 | ||
| Full name | Prvi hrvatski građanski športski klub | |
|---|---|---|
| Nickname | Purgeri(The Citizens) | |
| Short name | Građanski | |
| Founded | 26 April 1911 | |
| Dissolved | 6 June 1945 | |
| Ground | Stadion Koturaška (1924–1945) | |
| League | Yugoslav Championship (1923–1941) Croatian League (1941–1945) | |
HŠK Građanski (alternatively spelledGradjanski orGradanski), also known as1. HŠK Građanski or fullyPrvi hrvatski građanski športski klub (lit. 'First Croatian Citizens' Sports Club'), was a Croatianfootball club established inZagreb in 1911 and dissolved in 1945. The club had a huge influence on the development offootball in Croatia andKingdom of Yugoslavia and achieved its greatest success in the period between the twoWorld Wars.
In 1911, when Croatia was still part ofAustria-Hungary, Građanski was founded in Zagreb byAndrija Mutafelija and a few of his friends in response to rumors that a football club that was meant to play in the Hungarian football league (as opposed to the Croatian Sports Union) was about to be established in the city. Građanski was therefore founded as amulti-sports club with a distinctly Croatian identity intended to cater to the public ofZagreb, with sections dedicated to football,handball, andcycling.
At first the club used grounds in Zagreb's neighbourhoods ofTuškanac, Martinovka and Kanal, until they built their permanent groundStadion Koturaška, which was officially opened in 1924 byStjepan Radić, a prominent Croatian politician. Although Građanski lost their first ever game to city rivalsHAŠK 1–5, the club soon became popular and widely supported by Zagreb's working class, in contrast to HAŠK, which was an academic sports club affiliated with theUniversity of Zagreb and its students who came to the city from all over the country, and which was more supported by middle class fans.
In the following years, a healthy rivalry developed between the two city clubs. After theYugoslav championship was launched on a national level in 1923, Građanski's greatest rivals outside of Zagreb soon becameBSK Belgrade,SK Jugoslavija, andHajduk Split. During the 1920s and 1930s Građanski became the most popular club in Zagreb and one of the strongest in the nation, having won five Yugoslav championships (1923, 1926, 1928, 1937, 1940).
Internationally, the club went on several successful tours – on one of these, in 1923 inSpain, Građanski beatBarcelona andAthletic Bilbao.[1] The club often touredAustria andHungary and played friendly matches with top local sides there. In 1936 they went on tour toEngland andScotland where they adopted theWMformation which some sources say helped them win the1936–1937 Yugoslav championship.
Hungarian coachMárton Bukovi, who first started using the formation as Građanski manager in 1936, later introduced it to Hungary in the late 1940s. He then modified it into the now famousWW system which brought theHungary national football team to the final game of the1954 World Cup, and which was later exported toBrazil as the 4–2–4 formation.
Građanski also hosted friendlies with international teams touring this part of Europe. In June 1934 Građanski played a match in Zagreb with theBrazil national team which ended in a 0–0 draw, with footballing greats such asLeônidas andWaldemar in their lineup.[2] In May 1936Liverpool FC suffered their first continental defeat in Zagreb, a 5–1 thrashing in front of an audience of 10,000 withAugust Lešnik scoring ahat-trick andBerry Nieuwenhuys claiming a consolation goal for the Reds.[3] In November 1936 the club visited Scotland, and drew 4–4 with Heart of Midlothian atTynecastle Park.
The club competed in theMitropa Cup, a regional European club competition, on three occasions, in1928,1937 and1940. In 1928 Građanski were knocked out in the quarter-final byViktoria Žižkov ofCzechoslovakia with 4–8 on aggregate. Nine years later, Građanski exited early again after suffering a 1–6 aggregate loss toGenova 1893 FBC.[4]
In 1940 Građanski managed to beat theHungarian sideÚjpest FC 5–0 on aggregate in the quarter-final, only to lose toRapid Bucharest in the semi-final. Both legs ended goalless, so a playoff game on neutral grounds inSubotica was played, which ended in a 1–1 draw.[5] Rapid Bucharest progressed to the final on acoin toss, although the tie, againstFerencváros, was never played because of the outbreak of World War II.
After theinvasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941, sports competitions in many parts of the country were suspended. An exception to this was theIndependent State of Croatia (NDH), a regime installed by theAxis powers which controlled most of modern-dayCroatia andBosnia and Herzegovina and which enjoyed relative peace. NDH continued to hold national competitions featuring prominent Croatian clubs.
