Lokomotiva
Full nameNogometni klub Lokomotiva Zagreb
(Lokomotiva Zagreb Football Club)
Nickname(s)Lokosi
Short nameLOK
Founded1 May 1914 (1914-05-01) as ŽŠK Victoria
GroundStadion Kranjčevićeva
Capacity5,350[1]
PresidentMiroslav Gluhinić
Head coachSilvijo Čabraja
LeagueSuperSport HNL
2022–23SuperSport HNL, 7th of 10
WebsiteClub website

Nogometni klub Lokomotiva Zagreb (English: Lokomotiva Zagreb Football Club), commonly known as Lokomotiva Zagreb or simply Lokomotiva, is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. It competes in the Croatian First Football League, the country's top division. Founded in 1914, the club's only period of success came in the late 1940s and early 1950s before spending most of the following five decades in lower-level leagues.

Between 2007 and 2009 they won three consecutive promotions to rise from the fourth level to the first in the Croatian football league system. They hosted their home matches at Stadion Maksimir for a couple of years before moving to Stadion Kranjčevićeva, as their own ground in the Novi Zagreb's Kajzerica neighbourhood is unsuitable for the top-level football.

History

NK Lokomotiva was founded as ŽŠK Victoria (Željezničarski športski klub "Victoria") in 1914.

After World War I, the name of the club was changed to Željezničar, under which they competed between the two wars. At that time, they were mostly in the shadow of the city's bigger clubs Građanski, Concordia and HAŠK. They played in the first level only in the 1940–41 season.

In 1945, the club was renamed Lokomotiva and soon their most productive years followed. They continuously played for 8 seasons (1947–1955) in the Yugoslav First League with the best league result in 1952, when they finished third, behind Hajduk Split and Red Star Belgrade.[2] Some of the players at that time were Vladimir Čonč, Vladimir Firm, Drago Hmelina, Franjo Beserdi and Oto Bobek, younger brother of legendary Stjepan Bobek. They won Yugoslav Second League in 1956, but were relegated again from the First League in the summer of 1957 and never returned to the Yugoslav top flight again. They played in the Yugoslav Second League until 1970 and then also in the Yugoslav Inter-Republic League in the last years before the dissolution of Yugoslavia.

After Croatian independence and the formation of the Prva HNL in 1991, Lokomotiva played in the lower leagues of Croatian football, mostly spending their time in the Treća HNL. In 2006, before relegation to the fourth division, Lokomotiva became the feeder team for Dinamo Zagreb. This sparked a story of one of the most incredible rises through the leagues in Croatian football. Lokomotiva gained promotion in each of the next three season, finishing first in the Četvrta HNL in the 2006–07 season, second in the Treća HNL in the 2007–08 season, and third in the Druga HNL in the 2008–09 season.

The promotion from the second to the first division of Croatian football in 2009 meant that in the 2009–10 season, Lokomotiva would be back in the top flight for the first time after 52 years. The side recovered from a poor start in the league and finished in a respectable 8th position out of 16 teams, with notable victories 4–2 away against NK Zagreb, home 3–0 over Rijeka, and 2–1 over Hajduk Split. Their top scorer, Nino Bule, finished with 14 goals.

Due to rules against second sides being in the same division, they legally split their connection to Dinamo Zagreb. To meet the criteria for the Prva HNL, they played their games at Stadion Maksimir before moving on to Stadion Kranjčevićeva which is now the club's home.[3] The club's base and youth teams area are located in Kajzerica neighborhood.

The 2012–13 season was one of the best in recent history for Lokomotiva. They finished in second place ahead of clubs such as Rijeka, Hajduk Split and RNK Split. Young star Andrej Kramarić, on loan from Dinamo Zagreb, finished second in the scoring charts with 15 goals. With the second-place finish, Lokomotiva qualified for the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League second qualifying round. In their first European encounter, the side faced FC Dinamo Minsk, losing on the away goals rule after winning 2–1 away from home, but losing 3–2 at home.

