No Champions League or Europa League for Ajax this season. Instead, they enter the league phase of the Conference League, starting in Croatia against Hajduk Split on Thursday. Coach Míchel's side beat the Croatian top club in the quarter-finals in 1995 on their way to their famous Champions League triumph. Where do Hajduk Split stand more than 30 years later? Voetbalzone asks journalist Frane Marsic, who follows the club closely for Jutarnji.
By Rian Rosendaal
"Marin Soticek, Michele Sego and Abdoulie Sanyang are in top form at the moment. And then, of course, there is Marko Livaja, who has become an icon of the city and Hajduk's passionate fans in recent years," says Marsic when asked which players Ajax should pay particular attention to on Croatian soil on Thursday. Livaja, a 33-year-old centre-forward, suffered a hamstring injury at the end of September and will have to miss the Conference League encounter.
A familiar name in the Netherlands
Hajduk's coach is a familiar name in the Netherlands. Gonzalo Manuel García García (43) has been in charge of Ajax's opponents since 2025, and they currently top Croatia's 1. HNL. The former Uruguayan midfielder and forward played for AGOVV Apeldoorn, sc Heerenveen, Heracles Almelo, FC Groningen and VVV-Venlo. He later had a brief spell at FC Twente as assistant coach and head coach. "He favours a modern style of play based on plenty of hard work, aggression and intensity, along with attacking intent and a focus on scoring more than the opposition."
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García's task is to bring Hajduk success in Europe this season. Marsic stresses, however, that their Conference League campaign is not an absolute top priority in Split and the surrounding area. "The hope here is that the team will take seven or eight points in the league phase. That is usually enough to finish among the top 24 teams and reach the next round. The approach, though, is to take it one match at a time. It is still too early to make serious predictions about the European matches."
European competition has brought Hajduk precious little joy in recent years. Marsic saw the club go out in the third qualifying round of the Conference League last season. "In recent years, Hajduk have suffered many unexpected European exits and a number of setbacks. They were knocked out by weaker opponents, but this season they finally qualified for the Conference League, secured European football in the autumn for the first time in sixteen years and managed to shed many of the negative labels attached to the club."
An upset against Ajax?
Ajax arrive in football-mad Split on Thursday. "The match against Ajax is probably the most important in the club's modern history. A real spectacle is expected at Poljud. People realise Ajax are the stronger side on paper, but there is also a firm belief that Hajduk can get a good result at Poljud, in front of 35,000 spectators in a sold-out stadium. That would mean taking at least a point, or preferably all three. If the opportunity arises, Hajduk will go all out to cause an upset," Marsic warns the Ajax players.
Imago
Poljud opened in 1979 and hosted Hajduk Split against Ajax in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final in the spring of 1995. The crowd saw no goals that evening. Ajax won the return leg 3-0 to reach the semi-finals. "Older generations of Hajduk supporters reminisce about the meeting with Ajax in 1995, while younger generations want this match to become part of a new chapter in the club's history," the Croatian journalist explains. "In Split, this is seen as the perfect opportunity for revenge against Ajax."
More than three decades later, the balance between the sides is very different. They meet in Europe's third-tier competition this time, rather than the Champions League. Ajax still have people talking in Croatian football circles. "Everyone knows how big a club Ajax are. And this is probably already Hajduk's most important match of the season. But it is also widely known that Ajax had stronger and more talented squads in recent years. Ajax are still favourites, but Hajduk are, of course, looking to cause an upset at home. After all, they have not lost a single match at their own stadium this season," says Marsic, who saw Hajduk beat title rivals Dinamo Zagreb 2-1 last Saturday.
No Dolberg in Split
Hajduk's defence will not have to contend with Kasper Dolberg on Thursday. A serious knee injury appears to have brought the Danish forward's season to a premature end. Tolu Arokodare is normally the man to lead the attack in Split. "Dolberg's absence does little to change Hajduk's assessment of Ajax's strength, given that the Amsterdam side still have players such as Adingra, Arokodare and Amrabat," Marsic says of the Danish striker's absence. "Dinamo Zagreb also had a stronger squad on paper, yet Hajduk managed to surprise them on Saturday. They will do everything they can to repeat that performance against Ajax at Poljud."
Imago
Ajax and Hajduk have met only a handful of times in Europe. In the legendary 1994/95 season, when the Amsterdam club won the league title unbeaten, they knocked out their Croatian opponents in the Champions League quarter-finals. A season earlier, in 1993/94, Ajax lost 1-0 in Split in the first round of what was then the European Cup Winners' Cup. Louis van Gaal's side made amends in the return match, winning 6-0 at the Olympic Stadium.
Three days after Ajax's visit to Split, Hajduk face NK Varazdin, currently second in the Croatian league. Hajduk last won the championship in 2005, 21 years ago. Arch-rivals Dinamo Zagreb have claimed the league title no fewer than nineteen times since then. García can make himself immortal this season at De Witten.