Impressive Hajduk Frustrated by Brilliant Goalkeeping, Terrible Refereeing

A look at the big match yesterday, as TCN enters the Hajduk press box. 

I was introduced to the President of Hajduk Split last week, as we were both dining in the fabulous Re di Mare restaurant in Split. A very nice man, and although our chat was brief, what stays with me from the meeting was his farewell, for a father asked if it was ok for him to say hello to his three year-old son. The little boy, dressed in a Hajduk strip, shook the president's hand and answered affirmatively to the questions as to whether he loved Hajduk, and was he listening to his father. It was a sweet moment, and summed up the family feeling that Hajduk is able to evoke with its special relationship with the city of Split. 

Having seen the excellent new promotional video, I wanted to get a sense of the build up to the derby with Dinamo Zagreb, the top match on the domestic calendar, and for an atmosphere of Split as the game approached, I encourage you to watch the video before reading on.

Having taken the ferry over from Stari Grad on Hvar, which was packed with some tourists and many Hvar Hajduk fans, it was time to soak up the pre-match atmosphere. 

And where better than popular Hajduk pre-match watering hole, Trece Poluvrijeme? 

The Hajduk PR department was very accommodating with a TCN request for press accreditation, and we were admitted with the minimum of fuss, free to walk the corridors of history. If you have not done the tour of the Hajduk stadium, it is one of the most interesting stadium tours out there. 

The day's opponents Dinamo Zagreb were in Split on the back of an impressive Champions League victory over Arsenal, of course, but as the corridors showed, they were not the first Croatian team to ever beat the North London giants. Of the various framed reports of games in the past, the most popular on the tour is the 6-0 thrashing of Manchester United in 1980, which remains The Red Devils biggest ever defeat. 

Hajduk these days is moving with the times and is embracing the social media age. In addition to the promo video above, and the English-language version of the website,  the club provides a live tweeting service for its global fan base. Hajduk Tweeter Ivica Profaca updating the world on the ongoing action. 

(Photo credit HNK Hajduk Split) Before the game, Hajduk produced a star of their own, with Split high-jumper Blanka Vlasic, fresh from her Silver medal in Beijing, presented with her own personalised Hajduk shirt. Blanka then sat back and watched younger brother Nikola shine in an impressive Hajduk performance. 

While for many the main attraction of a football match is what happens on the pitch, Poljud is no ordinary stadium, and Torcida no ordinary fans. The banner translates as 'We will reveal our heart'. 

And shortly after kick-off, they did, in a brilliantly choreographered move.  

Before simulaneously changing to a sea of red and blue. 

The almost 18,000 crowd were in fine voice. 

And with plenty of colourful props to add to the atmosphere...

It was loud! 

There were a small number of Dinamo supporters, separated into two groups, who had made the journey from the capital.  

And Croatia's most notorious piece of turf, although its contents - which cost the national team a point in the European Championship qualifiers - have long since been removed.

As for the game itself, it was highly entertaining - watch all the highlights in the video above - with Hajduk dominating for long periods. There were denied by some quite brilliant goalkeeping by Dinamo's Eduardo, easily the man of the match, while they were also denied a clear penalty for handball in the first half, and then - having totally dominated the second half, Dinamo were awarded an extremely dubious last minute penalty.  

Had Dinamo scored, it would have been a total injustice after such Hajduk domination, but Henriquez put the spot kick just wide of the post, to leave the match goalless.

It would be fair to that referee Bruno Maric was not the most popular man in Split last night...  

At the post-match press conference, Zoran Mamic was the happier of the two coaches, with Damir Buric praising his players for an excellent performance, one which just needed a little luck.  

The press conference over, time for a little island reality, and a quick dash across the city to make the last ferry of the day, the 20:30 back to Stari Grad, which was full of Hajduk fans disappointed that the effort of their team was not reflected in the result, but in fine voice all the same.

An excellent day, and an overview of the Hajduk experience, which extends far beyond 90 minutes on the pitch.