The Lithuanian champion, who reached the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League, faces a test in a place where history holds firmer than concrete.
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Slowly heading to Maksimir Zagreb. The blue tram rattles along Maksimirska street, moving east from the city center, past bakeries, cafes, old apartment buildings, and increasingly dense greenery. The capital’s center gradually falls behind, and ahead, across the tracks and park, huge concrete structures begin to rise from behind the foliage.
The Maksimir stadium does not reveal its full size at once. First, you see one edge of the stand, then another, then a massive northern block emerges above the trees. Only when you get closer do you realize that it is not a single structure. Rather, several stadiums built at different times somehow pushed together around the same football pitch.
Here, the Lithuanian champions face not only the strongest Croatian club but also a place that itself knows how to overwhelm the opponent with its weight.
