Krstičević on the Livaja-Garcia Conflict
Former head of Hajduk's 'Luka Kaliterna' Academy openly criticizes the Whites' coach in a major interview and reflects on his sudden departure from Poljud.
Former head of Hajduk's 'Luka Kaliterna' Academy openly criticizes the Whites' coach in a major interview and reflects on his sudden departure from Poljud.
In an interview with Sportske novosti, Krstičević had no doubts about who bears responsibility for the inability to integrate the league's top strikers into one team. His verdict on the 'Garcia case' is uncompromising.
Commenting on the situation that has been shaking the dressing room for months, Krstičević placed all the blame on the head coach. He asserted that it was Garcia who should have found a way for the stars to coexist on the pitch.
"It's not my job, but since you're asking for my opinion, whether some at Poljud like it or not, I'd call it the 'Garcia case.' There's no big dilemma here-it's the coach who has to sort out the relationships within the team. So, Garcia had to solve that problem. One more thing: Hajduk had Livaja, Rebić, Almen, and Šego-four strikers, the best in Croatia, all together. He didn't fit them in..."
The former head of the youth academy thus made it clear that, in his view, the coach did not justify the trust placed in him given the squad at his disposal.
Beyond the burning issue of the conflict in the first team, Krstičević also detailed his abrupt departure from the helm of the Academy. He revealed that sporting director Vučević gave him no concrete reason when delivering the news of his dismissal.
"I was surprised, primarily because Vučević, as sporting director, hadn't raised a single objection with me. He came to me and said the president wanted Viko Lalić and me to leave. I asked him for the reason; he replied, 'I don't know,' and that was the end of the conversation,"
said Krstičević. He noted that he was informed of his dismissal on January 29, but he only signed the mutual termination on March 12, after 42 days of uncertainty. "I'm upset about the president's behavior; it wasn't fair-he should have explained his motives... But that's his way," he added, explaining that he agreed to sign the termination out of necessity because he wanted to return to the bench of Jadran Luka Ploče.
Additional bitterness for the 67-year-old came from the fact that just a few days before New Year's, at a meeting with Vučević and supervisory board chairman Ljubo Pavasović Visković, his work had been positively assessed. "I was on the pitch every day, I followed over four hundred training sessions, I was always present, monitoring the coaches' work. I even slept at the stadium..." Krstičević recalled.
After parting ways with Hajduk, Krstičević returned to his home club Jadran Luka Ploče and, with a sensational run of results, led them to promotion to a higher league.
