With great sadness and disbelief, we received news of the serious traffic accident in Karlovac in which, unfortunately, our former brilliant midfielder and later Croatian international Nikola Pokrivač lost his life. We are all deeply shaken by the tragic fate of this dear member of our blue family, a young man who embodied the true, authentic spirit of the noble Dinamo through his refined behaviour, calm approach and, of course, his playing qualities.

He first came to Maksimir in January 2007 from Varaždin's Varteks, where he was coached by the future Croatian national team manager Zlatko Dalić. He opened the doors of the Maksimir club during the time of coach Branko Ivanković.

During his two spells at Dinamo, he played 69 official matches and participated in four championship titles and three Cup victories.

It was a period when Dinamo's team soared on the wings of Luka Modrić and Eduardo da Silva. It was the season in which Dinamo set a club record for consecutive league victories, a record for consecutive victories in all official matches in Croatia, a record for the percentage of points won...

Pokrivač was one of the heroes of the great comeback and victory against Ajax in the final qualifying round for the group stage of the then UEFA Cup. The Dutch won the first leg 1-0 in Zagreb, while in the return leg at the Amsterdam Arena, the Maksimir team led 3-0 in extra time before the hosts came back to a final score of 3-2. Dinamo progressed, and Pokrivač played all 120 minutes.

At the winter break, he signed for Monaco where he joined former Maksimir midfielder Jerko Leko. Moreover, after a longer stint at Monaco, when asked by a journalist whether he followed Dinamo's matches, Pokrivač quickly replied:

"I follow everything! Leko has a subscription and we watch all the matches via satellite. At the beginning, when I had just left Dinamo, it was hard for me to watch, I experienced every match emotionally. I have many friends at Dinamo and I really wish them all the best. After all, without Dinamo I wouldn't have achieved such a transfer to France. I don't forget Varteks either, where I spent six wonderful years. I hope I gave back to them in the best way possible."

In August 2011, Pokrivač returned to Dinamo and was under contract until January 2013. In the meantime, from May 2008 to October 2010, he earned 15 caps for the Croatian national team and played at the European Championship in 2008.

Nikola will forever remain part of the Dinamo family, a strong fighter and a man with a big heart. We are proud that through his time at Maksimir, his gentle nature and kindness off the pitch, as well as his tremendous dedication and solid character on the field itself, he enriched our everyday life.