Hajduk Split turns 105 on February 13, 2016. As part of the celebrations for Croatia’s oldest club, TCN continues its 5-part series with 105 things about Hajduk to celebrate the 105 years. In part 4, we look at those who made significant contributions to the club in mostly non-playing roles.
Today, we are honoring some important people in Hajduk’s history for their contributions off the pitch. Again, in alphabetical order, and mentioning only twenty, so that we can finish the series tomorrow with the 22 most important events in the 105 years of Hajduk Split. Not an easy choice, as there are so many people deserving a mention…
1. Ante Božiković Javor
Javor, also known as Ante Šporki (Ante, the dirty one – another example of the ironic Dalmatian sense of humor) was the owner of a famous restaurant in Podstrana, near Split, a venue for many hidden negotiations, celebrations, big decisions, and numerous anecdotes told among the Hajduk community.
2. Jere Burazin
Burazin was vice president of Hajduk, and the right hand of Tito Kirigin, irreplaceable executive for any occasion. He was involved in Hajduk management for decades, and is remembered, and respected as one of the most successful managers ever.
3. Pavao Grubišić – Čabo
Torcida’s Che Guevara. The man with the dream. He started the battle for Hajduk to be brought back to its origins, the battle against politicians who were ruining the club, and a battle which was won eventually by Hajduk’s supporters all over the world. He ended his life tragically, but is still remembered by his friends from the North stand.
4. Dragan Holcer
One of the players not to be included in our yesterday’s pick, but he is one of best players ever to be introduced to Split from elsewhere. He became the captain of the team, and was loved by the fans, and like many who came to Split, he fell deeply in love with the city, and stayed here for life.
5. Tomislav Ivić
The most decorated Croatian and one of the most successful coaches in the world. He is remembered by Hajduk fans as a football visionary and brilliant tactician, who brought 3 Championships and 4 Cups to Split. The most important Italian sport newspaper Gazzeta dello Sport voted him the best coach in the history of the game.
6. Fabjan Kaliterna
The founder of Hajduk, he did everything necessary to ensure Hajduk became what it has become. He was a player, a coach, a board member, a president, and is truly a legend not only for Hajduk, but for the city of Split. He was also an accomplished architect, constructing more than 300 buildings in Split.
7. Luka Kaliterna
Self-made coach, who became one of the most important figures in Hajduk’s History. He started as a goalkeeper, and by all accounts a pretty good one, but the real story started when he started coaching. He was involved in coaching for more than 30 years, and is responsible for the growth of Hajduk from being a local club to what it is today. For years, there was an initiative for Poljud stadium to be named The Luka Kaliterna Stadium.
8. Ivan Katalinić
He was a great goalkeeper, a member of the Golden Generation in the 70s, and his nickname was Banks. One of the best goalkeepers Hajduk ever had, he went on to become one of the most successful coaches for the club. As a coach, he earned another nickname: Ivan the Terrible, a nickname well suited to his mode of coaching. He won two Championships and two Cups as a coach, and when added to the nine titles as a player, he is probably the most decorated person in the club’s history.
9. Tito Kirigin
The most successful and the most important chairman the Hajduk board ever had. He was the creator of Hajduk’s Golden Generation, which brought many trophies, and ensured Hajduk’s place in the history books. He was also CEO of the biggest cake factory in Split, and had great connections within the authorities at the time, but spent all his time working for Hajduk.
10. Jozo Matošić
Probably my biggest mistake made yesterday was not to include him in the most important players in the history of the club, but he has his place here, for sure. He was a great player, playing 471 games, captaining of the team for years, including years spent as a captain of Hajduk team in WWI, and was a coach in the early fifties, inheriting Luka Kaliterna on the bench, and won a Champhionship title in 1952.
11. Ante Mladinić
Founder of what is to be called “The Split school of football” in the 60s, raising The Golden Generation. He was an innovative expert, and a great football mind, raising not only players, but coaches alike. He was a coach of the Yugoslav national team, coach of Hajduk, and in later days, he was called to France, making his mark in the development of French football.