Lokomotiva established itself as a 1. HNL side, finishing between 4th and 6th place for the next six seasons. The club managed its first European aggregate victory over Airbus UK Broughton F.C. in the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League and navigating three stages of qualifying rounds in the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League, before losing 4–2 to Belgian Pro League side K.R.C. Genk in the playoff round.

In the 2019–20 season, which was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Lokomotiva had the best season in its history, finishing in second place in the league[4] and finishing as runners-up in the Croatian Football Cup, losing 1–0 to Rijeka in the final.[5] With Croatia's improved UEFA Ranking, this meant that Lokomotiva went into the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League qualifying rounds for the first time in its history, where it drew SK Rapid Wien in the second qualifying round.[6]

Name changes

  • ŽŠK Victoria (1914–1919)
  • ŠK Željezničar (1919–1941)
  • HŽŠK (1941–1945)
  • FD Lokomotiva (1945–1946)
  • FD Crvena Lokomotiva (1946–1947)
  • NK Lokomotiva (1947–present)

Honours

Croatian football league system
Yugoslav football league system

Crest and colours

Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors

Period Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor Ref
2014-15 Nike - [7]
2015-17 Crodux
2017-19 -
2019-22 Adidas -
2022-23 Macron -
2023-24 Favbet

Players

Current squad

As of 6 January 2024[8]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Croatia CRO Nikola Čavlina
4 DF Croatia CRO Marin Leovac
5 DF Albania ALB Jon Mersinaj
6 DF Bosnia and Herzegovina BIH Ilija Mašić
7 MF Croatia CRO Silvio Goričan
8 MF Croatia CRO Robert Mudražija
9 FW Croatia CRO Duje Čop
12 GK Croatia CRO Krunoslav Hendija
14 MF Bosnia and Herzegovina BIH Mateo Marić
15 DF Kosovo KOS Art Smakaj
19 FW Croatia CRO Marin Šotiček
No. Pos. Nation Player
20 DF Croatia CRO Branimir Kalaica
21 FW Croatia CRO Viktor Kanižaj
22 DF Croatia CRO Karlo Bartolec
23 MF North Macedonia MKD Feta Fetai
24 MF Bosnia and Herzegovina BIH Anes Krdžalić (on loan from Dinamo Zagreb)
27 DF Croatia CRO Marko Vranjković
28 FW Croatia CRO Ivan Canjuga
29 MF Montenegro MNE Vladan Bubanja
31 GK Croatia CRO Zvonimir Šubarić
— DF Croatia CRO Viktor Damjanić
— FW Croatia CRO Antonio Baždarić
— FW North Macedonia MKD Dashmir Elezi

Dual registration

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
3 DF Croatia CRO Matej Matić (at Jarun)
13 MF Bosnia and Herzegovina BIH Blaž Bošković (at Jarun)
No. Pos. Nation Player
16 MF Croatia CRO Fabijan Krivak (at Jarun)
26 DF Croatia CRO Fran Žilinski (at Jarun)

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
11 MF Croatia CRO Lukas Kačavenda (at Dinamo Zagreb until 18 January 2024)
21 MF Croatia CRO Gabriel Groznica (at Koper until 30 June 2024)
— DF Croatia CRO Vinko Bičanić (at Jarun until 14 June 2024)
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF Croatia CRO Luka Išlić (at Kustošija until 14 June 2024)
— FW Albania ALB Klevis Dragaj (at Liria Prizren until 18 January 2024)

