Thursday 10 May 2018, 18:01

Dinamo Zagreb crowned Blue Stars champions

  • Dinamo Zagreb win 80th edition of Blue Stars/FIFA Youth Cup

  • 2-0 victory in the final over Young Boys Bern

  • Antonio Marin (Dinamo Zagreb)​​ voted player of the tournament

MEN’S TOURNAMENT REVIEW - The 80th edition of the Blue Stars / FIFA Youth Cup was won by Dinamo Zagreb of Croatia, who defeated Young Boys Bern 2-0 in the final to lift the trophy for the first time in their history. Josip Sutalo and Tomislav Knezevic scored the goals that saw Zagreb win the tournament at their fourth attempt and follow on from last year’s winners Olympique Lyon.

Third place went to Internacional Porto Alegre, who edged past Braga from Portugal 1-0. The last time that the Brazilians took part in the tournament some 20 years ago, they made it all the way to the final. For debutants Braga meanwhile, fourth place was an excellent result.

The team of the tournament was definitely Dinamo Zagreb. The Croats remained undefeated in five matches, with a 0-0 draw against FC Zurich in the group stages the nearest they came to a blemish over the two days. Their four other games ended in victories, with 11 goals scored and just two conceded.

Thursday’s results Match for 9th place Grasshopper Club 2-0 FC Blue Stars

Match for 7th place FC Koln 4-1 FC Zurich

Match for 5th place Espanyol Barcelona 2-0 West Ham United

Match for 3rd place SC Internacional 1-0 SC Braga

Final BSC Young Boys 0-2 Dinamo Zagreb

What they said​ "We played really well. Some of the best teams in Europe, if not the world, were taking part. I’m so proud of our performance at this tournament and we’re over the moon with our win!" Marko Zivkovic (Goalkeeper, Dinamo Zagreb)

Men’s overall standings Winners: Dinamo Zagreb 2nd place: BSC Young Boys Bern 3rd place: S.C. Internacional Porto Alegre 4th place Sporting Clube de Braga 5th place: RCD Espanyol de Barcelona 6th place: West Ham United 7th place: 1. FC Köln 8th place: FC Zurich 9th place: Grasshopper Club Zurich 10th place: FC Blue Stars Zurich

The awards adidas Golden Ball: Antonio Marin (Dinamo Zagreb) adidas Golden Glove: Marko Zivkovic (Dinamo Zagreb) FIFA Fair Play Award: 1. FC Köln