo Bebek, Rudi Janjušić, Husein H. Omerović, Milivoj Smoljan, Pero Golić, Mijo Miličević, Muhamed Omeragić, August Kučinović and Franjo Štimac. In the 1930s Zrinjski played games inZagreb, Sarajevo,Banja Luka and evenMontenegro. In 1936, Yugoslav authorities did not allow Zrinjski to play at a tournament inDubrovnik because they had Croatian colours on their jersey. In 1938, Zrinjski won a tournament against Velež, ŠK Sloga and ŠK Makabi. At that time, they also played three-night games, with the lights they borrowed from the local mine. Some of the club presidents from 1905 to 1945 were Miško Mikulić, Drago Turkelj, Jakša Miljković and Blaž Slišković.
In 1941, following the Naziinvasion of Yugoslavia, was proclaimed under the nameIndependent State of Croatia. A football league was also formed, and Zrinjski joined it when it was admitted toFIFA.[3] In the league, Zrinjski played some historic games againstGrađanski Zagreb.
In 1943, Zrinjski played against Jedinstvo, winning that match 2–1, which was probably the last before the club was banned. By the end of the Second World War, the Independent State of Croatia had been defeated by theYugoslav Partisans resistance movement. Zrinjski was among the clubs banned in 1945 for beingnationalist propaganda tools.[3]
AfterBosnia and Herzegovina became an independent state in 1992, Zrinjski was reestablished inMeđugorje. Because of theongoing war, for the first two years, Zrinjski played only friendly games, mostly in Herzegovina and Croatia, but also in Canada and Germany. In 1994, Zrinjski, along with other Croat clubs from Bosnia and Herzegovina, helped create the Herzeg-Bosnia Football Federation. The club participated in its league for seven seasons and consistently ranked as one of the best teams over the years. Some of the notable players at that time wereBlaž Slišković andSlaven Musa, both FK Velež Mostar players before that. In 1998, Zrinjski participated in the first playoffs with teams from Bosniak-ruled parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 2000, the Premier League included both clubs from Bosniak-ruled and Croat-ruled parts of the country for the first time, and Zrinjski was one of the clubs competing in the league and still is today. Clubs from Serb-ruled parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina joined in 2002.
In the summer of 2000, Zrinjski also participated in aUEFA competition for the first time. They played in theIntertoto Cup against the Swedish teamVästra Frölunda IF. Zrinjski lost the first game in Sweden 1–0 and led 1–0 after 90 minutes in Mostar. At the beginning of overtime, Zrinjski scored another goal, which secured the result that would send them to the next round. Still, the game ultimately ended in a 3–2 Zrinjski victory, and Vastra Frolunda advanced due to away goals.
Before the 2003–04 season, several new board members joined the club, bringing in better sponsors. Their primary goal was to make Zrinjski one of the top clubs in the country by its 100th anniversary in 2005. Zrinjski then took four players on loan fromDinamo Zagreb:Luka Modrić,Marko Janjetović,Ivica Džidić andDavor Landeka. After the season, Džidić and Landeka stayed permanently. Although Zrinjski was nowhere near the top, the base for the next season was created. In the summer of 2004, the club signed some of the best players in the league, such asZoran Rajović,Dušan Kerkez,Velimir Vidić, andSulejman Smajić. The team, led by managerFranjo Džidić, won the title easily, with a significant point advantage over runner-upŽeljezničar. Zoran Rajović was the league's leading scorer.
Many of Zrinjski's star players were on one-year contracts and left the team after the season. As a result, the team did not play well at the beginning of the season and was surprisingly knocked out of theUEFA Champions League first qualifying round by theLuxembourg teamF91 Dudelange. Zrinjski won the first game away 1–0 but lost at home after overtime 4–0. Not long after the beginning of the season,Blaž Slišković was appointed as manager.
Zrinjski finished the 2005–06 season in third place, earning a spot in the Intertoto Cup, where Zrinjski knocked out the Maltese teamMarsaxlokk (3–0 home, 1–1 away) in the first round and lost to Israel teamMaccabi Petah Tikva (1–1 away, 1–3 home) in the second round.
