Chicago Croatian
Chicago Croatian was an American Soccer Club based in Chicago Illinois. The club competed professionally in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup (National Challenge Cup) the CONCACAF Champions League (CONCACAF Champions Cup) and the National Soccer League (Chicago). All their home matches were played in Hanson Stadium and Winemac Stadium in Chicago Illinois.
 1985 CONCACAF Champions League Honduras Central America. Photo from left to right top row: Coach Frank Basan, Joseph Malkoc, Yaro Dachniwsky, Leo Kulinczenko, Joe Tadijanovic, Joseph Konarsky, Vlado Crnjak, Manager Joe Tadianovic, bottom row:John Galovic, Slavko Petrina, Tony Novacio, George Rudman, Dusko Budimir, Zygmund Tryna. | |
| Founded | 1949 |
|---|---|
| Dissolved | 1990 |
| Stadium | Hanson Stadium |
| League | National Soccer League (Chicago) |
The club was founded in the 1950s and is historically the most successful Croatian soccer club in the USA. The height of Croatians success came in the 1970s and 1980s making the final of the prestigious Lamar Hunt US Open Cup (National Challenge Cup) in 1974, 1979 and 1984.[1] They qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League in 1975 and 1980 but withdrew from the competition they participated in the 1985 CONCACAF Champions League (CONCACAF Champions Cup) [2] and were knocked out of the competition in the 1st round by the Honduras champion Club Deportivo Olimpia . The 1st leg was played in San Pedro Sula and the 2nd leg in Tegucigalpa Honduras the attendance was over 40,000 spectators for each match.
Honors
- Lamar Hunt US Open Cup (National Challenge Cup)
- Finalists (3): 1974,1979,1984
- Semi-finalist : 1985
- National Soccer League (Chicago)
- Champions (2):1971,1973 : No records kept 1974 thru 1986
- Peel Cup Illinois State Cup
- Champions (4): 1973,1976,1978,1986
- Croatian-North American Soccer Tournament
- Champions (6): 1968,1975,1976,1977,1979,1986
- CONCACAF Champions League (CONCACAF Champions Cup) : Participated in 1985 (Also qualified 1975,1980, but withdrew from competition)
- 1985 1st round Honduras Central America
Lamar Hunt US Open Cup Results
- June 2, 1974 New York Greek American 2 Chicago Croatian 0
- June 17, 1979 Brooklyn Dodgers 2 Chicago Croatian 1
- June 24, 1984 New York Crete 4 Chicago Croatian 2 [3]
CONCACAF Champions League (CONCACAF Champions Cup) 1985
Roster
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Managers
