Football experts analyzed Hajduk's and Dinamo's European performances on the show Studio 4. While the Split side suffered a debacle against Pafos, Dinamo scraped past Thun to secure a spot in the third qualifying round of the Champions League.
On the Croatian Radiotelevision show Studio 4, guests included Croatian Radio sports journalist Marko Šivak and Slovenian coach and former international Primož Gliha, with sports journalist Zdravko Reić joining from Split. The topic was the week's European performances of Croatian representatives, which brought completely opposite outcomes for the country's two biggest clubs.
Hajduk's footballers suffered a real shock in the return leg of the Europa League second qualifying round. After winning the first match in Cyprus 2-0 with a brilliant display, a complete collapse followed at Poljud. Pafos won 4-0, and the tie went to extra time after the visitors leveled the aggregate score.
Zdravko Reić did not hide his disappointment with the result and the team's approach. "Of course, I'm disappointed like all Hajduk fans, because after that 2-0 and great play, when they could have won by a bigger margin, this debacle happened," Reić told HRT.
He was particularly stunned by the players' reaction in extra time. "They were shocked by the goal they conceded, the second equalizer, but what stunned me was that extra time came and then they conceded a third goal in the third minute. That proves they gave up and didn't believe," added Reić, who then became even harsher: "That's how Hajduk served fans another tragedy, another shame, so to speak, because this 4-0 result and weak play, and even more worrying is the complete 'limpness' of the team, so to speak, unworthy behavior of professional players. I thought the eliminations were over, but here we are."
Hajduk will continue their European journey in the Conference League.
A large part of the criticism in the studio was directed at Hajduk coach Gonzalo Garcia and his post-match comments. Reić highlighted the club's alarming European record. "Those 26 European appearances by Hajduk this century, with only one group stage qualification, is a huge failure for the entire club," said Reić, dismissing Garcia's claim that Pafos were a quality opponent.
"Pafos isn't so good that Hajduk couldn't have gotten past them. However, he keeps repeating those statements simply because he is not a winning coach. His rhetoric is such that he constantly explains his own things, saying: 'That's football, it's not a tragedy,' and so on. And of course, it's not a tragedy in life, but it is a great failure for Hajduk and Hajduk's fans, and he should be aware of that," Reić stated.
Primož Gliha then chimed in, particularly incensed by Garcia's comment that football isn't the most important thing. "Garcia didn't take responsibility because Hajduk is a 120-year-old club with extremely great results in Europe, and now a coach comes... I apologize, but I have to say this, how can you make such a statement? How, with what moral authority did you say that football isn't the most important thing and that it's just something incidental?" Gliha wondered.
The Slovenian expert also commented on general rhetoric in football. "You always have to face the truth. When you win a match but have many weak points, you need to point out those weaknesses and be self-critical. You know, today's media and all that publicity mean rhetoric is much more important than actual quality," Gliha said.
A completely different mood prevails in Maksimir. Dinamo advanced to the third qualifying round of the Champions League with a 4-3 aggregate win over Swiss side Thun, securing a tie against Lithuanian club Kauno Žalgiris. However, as Marko Šivak reported, the path to progress was anything but easy.
"Dinamo really got off to a bad start in that match against Thun, but that Maksimir evening had a happy ending. It could, of course, have been much different if the Swiss captain hadn't been sent off, because essentially, the match splits into two parts: one before that red card, and the other after it, when Dinamo finally started to look like a team with a man advantage, concretely on the pitch," analyzed the Croatian Radio journalist.
Šivak also confirmed media reports that club president Zvonimir Boban visited the dressing room after the match. "Captain Mišić also spoke about that, and indeed confirmed that Zvonimir Boban was in the dressing room, but he said there were no raised voices. However, he made it clear to the players that they must show more desire and willingness, so to speak, more effort," Šivak reported.