In the 2006–07 season, Zrinjski finished in second place, earning aUEFA Europa League berth. During the winter break, Zrinjski lost one of its best playersLamine Diarra, who transferred toBeira-Mar, but it signed former star player Zoran Rajović on a free transfer. Zrinjski also signed another former player, an experienced midfielderMario Ivanković fromBrotnjo.
In 2007–08, Zrinjski lost in the first qualifying round toFK Partizan of Serbia, 11–1 on aggregate. However, Partizan was expelled from the competition due to crowd trouble, so Zrinjski progressed to the second round, where they lost 2–1 on aggregate toFK Rabotnički of Macedonia. The domestic campaign saw them finish fourth, but a victory in theCup of Bosnia and Herzegovina earned them a place in the UEFA Cup once again.
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In the 2008–09 season, Zrinjski managed a 5–1 aggregate with overFC Vaduz in the first qualifying round of the UEFA Cup but lost 3–0 toSC Braga in the next round. They also won the Premier League for the second time, led by talismanic strikerKrešimir Kordić, who top scored with 13 league goals.
The league title meant that Zrinjski advanced to the second round of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League, their second time in the competition. Unfortunately, the side lost 1–4 on aggregate toŠK Slovan Bratislava despite a 1–0 home leg win. A disappointing 2009–10 season in the league left Zrinjski in fourth place.
Zrinjski's participation in European football lasted longer in the 2010–11 season than in others, with the side beating bothFC Tobol andTre Penne before losing toOdense Boldklub in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League. Zrinjski fell further down the league table and once again managed just a seventh-place finish, meaning the side would not play European football next season. In the 2011–12 season, Zrinjski improved only slightly: a sixth-place finish again meant that the side would not participate in continental football the following season. The 2012–13 season was the worst in almost ten years, with the club slumping to a ninth-place finish. However, they managed to qualify for European football through a strong cup performance, reaching the semi-finals.
The 2013–14 season will long stay in the memories and hearts of Zrinjski supporters. After a season-long three-way battle for the title between themselves,NK Široki Brijeg and FK Sarajevo, Zrinjski came out victorious to win their third-ever Premier League title, their first since 2004–05. The title win in the previous season once again sent Zrinjski to theUEFA Champions League second qualifying stage, where they drewNK Maribor.
During the period from 2015 until 2018, Zrinjski dominated the Premier League, winning three league titles in a row, two of them won by manager Blaž Slišković and one byVinko Marinović. The club also got better in European competitions, participating in the third qualifying rounds of the UEFA Europa League in the2018–19,2019–20 and2020–21 seasons. In 2018, Zrinjski was eliminated in the third round by Bulgarian clubLudogorets Razgrad, in 2019 by Swedish clubMalmö and in 2020 by Cypriot clubAPOEL. Interestingly enough, in the first two European "campaigns", the club was led by Croatian managersAnte Miše andHari Vukas respectively. In the third one, Zrinjski was managed by Bosnian managerMladen Žižović.
