When a Dalmatian is in Prague…
In Prague, the night slowly approached midnight, but on the city streets you could hear chants: “I love you, I love you, I love you, Hajduk”. In the pub “U Fleku”, where students from Split in 1911 made a decision to found the Hajduk Football Club, it was like on the Split waterfront. Dozens of supporters of Hajduk came to visit the pub which they consider to be a shrine, reports Vecernji List on August 21, 2015.
“I do not care about beer that I can drink anywhere. I just want to take a picture in front of our commemorative plaque”, said Ivan Balić, father of Hajduk’s young star Andrija Balić, while standing in front of the legendary pub.
At the end of the day the pub became so crowded that the manager, a greying Czech, who watched it all in amazement, had to stand at the door and stop the Hajduk supporters. “Closing time! We are closed for business!”, he tried unsuccessfully to convince the fans who did not want to move from the entrance to the pub.
“Come on, old man, just let us pass so we can take a picture in front of the plaque”, said Luka Rogulj and friends who came from Split in a car and a van. When they finally entered the pub, because the guard moved to the side, they were the happiest people in the world. “Take a photo, faster!”, they said to one another as they proudly posed in front of the plaque that says: “Here, in 1911, Croatian football club Hajduk Split was founded.”
The Hajduk fans were in Prague due to the game against Slovan in nearby Liberec in the first leg of the final qualifying leg of the UEFA Europa League. The match ended with a win for Slovan 1-0, but next week Hajduk will play the second leg against the Czech club at the Poljud stadium in Split.
