Croatia Looking to Improve Rocky Record at Poljud

October 9, 2019 – Croatia and Hungary will meet at Poljud on Thursday for the first time since 2015. To date, the national team only has one win there in the last eight years. A look at Croatia’s Split record by TCN contributor Valentino Komusar. 

After four long years, the Croatian national football team is coming back to Split. Poljud Stadium, one of the city’s most famous landmarks and the home of football club Hajduk Split, will host a Euro 2020 qualifying match between Croatia and Hungary, which is set to kick off at 8.45 pm on Thursday. This will be the 13th time Croatia plays in Split; however, they won only once, drew seven times, and lost four. The first time Poljud hosted Croatia was in 1995, but the first victory came 16 years later!

In July 2011, Croatia were victorious 2:1 against Georgia in a Euro 2012 qualifying match. The guests even took the lead in the 17th minute through Jaba Kankava, but in quick succession, late in the second half Nikola Kalinić and Mario Mandžukić secured all three points for the home team. 

Numerous sports and other events have taken place at Poljud, which are still held today. From the games of Hajduk to music festivals like Ultra, and concerts of Croatian singers, this stadium has seen it all, but no-one likes to talk about the last time Croatia visited Poljud. In 2015, Italy were the visitors and the match was played behind closed doors after Croatian fans twice disrupted their team’s 1:1 draw with the same team at San Siro the year before. This Euro 2016 qualifier played in Split also ended in a 1:1 draw, but was overshadowed by a massive incident when a large swastika appeared to have been mowed into the turf before the game. That incident only created a bigger rift between the Croatian Football Federation and Hajduk/Torcida. The Split club has not participated in the organization of the match on Thursday, and according to Croatian media, neither the Hajduk president Marin Brbić nor the vice-president Lukša Jakobušić will attend the game. 

In November 2014, there was even an anti-FA protest held in Split on the Riva, the city’s main seaside promenade. More than 20.000 people showed up to show their disapproval of the FA’s leaders who are considered to be the source of all problems in Croatian football. Hajduk’s fans group Torcida also requested the resignation of all key figures in the CFA because they believe that the organization is completely controlled by Hajduk’s archrival Dinamo Zagreb. Much bigger are suspicions about criminal conduct and corruption. 

While the hatchet between Hajduk/Torcida and the CFA hasn’t been buried yet, it seems like the Croatian national football team is more than welcome in Split since it took only 24 hours to sell out the whole stadium last month. 

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

 

 

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