Nowotny deal delights Dinamo

NK Dinamo Zagreb are on the verge of completing one of the biggest transfers in Croatian football history, with German international central defender Jens Nowotny set to sign a three-year contract from Bayer 04 Leverkusen on Sunday.

Mamić involved
The 32-year-old's agent Hans-Georg Bischoff announced the deal this morning and it has since been confirmed by the Croatian champions. Dinamo defender Zoran Mamić has been an instrumental figure in the move, having played with Nowotny for two seasons at Leverkusen between 1998 and 2000. Namesake Zdravko Mamić was also heavily involved, the vice-president thrashing out terms on the Spanish island of Majorca with Bischoff and the player.

Injury
Nowotny broke into the professional game at Karlsruher SC, making over 100 appearances before a 1996 switch to Leverkusen where he proved himself a deft man-marker and a defender with the confidence to distribute the ball effectively when he had won possession. He went on to play 231 Bundesliga games for the Rheinland club, although a knee injury in 2002 ruled him out of three finals - the UEFA Champions League, German Cup and FIFA World Cup.

World Cup
He returned in January 2003, only to suffer an identical injury against FC Energie Cottbus. Two further knee complaints followed, yet Nowotny showed tremendous determination to win a place in Germany's squad for this summer's World Cup where he took his cap count to 47 by featuring in the third-placed play-off against Portugal. Dinamo, who enter the UEFA Champions League in the second qualifying round, have also brought Jasmin Agić back to the club after an 18-month spell in Korea Republic. The 31-year-old midfielder has accepted a two-year deal.