HAJDUK SPLIT

'Hajduk' is one of the most famous and successful Croatian football clubs. Hajduk is based in the city of Split, Croatia.

Contents

History

Honours

Season 2006/07

Current squad

Squad changes prior and during the 2007/2008 season

External links

Notable players

See also

History

The club was founded in the famous, centuries old pub Flek in Prague (then also a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire) by a group of students from Split (Fabijan Kaliterna, Lucijan Stella, Ivan Šakić and Vjekoslav Ivanišević). They went to the pub right after a match between Sparta and Slavia and decided it was high time their own town founded it's professional club. They all knew how popular the sport was back home, and how well their friends back home played. The club was officially registered with the authorities on February 13, 1911. The name originates from the hajduks, romanticized bandits that fought the Ottoman Turks.

Hajduk gathered the pro-Croat party of citizens of Split, Croat unionists or puntari. That's why the club specifically has the name "hrvatski nogometni klub" (Croatian football club) and has the Croatian coat-of-arms in its logo. The club itself was against the Austro-Hungarian government's policy of not allowing the unification of Croatian provinces and keeping them separated (the government and the emperor didn't allow the reunion of Dalmatia with the rest of Croatia). Hajduk reached its first period of glory in the late twenties, when it won two Yugoslav championships, breaking the domination of clubs from Belgrade and Zagreb. Particularly interesting is the club's war episode. After the Italian occupation of Split during World War II, the club ceased to compete in defiance, and declined an offer to join the Italian first division. In 1944, the team and staff clandestinely joined the Yugoslav partisans on the island Vis and continued to play as an official partisan army team. After the war, partisan theleader and later president of Yugoslavia, Tito, (impressed by the club's proficency and it's unique Dalmatian spirit) invited Hajduk to move to Belgrade and become an official army team. But, Hajduk's players refused this lucrative offer and continued playing in their hometown. The club, however, continued to be Tito's favorite long after the war.
Hajduk had its best years in the 1970s. The so-called "zlatna generacija" (Golden Generation) won five consecutive cups and three championships in the 1972 to 1979 period. It was the second most successful club in Yugoslavia far outstripping the third, it's present day rival, Dinamo Zagreb.
The Hajduk kit is white shirt and blue shorts.
Hajduk won two Yugoslav (kingdom) championships, seven Yugoslav championships, eight Croatian championships, as well as nine Yugoslav Cup titles, four Croatian Cups and six super cups.
Abroad, the club has reached the quarterfinals of the Champions Cup (now UEFA Champions League) three times (last time 1995), and two European semifinals: of Cup of cup's winners 1973, and UEFA cup 1984.
Hajduk is famous for its youth school. It is one of the most prolific producers of high quality footballers which often continue careers in famous European teams. Some of Hajduk's former players include: Alen Bokšić (ex Juventus, Middlesbrough), Robert Jarni (ex Juventus, Real Madrid), Slaven Bilić (ex Karlsruhe, Everton), Igor Štimac (ex West Ham), Milan Rapaić (Standard Liege), Igor Tudor (Juventus), Ivica Šurjak (ex Paris SG), Luka Peruzović (ex Anderlecht), Aljoša Asanović, Ivan Buljan (ex Hamburger SV) and Zlatko Vujović (ex Bordeaux).
When the Croatian national team won third place at the 1998 World Cup in France, amongst the first 11, there were 5 former Hajduk players.
Since 1979, Hajduk plays at the Poljud stadium. It was built by the Yugoslavian federal government for the 1979 Mediterranean games that were held in Split. Thanks to lavish federal funding the stadium is quite impressive, not so much in size (though it is large) as it is in architecture, having one of the most unique and beautiful designs in the world at the time of it's construction. Before that, Hajduk played it's games at the "Kod stare plinare" stadium ("By the old gas facility"), also known as "Stari plac" ("Old Square") or "Staro Hajdukovo" ("Old Hajduk's"). Before the transformation that area into the football pitch, the area was known as "Kraljeva njiva" ("King's Field") and it was part of a military camp.

The fans are called Torcida (since 1950) as they took their name after their idolized Brazilian fan groups, which are named torcidas, from the Portuguese 'torcer', to cheer on. Supporters popularly call the players of Hajduk 'bili' (dialect for 'bijeli', plural form of white) and are the oldest organized supporters' group in Europe.
Hajduk is by far the most popular sport team in the Croatian region of Dalmatia. Hajduk also has a strong fan base throughout the rest of Croatia, especially in littoral areas, as well as in Slavonia. Hajduk is also a very important part of the region's identity.
In the former Yugoslavia, Hajduk was the team that had supporters all over the country, among all national and religious communities (not only among the Croats); no other club achieved that. It is important to mention the big popularity of Hajduk among Albanians in socialist Yugoslavia, especially on Kosovo, where popularity of Hajduk can be compared with the one in Dalmatia.
Outside of Croatia, Hajduk also has many supporters throughout the rest of the world. It is said that Hajduk has never played a single game anywhere in the world without at least a small group of Torcida in the stands. Countries with huge fan clubs membership include Chile, New Zealand, Australia and Canada - mostly countries with significant Croat immigration from Dalmatia.

