Ajax warned about Hajduk Split, a formidable side at home | Goal.com
No Champions League or even Europa League for Ajax this season. Instead, they face the league phase of the Conference League, starting in Croatia against Hajduk Split on Thursday. Ajax beat the Croatian club in the 1995 quarter-finals on their way to their famous Champions League triumph. How are Hajduk faring 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's Marko Livaja, who has become an icon of the city and Hajduk's passionate fans in recent years," says Marsic when asked who Ajax should watch on Thursday. Livaja, a 33-year-old centre-forward, sustained a hamstring injury at the end of September and will miss the Conference League encounter.
A familiar name in the Netherlands
Hajduk's coach knows Dutch football well. Gonzalo Manuel García García, 43, has led 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 spent a brief spell at FC Twente as assistant coach and head coach. "He favours a modern style of play based on a strong work ethic, aggression and intensity, alongside attacking intent and a focus on scoring more than the opposition."
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Conference League
15 Oct 2026
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García's task is to bring Hajduk success in Europe this season, though Marsic says the Conference League is not the top priority in Split and the surrounding area. "The hope here is that the team will pick up 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 campaigns have brought Hajduk little joy in recent years. Marsic watched them go out in the third qualifying round of the Conference League last season. "In recent years, Hajduk have suffered many unexpected European exits and setbacks. The club were knocked out by weaker opponents, but this season they finally managed to qualify for the Conference League, secured European football in the autumn for the first time in sixteen years and managed to shake off many of the negative labels attached to the club."
An upset against Ajax?
Ajax visit football-mad Split on Thursday with Hajduk eyeing a result. "The match against Ajax is probably the most important in the club's modern history. And a real spectacle is expected at Poljud. People realise that 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 chance arises, Hajduk will go all out for an upset," Marsic says.
Imago
Opened in 1979, the iconic Poljud also hosted Hajduk Split against Ajax in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final in the spring of 1995. Neither side scored that night. 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, they meet in the third tier of European competition rather than the Champions League. Ajax still command attention 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 have had stronger and more talented squads in recent years. Ajax are still favourites, but Hajduk are, of course, looking to pull off an upset at home. After all, they have not lost a single match at their own stadium this season," says Marsic, who watched Hajduk beat title rivals Dinamo Zagreb 2-1 last Saturday.
No Dolberg in Split
Hajduk's defence will not have to face Kasper Dolberg on Thursday. A serious knee injury appears to have ended the Danish forward's season prematurely. Tolu Arokodare is normally expected to lead the attack in Split. "Dolberg's absence changes little about how Hajduk assess Ajax's strength, as 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, but Hajduk still managed to surprise them on Saturday. They will do everything they can to achieve the same 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, Ajax 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 responded with a 6-0 win in the return match at the Olympic Stadium.
Three days after Ajax visit Split, Hajduk face NK Varazdin, currently second in the Croatian league. Domestic success has been a long time coming: Hajduk last won the championship in 2005, 21 years ago. Arch-rivals Dinamo Zagreb have claimed the league title nineteen times since then. García can make himself immortal at De Witten.
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