Four of these wartime championships were started (1941, 1941–42, 1942–43 and 1943–44) but only the second and third editions were actually finished, with Građanski winning the 1942–43 season.[6]
When the war ended in the spring of 1945, the club was formally disbanded by the new communist government, along with their city rivalsHAŠK andConcordia, and a number of smaller lower-tier clubs. The club's last official game was a 2–2 draw against HAŠK on 10 April 1945. In June 1945 theDinamo Zagreb multi-sports society was founded, meant to become the city's new football powerhouse.
The newly established Dinamo club adopted Građanski's colours and nickname, and inherited its pre-war fan base, and in 1969 even introduced a club badge designed to resemble Građanski's old emblem. Dinamo also used Građanski'sStadion Koturaška and Concordia's old ground at present-dayStadion Kranjčevićeva in the 1940s before moving to the upgraded version of HAŠK's former groundStadion Maksimir in 1948, where it remains to this day.
Many former Građanski players continued their career at Dinamo after the war (includingIvan Jazbinšek,August Lešnik,Zvonimir Cimermančić,Milan Antolković) as well as their coachMárton Bukovi, while some others moved toFK Partizan inBelgrade, which was established after the war as the officialYugoslav Army club (these includedFlorijan Matekalo andStjepan Bobek).
Since Zagreb was home to theCroatian-namedNogometni Savez Jugoslavije ("Football Association of Yugoslavia"; NSJ) since its establishment in 1919, and both Građanski as a club, and Zagreb as a city, were regarded as important footballing centers of Yugoslavia (e.g. three of the city's clubs won Yugoslav championship titles in the 1920s and 1930s: Građanski,Concordia andHAŠK).[7] Because of this, Građanski players were often called up for theKingdom of Yugoslavia national team, which played competitive matches atOlympic tournaments, the regionalBalkan Cup, andWorld Cup qualifiers.
In the 1920s twelve Građanski players were called up for Yugoslavia's Olympics teams formed for the 1920, 1924 and 1928 Games. Two of them—Slavin Cindrić andEmil Perška—were at all three Olympic tournaments.
In 1929 the association in Zagreb was dissolved after disagreements between the Zagreb andBelgrade regional branches. In May 1930 the association was moved to Belgrade, where it adopted theSerbian nameFudbalski Savez Jugoslavije (FSJ). In protest, Croatian playersboycotted the national team which was scheduled to compete at the1930 World Cup inUruguay in July. Yugoslavia sent a squad consisting entirely of Serbian players called up from Belgrade clubs, mostly fromBSK Beograd,BASK andSK Jugoslavija.[8]
The team managed to beatBrazil 2–1 andBolivia 4–0 but were then crushed byUruguay 1–6 in the semi-final. Since Yugoslavia failed to qualify for the next two World Cups in 1934 and 1938, this meant that no Croatian players appeared at World Cup tournaments until Yugoslavia's next appearance afterWorld War II at the1950 World Cup in Brazil. By that time Građanski had ceased to exist, althoughStjepan Bobek, who had initially played for Građanski in 1943–1945 before joining the newly formedPartizan after the war, was a key player for Yugoslavia at both 1950 and 1954 World Cups and at the1948 and1952 Olympic tournaments.
The following is a list of Građanski players who earned at least one cap for Kingdom of Yugoslavia national team while playing at the club in the period from 1920 to 1941. Appearances and goals are taken fromFootball Association of Serbia database, and represent players' career totals. During WW2 the fascistIndependent State of Croatia (NDH) fielded its ownFIFA-registered national team which played 15 friendlies with otherAxis powers teams between 1941 and 1944.
The team was largely composed of Građanski players, and initially managed by Jozo Jakopić, director of Građanski. Players who appeared for NDH in that period are marked with †. After the war and dissolution of Građanski some of its players were called up to play for the newly established communistSFR Yugoslavia team. Only four players appeared for all three national teams during this turbulent period –Miroslav Brozović,Zvonimir Cimermančić,Branko Pleše andFranjo Wölfl.
Like Bobek, Brozović moved to Belgrade and continued to play for Partizan after the war, while the other three joined the newly formedDinamo Zagreb. In addition, all except Pleše were part of the Yugoslavia squad at the 1948 Olympics in London which won silver medal.
List of managers:[9]
Milan Graf
Karl Heinlein
Arthur GaskellRichard Kohn
Imre PozsonyiJosef BrandstätterJohann Strnad Robert HaftlGyörgy Molnár
James Donnelly Hans "Anton" RingerMárton Bukovi
