100 Dalmatian years of Split identity

Published: July 23, 2011

Do you Like this match ?

Dalmatians are renowned for living it up and Split will be the scene of one of this summer’s biggest bash when Barcelona arrive to take on Hajduk Split on Saturday. Europe’s premier side will join Hajduk in celebrating their centenary year, and it will be a typically colourful celebration at Poljud Stadium with music, dance and fireworks to boot – and that’s merely before kick off. It may be encircled by a running track, but the Poljud still produces one of the great atmospheres in Europe when Hajduk’s Torcida – Europe’s oldest fan club – is in full voice. Such support can be double-edged, regardless of the circumstances. The fans often voiced their displeasure on February 13 this year – Hajduk’s birthday, in their centenary match loss to Slavia Prague. Their expectations are far lower against Barca, playing their first game since lifting the Champions League trophy at Wembley. Their Copa America players will be absent, robbing Split of the chance to see Lionel Messi, while Xavi and Gerard Pique are also set to miss the occasion. But Croatians appreciate quality football and there will be nothing but respect for the Catalans, as the locals commemorate Hajduk’s often turbulent journey, in tribute to the club’s resilience. The club was founded in the famous Prague brewery U Fleku in 1911 by four Split students when the city was under the control of the Austro-Hungarian empire. They then decided on the name ‘Hajduk’, who were romanticised bandits and outlaws that fought the Ottoman Empire. It symbolised bravery, defiance and protection of the weak, and these terms have underpinned the club for much of its history, including staving off attempts to be relocated. HNK – Croatian Football Club – preceded the name while the logo included the Croatian crest as Hajduk Split represented pro-Croat citizens, despite the Austro-Hungarian government blocking Dalmatia’s reunion with the rest of Croatia. ‘Croatian’ was forcibly replaced by the adjective ‘Yugoslav’ as World War II became predictably turbulent for the club. Split was initially annexed to Italy, which the players and club opposed. They declined an offer to join Serie A while there was also a brief stint on the island of Vis as the official team of the Yugoslav resistance. Hajduk had already won their first two titles by this stage, in 1927 and 1929, an inaugural ‘golden period’ preceding a trophyless decade in the 1930s. Fans had to wait until 1950 for Hajduk’s next domestic success and it was this era that perhaps most shaped the club. In 1948-49 they became the first Yugoslav team to travel to every continent after a of Australia. They went through the 1949-50 season undefeated – a record yet to be emulated. And on October 28, a day before their crucial win over Red Star Belgrade, Torcida (named after enthusiastic Brazilian fans) was founded by engineering student Vjenceslav Zuvela. Communist authorities did not take a shine to the Torcida. Hajduk’s leadership was reprimanded, Torcida’s name forbidden and Zuvela was excluded from the Communist party and imprisoned for three months after initially being sentenced to three years. In 1951 the ‘Stari Plac’ stadium was built, the home of most of the club’s ensuing successes, and those immediate years were hugely successful, with further titles in 1951-52 and 1954-55 despite alleged political interference. Hajduk’s star of that era was keeper Vladimir Beara, capped 60 times by Yugoslavia and a man so confident in his abilities he seldom set walls for free kicks. Politics again intervened. After winning three titles Beara controversially defected to Red Star Belgrade while in his prime at 27, helping Red Star to overpower Hajduk and then dominate the local landscape by winning four of the next five titles. It was then a 16-year wait until Hadjuk’s next title, at the beginning of the glorious Tomislav Ivic era and his golden generation of the 1970s that dominates the club’s team of the century. Hajduk’s recent production line reads impressively: Alen Boksic, Aljosa Asanovic, Igor Tudor, Robert Jarni, Igor Stimac, Slaven Bilic and Milan Rapaic. While those names are more familiar to world football fans, Boksic was the only one who made Hajduk’s official team of the century, otherwise littered with former greats. Prior to Croatia’s independence in 1991, players were not allowed to play abroad until the age of 28, so while the domestic league remained stronger players did not receive the deserved kudos abroad. It is a strange quirk that the opposite applies to Ivic, the master coach who presided over the club’s greatest era, in the early 1970s. Ivic sadly passed a month ago but will be in the forefront of the fans’ minds at the Poljud. His Hajduk success was the precursor to winning titles in six countries – Portugal (Porto), Belgium (Anderlecht), France (Marseille), Greece (Panathinaikos), Holland (Ajax) – where he replaced the great Rinus Michels when he left for his second stint at Barca – and of course Croatia. While Dinamo Zagreb is the country’s most successful club, Hajduk is the biggest inside and outside Croatia – their global appeal perhaps influenced by those international tours. Hundreds of football clubs and supporters clubs around the world are named after ‘Bili’ (Whites) – including Melbourne state league side Dandenong City Hajduk (formerly Chelsea Hajduk), where new Australian signing Ljubo Milicevic played as a junior. Hajduk kicked off their season on Tuesday and despite dominating and striking the woodwork several times, it took an 86th minute goal from Marin Tomasov to overcome Sibenik 2-1 at home. Defender Milicevic and Montenegrin striker Ivan Vukovic have headlined the new signings, Milicevic having been appointed vice-captain while Vukovic shone against Sibenik and looks a great partner for the promising Ante Vukusic. Ruben Lima (Beira-Mar), James (NK Zagreb), Masahiko Inoha (Kashima Antlers) and Steven Lustica (Gold Coast, Australia) have also arrived, while there were no major off-season losses. New coach, former Bulgaria international, Krasimir Balakov has thus far made a big impression, reflecting a youthfully ambitious new era at the club following the appointment of 32-year-old president Hrvoje Males. Sandwiched between their Tuesday night opener against Sibenik and a Europa League trip to Stoke City, in reality the Barcelona game is a match Balakov could do without. Hajduk has not won a title since 2005 and expectations are high on the Dalmatian coast. And just in case Balakov and the players were in any doubt, the Torcida unfurled a banner at their opener that read: “Nema kompromis, hocemo titulu” (No compromise, we want the title). Hajduk Split Team of the Century: Vladimir Beara (1947-55), Ivan Buljan (1967-77), Luka Peruzovic (1969-80, 86-88), Dragan Holcer (1967-75), Jozo Matosic (1931-46), Zlatko Vujovic (1976-86), Bernard Vukas (1947-57, 59-63), Jure Jerkovic (1968-78), Ivica `urjak (1971-81), Alen Boksic (1987-91), Frane Matosic (1935-41, 1944-55) Credit: http://footballnet.espn.go.com