Following a lacklustre2020–21 season, in the following2021–22 season, the club was crowned league champions for a record seventh time, under managerSergej Jakirović.[4] Zrinjski managed to retain itsleague title in the following campaign, four rounds before the end of the season.[5] The club also won theBosnian Cup that season, winning its first-everdouble.[6]
In August 2023, Zrinjski became the first ever club from Bosnia and Herzegovina to reach the group stages of aEuropean club competition after eliminating Icelandic clubBreiðablik in the2023–24 UEFA Europa League third qualifying round, which assured Zrinjski of a group stage spot in theUEFA Europa Conference League as a minimum.[7] After losing toLASK in theEuropa League play-off round, Zrinjski dropped into theConference League group stage, where they were drawn intoGroup E alongsideAston Villa,AZ andLegia Warsaw.[8] On matchday one, Zrinjski pulled off an astonishing comeback against AZ. Trailing 3–0 at half time, the team made history and came back to win 4–3.[9] This result also meant that they became the first ever Bosnian side to win a game in a UEFA club competition group stage.[10] The team lost their next four games in the group, before ending their European campaign with a home draw against Aston Villa on 14 December 2023.[11]
Zrinjski Mostar's main rival isVelež Mostar, the other main football team in Mostar. The highly contested game between both teams is called theMostar derby. Zrinjski first played against Velež Mostar in the 1920s and 1930s. However, when Zrinjski was banned (1945–1992) for participating in the fascist league, no games between the rival teams were played. During that period, Velež became a successful club in formerYugoslavia, and a majority of Mostarian inhabitants supported it. After Zrinjski's league ban was lifted, the team became one of the essential symbols of the Croatian entity in Mostar, and it was mainly supported byCroats. The rival team, Velež, is supported primarily by localBosniaks. The Mostar derby is highly contested, just as theSarajevo derby. On 1 March 2000, Zrinjski and Velež played a friendly game for the first time in over 55 years. The game took place inSarajevo and ended in a 2–2 draw. The first official game between the two teams was played in the Premier League of BiH at the Bijeli Brijeg Stadium on 13 August 2000 and was won by Zrinjski 2–0.
The two fan groups which support each team are:
Both fanbases still represent a division along ethnic lines, as the Ultras are almost exclusively Croats and the Red Army is mostly Bosniaks. The ethnic connection between the two fan bases leads to vigorous clashes at the Mostar derby. Furthermore, some extreme groups of the Red Army are left-wing-inspired, while extreme Ultras are right-wing-inspired, which further exacerbates their rivalry.
Other notable rivals of Zrinjski are Sarajevo clubsSarajevo andŽeljezničar. These clubs with a famous history, along with Zrinjski, are favourites for the top of the table almost every season. One of the other reasons for this rivalry is that Mostar is the centre ofHerzegovina, while Sarajevo is the centre of Bosnia and the capital of the entire country. There is also a rivalry withŠiroki Brijeg, the other top team from Herzegovina. This rivalry started during the Herzeg-Bosnia League (1994–2000) and continued in the Premier League. The matches between Široki Brijeg and Zrinjski are often referred to as the "Herzegovina derby."
Zrinjski's leading supporter group are calledUltras Mostar. Officially, the Ultras-Zrinjski Fan Club was founded in March 1998, when the Citizens' Associations Act entered into the Registry of Citizens' Associations in theHerzegovina-Neretva Canton, and has existed as an unregistered support group since 1994. They promote all sections of the sports clubZrinjski, but they mostly follow its football department. They got their name in 1998, 6 years after Zrinjski's work was restored. They took the name of the fan-based Ultras Movement in European football. The official song of Ultras, fans of HŠK Zrinjski Mostar, is "Gori brate", and they support their club from the grandstand - Stajanje. The colours used by Ultras on transparencies and boards are black, white and red.
