TORCIDA Split - torcida.org

ANTE IVANISEVIC (One of those that formed Torcida)

How did the love towards Hajduk start?

I started going to Stari Plac (stadium) when I was 10 years old. That was the after war period, there was no money, so our main attraction was going to Plac. First game that I remember was Hajduk against English army. That happened 3-4 months after the first game in Bari. Hajduk won 1:0. Slowly everyday on training and with the playing of soccer I started loving Hajduk. Then there was the most important game of that period, Hajduk against CSK from Moscow. Then the Russians were considered one of the best, the whole Split was waiting for that game. That game was supposed to be played in '45 but the game was delayed because they were waiting for the Russian referee to come. We lost that game 2:0 but that referee was biased to his country. Then we started throwing the mud on referee from the east stands, that was great. The old and the young throwed the mud. Thats when that feeling started to grow in me. After that game we started going to games at Plac in groups. Then the Croatian league started then the Yugoslav league...
So the year 1950 started. In the middle of that year there were the talks that there is a group in Zagreb that wants to start supporting, club of supporters that will help Hajduk that year to get to first place. And slowly us and Red Star were at the top. So that game arrived, and about 10 days prior to it we got the letter from Zuvela that we should organize in Split. That they are coming day before, Saturday, and that we should form one supporters group that is going to be called Torcida. 80 percent of them didn't know what Torcida meant. We met with them at Plac and each of us got their own task. My group got the order not to sleep that night, steal the bell from the church of St.Nikola and later on take it back (win or lose). My group had 7 or 8 of us. Now they are all deceased except for myself and Ante Doric. Sime Perkovic, Ticic, Vlado Mikulic, Pocrnjic... Red Star players were located in two hotels, one was in Belvija and the other in Park. We use to wake them up the whole night with a big group. It was raining the whole night but we didn't care and it all lasted until 6 in the morning when we went to wait for Torcida which arrived from Zagreb. The whole city was celebrating... Around 11 AM, we all went to the market where Zuvela had his speech. After that we went to Plac straight away. The game was starting, I think, at 2 PM, but we got their earlier. After the game we were all wet and we still went back to market where the news was read: "Today 28/10 in Split after the long illness our grandmother Red Star (Crvena Zvezda) from Belgrade died. Funeral will be held next week in Belgrade when her grandson Spartak from Subotica will bow to her (Because Spartak was last, Buducnost was second last which was coming in the last round). We were supposed to be the champions in '52 (they stole it from us); '53 because Bear and Vukas were punished so Hajduk didn't in revolt want to play against Sarajevo (Sarajevo got out on the field, Hajduk didn't, so Sarajevo won 3:0 by default, and then in a friendly against Sarajevo, Hajduk won 4:2). We were then still organizes as Torcida. I have to say this, that the people in power back then didn't know what Torcida was, they didn't get the whole thing... That night when the game ended, we went to take back the bell and then near the steps next to hotel Ambassador, the police was waiting for us. They took deceased Simu Perkovica, Ticica, Valentu and myself. They locked us up in UDBA where we spent the night. They let Ticic got straight away because he was a big Syndicate and they let the rest of us go in the morning. In the morning they took us to Coleka, the boss of UDBA in Split. He said "Will I lose my job because of you, goddamn". You will all go to prison if I see you here again. Don't joke around with those things." We were young then so we didn't listen to him too much. We all that time worked on forming Torcida, but those were the different times... People in power didn't like that it was all happening in Split, so then around 60's when there was a war in Alzir (for independence of Alzir from France) and there were some army that called themselves Vilijas, and the craziest was 4. Vilijas. So we adopted the name of 4. Vilija, so we worked under that name for 10 years in Split. Like that we worked really good, we would support our club, travel to away games... But it wasn't travelling as today. When you'd go to Skoplje we'd go on Thursday night so that you can come back home on Tuesday. It's easy to travel now, when you have cars and planes... During 70`s Hajduk became really strong, we had a real president Tito Kirigina, there were also Ante Zaja, Vojko Skrbic and Jere Burazin. Those were the people that led Hajduk with help of the whole city. And the whole city stood behind Hajduk, they all gave when Hajduk needed help. We then already started to act, we got closer to them. They started to understand us. Especially Vojko Skrbic. And then '71 arrived when after 16 years we ended up winning the championship, when at away games we won against Vojvodina and Partizan, there was a huge welcome home celebration. Then Split was a small city and I have a feeling that that celebration was bigger than the last time we came first in the league. And then we started to go normally as Torcida. We then helped Hajduk, in Torcida there were a lot of directors, generals and others who could help...there were powerful people and we'd help Hajduk. Then we would buy stuff / equipment for poor juniors. We then introduced the thing that is now Hajduk's Heart. We would pick at the end of the season the best player, functionaries or the trainer and would give them a watch. It was like today's thing how Torcida gives out Hajduk's Heart.
At the end of 70's, around '77 and '78 we organized a 'Group of friends of Hajduk', we had a lot of members, we organized the travels for away games...we worked phenomenally.
In 80's the life was more difficult, so the less frequent visit to Plac was evident. But still we were the best. Before the games we would have our meetings, we didn't aloud Torcida members to be like today. Every meeting we would give out 400-500 tickets for the game, and they would be happy, they would chant and support...
Now all that has changed, but I can say anything bad about this boys, I understand them...Back then it all functioned good, well it all runs great today too, but this youth can cause too much damage sometimes to Hajduk. They need to work with the more, that all I've go to say. If we only had these kind of rooms that you have now...

