New President, New Rules: Hajduk Sacks Mario Stanic as President's Advisor, Who's Next?

November 3, 2020 – With Luksa Jakobusic as the new president of the Split club, many changes can be expected, the first of which occurred on Monday as Hajduk sacked advisor Mario Stanic.

Mario Stanic is no longer an advisor to the Hajduk president! After a desperate and disastrous start to this season, the former great player and legendary member of the Croatia national team left Poljud. He arrived at the club 11 months ago as an adviser to former president Marin Brbic, and after Brbic’s resignation at the end of July, he did not advise practically anyone. His role overlapped with the role of sports director Ivan Kepcija.

“As of today, Mario Stanic is no longer an advisor for sports policy to the President of the Management Board of HNK Hajduk and will no longer perform any function in the Club.

We wish Mr. Stanic a lot of luck and success in his future career,” Hajduk announced on Monday.

One year ago, Hajduk fired coach Damir Buric, and after five years, Igor Tudor returned to the club as a coach. Stanic also brought a new sports director, the young Ivan Kepcija.

Upon their arrival at the club, Stanic and Kepcija promised continuity in the coaching staff and promotion of Croatian players, but Hajduk’s poor play is proof that they failed.

Luksa Jakobusic, the 11th consecutive president, took over the club on Friday and announced a sharp turn in operations. After Hajduk’s third consecutive defeat, the current team at Hajduk is anything but safe, and Stanic’s departure could be sensed immediately after Jakobusic’s first address as president.

Namely, at the official presentation, Jakobusic said that he did not need an advisor and thus questioned the future of Mario Stanic at the club.

“Someone allowed Hajduk to be in that position, and because of that, the president does not have to leave. I want Stanic to explain the logic of departures and arrivals of players, especially arrivals, and how they intend to continue. In that context, I would also talk about Kepcija. There is a lot of illogicalities. Either one is not for the coach or the sports director is not the one.”

After Stanic’s dismissal, the key question is whether Kepcija will remain the club’s sports director. Jakobusic will speak to him and make another important decision soon. Hari Vukas led the afternoon training at Poljud on Monday, though many believe it could be his last.

Source: Index.hr

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page.