Zrinjski plays its games onStadion HŠK Zrinjski. The stadium was built in 1958 and was used by city rivalsVelež until 1991. The stadium capacity today is 9,000 seats (formerly 25,000 standing), but in the 1970s and 1980s, some games attracted over 35,000 spectators. It was the second largest stadium in Bosnia and Herzegovina (before plastic seats were added) afterAsim Ferhatović Hase Stadium in Sarajevo.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Head coach |  Igor Štimac |
| Assistant coach | Marijo Tot |
| Assistant coach |  Dubravko Orlović |
| Fitness coach | Marko Čavka |
| Goalkeeping coach | Igor Melher |
| Analyst | Marin Jovanović |
| Doctor | Zdenko Ostojić |
| Physiotherapist | Branislav Đolo |
| Physiotherapist | Marko Pehar |
| Physiotherapist | Josip Mršić |
| Gunsmith | Dražan Melo |
Last updated: 1 August 2025
Source:hskzrinjski.ba
| Chairman of the board | Denis Lasić |
| Executive vice-president | Danko Šulenta |
| Executive vice-president |  Amir Gross Kabiri |
| Chairman of the Assembly | Mladen Margeta |
| Director | Ivan Beus |
| Ground(capacity and dimensions) | Stadion pod Bijelim Brijegom(9,000 / 105 x 70 m) |
Source: hskzrinjski.ba
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| Dates | Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1905–1945 | Unknown | |
| 1945–1992 | None | Club banned |
| 1994 |  Miroslav Kordić | |
| 1995 | Jozo Zelenika | |
| 1995 | Mirko Gašić | |
| 1995–1996 | Franjo Vladić | |
| 1996 | Mirko Gašić | |
| 1996 | Miroslav Kordić | |
| 1997 | Žarko Barbarić | |
| 1997–1998 | Franjo Džidić | |
| 1998–1999 | Blaž Slišković | |
| 1999–2000 | Dalibor Cvitanović | |
| 2000 | Vladimir Skočajić | |
| 2001 | Vjeran Simunić | |
| 2001–2003 | Ivica Barbarić | |
| 2003 | Franjo Džidić | |
| 2003–2004 | Stjepan Deverić | |
| 2004–2005 | Franjo Džidić | |
| 2005–2007 | Blaž Slišković | |
| 2007–2010 | Dragan Jović | |
| 2010 |  Marijan Bloudek | |
| 2010–2012 | Slaven Musa | |
| 2012 | Draženko Bogdan | Caretaker manager |
| 2012–2013 | Dragan Perić | |
| 2013–2014 | Branko Karačić | |
| 2015 | Mišo Krstičević | |
| 2015–2016 | Vinko Marinović | |
| 2017 | Ivica Barbarić | |
| 2017–2018 | Blaž Slišković | |
| 2018 | Ante Miše | |
| 2018–2019 | Blaž Slišković | |
| 2019 | Hari Vukas | |
| 2019 | Nenad Gagro | Caretaker manager |
| 2019–2020 | Mladen Žižović | |
| 2020–2022 | Sergej Jakirović | |
| 2022–2023 | Krunoslav Rendulić | |
| 2023–2024 | Mario Ivanković | Caretaker manager |
| 2024 |  Željko Petrović | |
| 2024–2025 | Mario Ivanković | |
| 2025–present | Igor Štimac |
| Competition | Played | Won | Drew | Lost | GF | GA | GD | Win% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UEFA Champions League | 22 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 32 | −15 | 022.73 |
| UEFA Cup / UEFA Europa League | 40 | 18 | 10 | 12 | 67 | 55 | +12 | 045.00 |
| UEFA Conference League | 22 | 8 | 2 | 12 | 25 | 35 | −10 | 036.36 |
| UEFA Intertoto Cup | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 7 | +1 | 033.33 |
| Total | 90 | 33 | 21 | 36 | 117 | 129 | −12 | 036.67 |
Legend: GF = Goals For. GA = Goals Against. GD = Goal Difference.
1 UEFA expelled Partizan from the 2007–08 UEFA Cup due to crowd trouble at their away tie inMostar, which forced the match to be interrupted for 10 minutes. UEFA adjudged travelling Partizan fans to have been the culprits of the trouble,[13] but Partizan were allowed to play the return leg while the appeal was being processed.[14] However, Partizan's appeal was rejected so Zrinjski Mostar qualified.[15]
| Rank | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 165 |  TSC | 8.125 |
| 166 |  Silkeborg | 8.000 |
| 167 |  Dudelange | 8.000 |
| 168 | Zrinjski | 8.000 |
| 169 |  Breiðablik | 8.000 |
| 170 |  Tobol | 8.000 |
| 171 |  Riga | 8.000 |
Source:UEFA.com
On 15 July 2024 in Mostar,documentaryHrvatski športski klub Zrinjski – Priča o ponosu ("Croatian sports club Zrinjski – A story of pride") was premiered with former playerLuka Modrić as a special guest.[17]
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