12. Branko Oblak
Probably the best Slovenian player in the history of the club after moving to Hajduk in the 70s, he is considered (together with Holcer) to be that extra quality needed for Hajduk to become a great team in those years. He was an example of a great professional, offering quality often missed in local tradition.
13. Šime Poduje
He was an important player in the early days of the club, playing 226 games as an accomplished winger, but this exceptional lawyer was an even more important member of the Hajduk board for years. He was the mastermind of Hajduk’s assembling on Vis in 1944, and ensured Hajduk became known to the world known as a club which participated in the resistance movement during WWII. After the War, he was the one to bring Bernard Vukas to the club, and is responsible for many successes for the club as a consequence.
(With thanks to the Poduje family for this photo from their private collection)
14. Stanko Poklepović
Beloved coach, he started as the assistant coach to Tomislav Ivić, and later became head coach, winning two titles with Hajduk. He was a player of RNK Split, but for Hajduk fans he is beloved for his great knowledge of the game, and his wit, often quoted by fans, journalists, and other coaches. Yours truly, writing these lines, I can’t helpr venturing my opinion that sacking Špaco in ’86 was the reason Hajduk was denied the UEFA Cup title that year.
15. Zdravko Reić
Acknowledging this man may raise the eyebrows of many readers, but Reić is (apart from Miljenko Smoje) the most important chronicler of Hajduk in the last 40 years. A famous journalist, often not loved by Hajduk fans for his opinions, his importance cannot be denied. Hajduk is a kind of a religion in Dalmatia, and that being the case, Reić might be considered somewhat of a gospel writer.
16. Ante Skataretiko
He was Chairman of the Hajduk Board for just over a year, but has earned his place in history of Hajduk with his work in the days before that. He was the man responsible for organizing the Mediterranean Games to be staged in Split, and consequently, for Hajduk to get a new and modern stadium. In those years, the city of Split had grown into the modern city that is today, and many decisions made by this man were the reason which enabled that.
17. Blaž Slišković
His plays already described in this series, Baka is probably the most beloved player ever by Hajduk fans. He was an artist on the field, and only his Bohemian lifestyle stopped him becoming one of the best players in the world. Zinedine Zidane has claimed that helearned football tricks watching Slišković play for Olympique Marseille, and TBF, most the popular Croatian hip-hop band, has a lyric dedicated to him: “there will never be a player like Baka again…”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07fGgzdiPb8
18. Miljenko Smoje
Smoje was one of the greatest Croatian writers and journalists ever, and a lifetime chronicler of Hajduk. He wrote a column in Slobodna Dalmacija, signed “Mali Marinko”, probably the most popular column in the newspaper, and it was written as a comment by one ordinary Hajduk fan. He wrote a book “Hajdućka legenda” (The legend of Hajduk) in 1971, as a contribution to Hajduk’s 60th birthday, and wrote the “Velo Misto” script, which became a hit TV series, telling the story of Hajduk and the city of split, which is became one of the most popular TV programs ever to be broadcast in Croatia.
19. Božo Soldo
The legendary physiotherapist of the team, keeping players fit for decades. He was considered the good spirit of the locker room, and players have described him as a man with golden hands. He was a father figure to many of them, and was a source of wisdom among them. His sayings about players are often quoted, and here is couple of them: “A coin has two sides, but a football player has many more. An unfit football player is just a funny man on the pitch.”
20. Vjenceslav Žuvela
The mastermind behind the founding of Torcida in 1950. He was a student in Zagreb, and was one of the founders of Torcida, bringing Dalmatian students in Zagreb together, and planning activities to disrupt Red Star players’ sleep the night before the game. He was prosecuted by the authorities at the time, although he participated in the resistance during WWII.
Come back tomorrow for the birthday and final part – the 22 most important moments in Hajduk’s history.
