CROATIA
Hajduk Split are chasing an historic league title with a mix of youth and experience
Barely anyone in Split, never mind the rest of Croatia, would have believed you back in May 2005 if you’d told them that they would have to wait (at least) another 19 years to see Hajduk, a true Croatian powerhouse, win another league title.
In that time, not only have they failed to spring a single legitimate title race with their arch-rivals Dinamo Zagreb – who have won 17 of the subsequent 18 league titles – but they even came on the verge of bankruptcy, twice, only to be saved from the very brink by their huge fanbase.
Last time Hajduk were crowned Croatian champions, stars like Nikola Kalinic and Ivan Perisic were both still part of the club’s academy. Kalinic did rack up just under 80 appearances for the club, before moving to Blackburn Rovers in 2009, but Perisic never made his full debut for his childhood team, joining French side Sochaux a year after that 2004-05 titlewinning campaign aged 16.
Now, the pair are reunited back home after long and prosperous careers, which include European titles, spells at clubs like Borussia Dortmund, Milan, Internazionale, Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid, Tottenham Hotspur and others, and, in Perisic’s case, even a goal in the World Cup final. The thought of ending these years of hurt for Hajduk is the one thing left remaining for them, perhaps also as redemption for having left the club so early. News of the duo signing €1 contracts with the club – in Kalinic’s case re-joining for the third time after leaving in the summer following a second spell – quickly went viral worldwide all over social media.
But while the rest of the world focused on the returning heroes, for locals it was another Hajduk player that was stealing headlines: American-born midfielder Rokas Pukstas.
A home defeat to Adriatic rivals and fellow title challengers Rijeka in the first game after the winter break delivered a dent to Hajduk’s ambitions, especially after a largely underwhelming performance in front of a sold-out Poljud Stadium. But not for a lack of effort from Pukstas, who had to leave the pitch three times to get his shirt – drenched with blood after a collision – replaced. He didn’t even flinch, and neither did the crowd. That’s “Bro” for you, a nickname this young American – born into a Lithuanian family who arrived in the US through a scholarship – got after a viral video of him saying: “Less talk, more work, bro” heavily amused the fans in Split.
His mum and dad flew overseas from Lithuania as talented athletes (his father, Mindaugas, was a marathon runner at the 2004 Olympics), in search of better training conditions in the US, eventually se
