Tuđman Sent a Plane for Him
Mark Viduka, one of Dinamo's greatest players, arrived in Zagreb at the invitation of Franjo Tuđman, but left bitter and vilified. Today, ahead of Dinamo's match against Viking, we recall his story.
Mark Viduka, one of Dinamo's greatest players, arrived in Zagreb at the invitation of Franjo Tuđman, but left bitter and vilified. Today, ahead of Dinamo's match against Viking, we recall his story.
Dinamo is close to another entry into the Champions League. On Tuesday, August 18, at 9 PM at Maksimir, they play against Norwegian side Viking FK, and ahead of that match, we remember Mark Viduka, one of the greatest players in the club's history, whose career was marked by his arrival in Zagreb thanks to Tuđman, but also by a difficult departure due to pressure and insults.
In his career, Viduka played 507 matches and scored 258 goals, playing for Dinamo, Celtic, Leeds United, Middlesbrough, and Newcastle. For Dinamo, he played 118 matches and scored 65 goals, including the legendary goal in the 5-0 victory over Partizan at Maksimir.
Mark Viduka's arrival in Zagreb was a peculiar idea of the late President Franjo Tuđman. While in Australia among Croatian expatriates, Tuđman invited Mark and his family to dinner in Melbourne, where he outlined his plan. The Japanese were also courting Viduka with a better offer at the time, but the family and Mark chose Zagreb.
Viduka, an Australian of immigrant parents from Pridraga near Zadar, arrived at Dinamo as the best player from Melbourne up to that point. However, despite playing excellently, due to a few poor matches and missed chances, like at the start of the Champions League against Ajax in Zagreb (0-0), Viduka left Zagreb amid jeers. In the stands, people cursed him, even mentioning the late president's name in their insults.
Years later, Viduka described his days in Zagreb. "It became a burden for me. Croats are extreme people. They have extreme ups and downs, while in Australia they don't get too excited about one thing. It's different here. It was hard for me to stay; I was happy at the end of the day that I left!" Viduka said.
After leaving Zagreb, Viduka became a top player and incredibly good. He shone at Celtic, where he scored 30 goals in 37 matches before transferring to Leeds United, with whom he reached the Champions League semifinals. He also excelled at Middlesbrough and Newcastle. From a distance, Viduka claims that even at Celtic, not just at Dinamo, he was largely misunderstood and unnecessarily sidelined.
For the Daily Mail, the great striker said: "Why has so much been misunderstood about me? I still feel that today. The number of people I meet who say, 'You're not what I expected.' I often wonder: Why? I wasn't obsessed with fame at all. I didn't like it. I still don't know. I wasn't obsessed with money; that came as a byproduct."
What Viduka was most criticized for was that immediately after signing for Celtic, he asked for a longer break because 'Zagreb exhausted him.' "Many people in Scotland labeled me, and maybe that's where that perception comes from. But I went through hell in Zagreb. I told Celtic, 'I'm mentally screwed up. I need a break. I don't want to come and hide and take the money.' I was honest with myself and with them. But it comes back to haunt you," Viduka stated.
Perhaps Viduka was unfortunate to play at a time when mental health was still a taboo topic, not only in football but in society as a whole. "I was never ashamed of my conditions," he once added in an interview with British media.
Ahead of the match against Viking, Dinamo posted a birthday message on social media to the fan group BBB, which celebrates 40 years of tradition. "To you, without whom nothing is the same - for 40 years, it hasn't been the same! To you, who never stopped loving and living in blue - not for a second of life, not for a second of any match. To you, because of whom we have the Dinamo we've dreamed of for years. In tradition, in rebellion - always your own, forever Dinamo's! Happy Birthday Purgeri! Happy Birthday BBB group! Dinamo Zagreb above all, Dinamo Zagreb above everyone!" reads the post signed by Zvone Boban.
Dinamo also announced that part of the revenue from the match against Viking will be donated to help those affected by the fires in the hardest-hit areas of Croatia. Tickets for the north stand are on sale at 12 euros for members and 17 euros for other fans, while the other stands are sold out.
