Nogometni klub Lokomotiva Zagreb (), 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 first 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 KranjÃÂeviÃÂeva, as their own ground Igralià ¡te na Kajzerici in the Novi Zagreb's Kajzerica neighbourhood is unsuitable for the top-level football.
NK Lokomotiva was founded as à ½à  K Victoria (à ½eljezniÃÂarski à ¡portski klub "Victoria") in 1914.
After World War I, the name of the club was changed to à ½eljezniÃÂar, under which they competed between the two wars. At that time, they were mostly in the shadow of the city's bigger clubs GraÃÂanski, Concordia and HAà  K. They played in the first level only in the 1940âÂÂ41 season.
In 1945, the club was renamed Lokomotiva and soon their most productive years followed. They continuously played for 8 seasons (1947âÂÂ1955) in the Yugoslav First League with the best league result in 1952, when they finished third, behind Hajduk Split and Red Star Belgrade. Some of the players at that time were Vladimir ÃÂonÃÂ, 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 TreÃÂa 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 ÃÂetvrta HNL in the 2006âÂÂ07 season, second in the TreÃÂa HNL in the 2007âÂÂ08 season, and third in the Druga HNL in the 2008âÂÂ09 season.
The promotion from the second to the first division of Croatian football in 2009 meant that in the 2009âÂÂ10 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 4âÂÂ2 away against NK Zagreb, home 3âÂÂ0 over Rijeka, and 2âÂÂ1 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 KranjÃÂeviÃÂeva which is now the club's home. The club's base and youth teams area are located in Kajzerica neighborhood, at a ground known as Igralià ¡te na Kajzerici, which itself was a prominent motorcycle speedway stadium in the 1960s.
The 2012âÂÂ13 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 KramariÃÂ, on loan from Dinamo Zagreb, finished second in the scoring charts with 15 goals. With the second-place finish, Lokomotiva qualified for the 2013âÂÂ14 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 2âÂÂ1 away from home, but losing 3âÂÂ2 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 2015âÂÂ16 UEFA Europa League and navigating three stages of qualifying rounds in the 2016âÂÂ17 UEFA Europa League, before losing 4âÂÂ2 to Belgian Pro League side K.R.C. Genk in the playoff round.
In the 2019âÂÂ20 season, which was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Lokomotiva had the best season in its history, finishing in second place in the league and finishing as runners-up in the Croatian Football Cup, losing 1âÂÂ0 to Rijeka in the final. With Croatia's improved UEFA Ranking, this meant that Lokomotiva went into the 2020âÂÂ21 UEFA Champions League qualifying rounds for the first time in its history, where it drew SK Rapid Wien in the second qualifying round.
<small>Source: uefa.com, Last updated on 7 September 2022<br>Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against. Defunct competitions indicated in italics.</small>
<br /> Marko GrubiÃÂ<br /> Ivan RenduliÃÂ