It was the season in which Dinamo defeated both Porto and Bayern away from home and then reached their first of two European finals... They started with a great victory against Porto at their Antas stadium, continued by eliminating Belgian Union St. Gilloise, then scored four goals against Bayern in the heart of Munich for a final 4-1 victory, later overcame strong Ferencvaros both in Zagreb and Budapest, and finally succumbed only in the final where they played weakened against a superior Valencia.

All of this was just a prelude to the later furious march towards the trophy itself. Four years after the defeat against Valencia, the Maksimir team made a new attempt in 1967 and defeated English Leeds United to claim the cup that remains the brightest point in the club's history to this day: the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup trophy, later known as the UEFA Cup and today's Europa League.

The first of two finals was played by the Blues in the 1962/63 season, and waiting for them in the opening round was the then Portuguese runners-up Porto.

In a brilliant performance in front of 35,000 spectators at the Antas stadium, the Blues overturned the home team's lead and eventually won 2-1. The return leg in Zagreb later ended 0-0.

Dinamo played in Portugal without Dražan Jerković, and the star of the match was the inspired Željko Matuš. The home team took the lead when Custodio Pinto crossed into the box in the 26th minute, and Manuel Serafim deflected the ball into the goal. However, a minute before the end of the first half, the then young talented Maksimir 'fantasista' Berislav Ribić took center stage. The move was initiated by Slaven Zambata, and then Ribić suddenly fired from more than 20 meters and found the net.

Victory was secured by Ilijas Pašić in the 55th minute when, following Matuš's cross, he scored one of his rare headers.