Honours

• 'Championship':'17'
  
  
  
  • 'Croatia (6):' 1992, 1993/94, 1994/95, 2000/01, 2003/04, 2004/05
    
  • 'Yugoslavia (9):' 1927, 1929, 1950, 1952, 1954/55, 1970/71, 1973/74, 1974/75, 1978/79
    
  • 'Banate of Croatia:' 1940/41
    
  • 'PR Croatia:'1946
    

• 'Cup':'13'
  
  
  
  • 'Croatian Cup (4):' 1993, 1995, 2000, 2003
    
  • 'Yugoslav Cup (9):' 1967, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1984, 1987, 1991
    

• 'Super Cup':'6'
  
  
  
  • 'Croatian Supercup:' 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2004, 2005
    

Season 2006/07

★ Coach: Sergije Krešić

★ President: Branko Grgić

★ Chairman: Fredi Fiorentini

★ Manager: Tomislav Erceg

Current squad

Squad changes prior and during the 2007/2008 season

'In:'

★ Darko Franić - returned from loan at ''NK Zadar''

★ Tomislav Grčić - returned from loan at ''NK Imotski''

★ Nikola Kalinić - returned from loan at ''HNK Šibenik''

★ Mate Selak - returned from loan at ''NK Solin''

★ Branko Čubrilo - returned from loan at ''NK Mosor''

★ Krešimir Makarin - returned from loan at ''NK Pula''

★ Ante Režić - youth team

★ Mirko Oremuš - youth team

★ Vjekoslav Tomić - signed from ''NK Međimurje''

★ Igor Tudor - signed from ''Juventus F.C.''(free transfer)

★ Srđan Andrić - signed from ''Panathinaikos FC'' (free transfer)

★ Siniša Linić - signed from ''NK Rijeka'' (free transfer)

★ Florin Cernat - loaned from ''FC Dynamo Kyiv'' (one year loan, the deal involves a loan of Tomislav Bušić going the other way, also for the whole season period)

★ Maris Verpakovskis - loaned from ''FC Dynamo Kyiv (one year loan)''

★ Goran Sablić - loaned from ''FC Dynamo Kyiv (one year loan)''
'Out:'

★ Mario Carević - loan from ''VfB Stuttgart ended''

★ Nikica Jelavić - signed for ''S.V. Zulte Waregem''

★ Filip Marčić - signed for ''NK Rijeka (free transfer)''

★ Zlatko Runje - signed for ''NK Varteks (free transfer)''

★ Vlatko Đolonga - free player

★ Pablo Munhoz - free player

★ Tonči Žilić - on the transfer list

★ Tomislav Bušić - loaned to ''FC Dynamo Kyiv''

★ Igor Gal - signed for ''Caykur Rizespor''

★ Igor Musa - signed for ''AEL Limassol'' (contract to be signed)

External links

★ HNK Hajduk - Split -- Official Page (Croatian)

★ Torcida Fan Site (Croatian)

★ HNK Hajduk Unofficial Webpage (English)

★ Fanatical.hu (videoblog) - The fans of Hajduk Split (English)

Notable players

Name	Nationality	Position	Hajduk career	Appearances	Goals
Vladimir Beara		GK	1947–1955	308	''?''
Ivan Katalinić		GK	1972–1980	195	''?''
Zoran Simović		GK	1980–1984	84	0
Ivan Pudar		GK	1979–1990	158	''?''
Tonči Gabrić		GK	1987-1988/1994–1999	''?''	''?''
Stipe Pletikosa		GK	1997-2003/2005-2006	165	4
Slavko Luštica		D	1940–1956	634	86
Luka Peruzović		D	1972–1979/1986-1987	224	''?''
Vilson Džoni		D	1967–1978	''?''	''?''
Dragan Holcer		D	1967–1975	419	9
Ivan Buljan		D	1968–1976	402	58
Vedran Rožić		D	1972–1984	304	''?''
Slaven Bilić		D	1989-1993/2000	117	12
Zoran Vujović		DM	1976–1986	232	38
Robert Jarni		DM	1986-1991	128	17
Ivica Hlevnjak		CM	1962–1973	665	237
Branko Oblak		CM	1973–1975	66	24
Dražen Mužinić		CM	1971–1980	''254''	''?''
Ivan Gudelj		CM	1979–1986	161	34
Dušan Pešić		MF	1982-1984	''84''	''?''
Jiří Sobotka		LM	1940–1941	42	28
Jurica Jerković		LM	1968–1978	''?''	''?''
Aljoša Asanović		LM	1984–1990/1994-1996/2001	150	36
Milan Rapaić		LM	1991-1996/2003	98	23
Niko Kranjčar		LM	2005–2006	50	15
Blaž Slišković		RM	1981–1986	101	23
Nikola Gazdić		FW	1913–1921	91	106
Ljubo Benčić		FW	1922–1935	353	355
Frane Matošić		FW	1935–1939/1940-1941/1944-1955	739	729
Vlade Kragić		FW	1929–1940	354	266
Bernard Vukas		FW	1947–1957/1959-1962	615	300
Andrija Anković		FW	1958–1967	326	250
Pero Nadoveza		FW	1963–1973	460	296
Slaviša Žungul		FW	1972–1978	179	''?''
Ivica Šurjak		FW	1971–1981	268	''?''
Zlatko Vujović		FW	1976–1986	240	101
Alen Bokšić		FW	1987–1991	95	27
Ardian Kozniku		FW	1990–1994	98	44
Goran Ivanišević		Pos	2001	-	-
Josip Skoko		MF	1995–1998	106	19
Igor Tudor		D	1995-1998/2007	0	0
Igor Štimac		D	0	0	0

See also

★ Torcida Split