Drago Rukljač, nicknamed Gec, celebrates his 77th birthday. In Hajduk's 1977/78 season, he is remembered for a missed penalty against Austria Vienna, but also for the elegance that led Vlatko Marković to bring him to Stari plac.
Is there a footballer on the domestic scene today like Drago Rukljač, whom Hajduk could sign to save themselves? Perhaps Luka Stojković? Not quite-Dragec Rukljač, better known as Gec, was even more refined and elegant, though Stojković is an exceptional player.
Rukljač was born in Zagreb and was the Jurica Jerković of his club, yet he never played for Dinamo. In the summer of 1977, Hajduk wanted to sign him and did. Surprisingly, Dinamo didn't care that such a master was right under their nose.
Rukljač was a "number 10" in every sense, while Jerković was serving his military stint in the JNA at the time. Gec was a fantasista and kept the No. 10 shirt even when Jerković returned from the army to the white jersey. Jerković took No. 8, and Rukljač kept the ten.
The decision was made by Hajduk coach Vlatko Marković, who held Rukljač in high regard from their days together in Zagreb. It was Marković who pushed for his signing. Rukljač spent only one summer under Marković, and when Marković moved to Dinamo in the summer of 1978, Rukljač returned to Zagreb, even though Tomislav Ivić, upon his return from Ajax to Hajduk, wanted to keep him.
The heaviest burden in Rukljač's career was the missed penalty against Austria Vienna at Stari plac, in the return leg of the Cup Winners' Cup quarterfinal. The usually flawless penalty taker erred, Hajduk was eliminated, and they didn't win the Cup Winners' Cup, though they could have. It was perhaps the greatest chance for Hajduk to claim a European trophy, especially in the 1977/78 season.
Hajduk could have advanced via penalties anyway, as after 1:1 in Vienna and 1:1 in Split, it went to a shootout, but everyone missed. A penalty "into the void" against Austria while leading 1:0? It happens. Cruel fate.
The season at Hajduk remained a highlight in Rukljač's career, who played for Zagreb before and after, not counting his beginnings at Prvomajska in Zagreb. Players from Kranjčevićeva, who were left without a stadium due to a fire, probably never had a greater player. Stanko Bubnja, Mladen Wachu, Zlatko Dračić, Pero Močibob, Željko Smolek, Božo Bakota? Maybe, but Rukljač was special.
In Hajduk's season, he is remembered not only for the ill-fated miss but also for goals from penalties and free kicks. The hosts of the TV show Nedjeljno popodne, Saša Zalepugin and Vladimir Levak, with a touch of irony, would say when reporting results from the top-flight pitches: Hajduk scored, you guessed it, scorer Rukljač from a penalty. It was routine. Still, Hajduk finished no better than third, behind champions Partizan.
Rukljač is celebrating his 77th birthday these days, and with these words, we send him a message that Hajduk fans from Stari plac have not forgotten him.