Recent seasons

Season League Cup European competitions Top league scorer
Division P W D L F A Pts Pos Player Goals
2006–07 4. HNL 30 25 2 3 94 31 77 1st ↑ Jurica Jeleć 16
2007–08 3. HNL 34 28 2 4 105 32 86 2nd ↑ Robert Mesić 34
2008–09 2. HNL 30 18 5 7 50 30 59 3rd ↑ Mateo Poljak 8
2009–10 1. HNL 30 12 6 12 35 38 42 8th Nino Bule 14
2010–11 1. HNL 30 8 9 13 24 37 33 14th R1 Nino Bule 11
2011–12 1. HNL 30 12 8 10 33 33 44 7th Andrej Kramarić 5
2012–13 1. HNL 33 16 9 8 54 38 57 2nd RU Andrej Kramarić 15
2013–14 1. HNL 36 15 7 14 57 59 52 5th Europa League QR2 Ante Budimir 14
2014–15 1. HNL 36 13 7 16 59 68 46 4th QF Domagoj Pavičić 8
2015–16 1. HNL 36 16 4 16 56 53 52 4th QF Europa League QR2 Franko Andrijašević 12
2016–17 1. HNL 36 12 8 16 41 38 44 5th QF Europa League PO Josip Ćorić 6
2017–18 1. HNL 36 14 9 13 47 48 51 5th SF Lovro Majer 11
2018–19 1. HNL 36 13 10 13 51 43 49 6th QF Dejan Radonjić 8
2019–20 1. HNL 36 19 8 9 57 38 65 2nd RU Lirim Kastrati
Marko Tolić		 11
2020–21 1. HNL
        		36 7 9 20 29 60 30 8th R2 Champions League QR2 Josip Pivarić 6
        Europa League QR3
        2021–22 1. HNL 36 12 13 11 55 50 49 5th QF Marko Dabro 13
        2022–23 1. HNL 36 11 10 15 45 50 43 7th QF Sandro Kulenović 9

        European record

        Summary

        Competition Pld W D L GF GA Last season played
        UEFA Champions League 1 0 0 1 0 1
        UEFA Cup
        UEFA Europa League        		 15 7 4 4 27 28
        Total 16 7 4 5 27 29

        Source: uefa.com, Last updated on 7 September 2022
        Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against. Defunct competitions indicated in italics.

        Record by season

        Season Competition Round Opponent Home Away Agg
        2013–14 UEFA Europa League QR2 Belarus Dinamo Minsk 2–3 2–1 4–4 (a)
        2015–16 UEFA Europa League QR1 Wales Airbus UK Broughton 2–2 3–1 5–3
        QR2 Greece PAOK 2–1 0–6 2–7
        2016–17 UEFA Europa League QR1 Andorra UE Santa Coloma 4–1 3–1 7–2
        QR2 Finland RoPS Rovaniemi 3–0 1–1 4–1
        QR3 Ukraine FC Vorskla Poltava 0–0 3–2 3–2
        PO Belgium KRC Genk 2–2 0–2 2–4
        2020–21 UEFA Champions League QR2 Austria Rapid Wien 0–1
        UEFA Europa League QR3 Sweden Malmö FF 0–5

        Personnel

        Coaching staff

        Position Staff
        Coach Croatia Silvijo Čabraja
        Assistant coaches Croatia Damir Ferenčina
        Croatia Renato Šaka
        Goalkeeping coach Croatia Darko Horvat
        Fitness Coach Croatia Marko Sukreški
        Doctors Croatia Miroslav Gluhinić
        Croatia Frane Bukvić
        Technical director Croatia Igor Cvetković
        Physiotherapists Croatia Igor Bartolović
        Croatia Marko Grubić
        Croatia Ivan Rendulić

        Last updated: 31 July 2021
        Source: NK Lokomotiva official website

        Coaching history

        References

        1. ↑ "Stadion Kranjčevićeva". prvahnl.hr. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
        2. ↑ "Povijest" (in Croatian). NK Lokomotiva.
        3. ↑ "Kranjcevic's no longer mocked, to the delight of Lokomotiva, Rudeš and all our first team players" (in Croatian). tportal.hr/. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
        4. ↑ "Arhiva sezone 2019/20 - Hrvatski Telekom Prva liga". prvahnl.hr. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
        5. ↑ "Rijeka - Lokomotiva 1:0 - Hrvatski nogometni savez". hns-cff.hr. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
        6. ↑ UEFA.com. "Draws | UEFA Champions League". UEFA.com. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
        7. ↑ "NK Lokomotiva Kit History". Football Kit Archive. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
        8. ↑ "1. momčad – igrači" [First squad – players] (in Croatian). NK Lokomotiva Zagreb. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
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