Raos in his book states that Hajduk's fans were grouped, those who had the tickets and those who didn't...
We'd like idiots wait like for God for someone older to get us in like his son. Sometimes they would let us in, sometimes not...But back then no one paid the guards. It was an honor to be a guard at Plac. It was all out of love. I remember one fight between the army and our supporters, civilians, when Hajduk played against Vardar (it was somewhere in 50's ) when one guard was beaten up badly, he fought with the army, he had a stick and fought... But couldn't fight with all 20 of them. He was so badly beated up that he had to be 3 months in the intensive care.

Could you get in if you jumped over the fence back then?
The first field was surrounded by barbed wire and wood and you could not get in. Later on they put on a wall and at the top of that there was a glass window, so you could not climb on it. Back then the northern stands was small, only a thousand people could be there, but all of them probably got in some other way without paying.

When did you start using first flags as supporters?
First flags we had were introduced on Dinamo-Hajduk match in 1955 when we won 6:0 in Zagreb. We made about 50 of them. With the help of deceased Ante Majic we made those flags, we sewed them up, and the sticks for flags were done by also deceased Vinko Dragonja who was a wood worker. Then later on when we were in the cup finals with Dinamo in Balgrade, we had 2-3 thousands of flags. Once I went to Zagreb day before the game Hajduk-Dinamo. Deceased Boro Grubisic was with me, we were looking on how a train from Split was entering the station, it was all covered in white, I cried like a kid, that was sometimes during '58 or '60 season. When we played a game of soccer against Dinamo supporters for the first time, we won 2:1.

When did you first start using pyrotechnics?
That was sometimes during 1960. And you know how? It was a bit scary because we didn't know how to use it. One guy Bozo Biocic, from Trogir gave us 2-3 rockets, not flares, but real rockets. He gave us a pistol and showed us how to use it...and it all went ok.

There was a fight when Hajduk played with Sarajevo in '66, was it bad?
The one against Vardar was bigger, the result of the game was bad and the army teased us and the fight started...

So the army provoked the fight, were there any fans of Sarajevo?
No way... Who had the bass to come...There would be only a occasional Red Star supporter who would be quiet...Only we went to Zagreb and Belgrade. We went there, we got beaten up, but also bashed a lot of them. Fuck it, they punch you, you punch them... but they did not come to our city.

Was Hajduk punished because the game was stopped or the chaos after the game?
Yeah because of the chaos after the game, if I remember correctly the referee was Stremecki from Zagreb. After the game the thension was so big that Hajduk's secretary Ivo Vidosevic wanted to bash Stremecki, and this guy was running away from the mass and near the gates he kicked Vidosevic and broke his leg on two places. And Hajduk was punished.

We Played against Belgrade in Rijeka, because we were suspended of playing that game in Split...there was a big show with flares?
That was before the game. Yeah, we surrounded the field, stood near the fence and lit them all at once... It was a great sight, we had about 200 flares... But there were no incidents, we were affrayed that they were gonna punish Hajduk again because of us. I get pissed of when I see now when ultras throw flares on the field and fire fighters are scared of holding it, they all start running around it like its a bomb, when it is harmless. Flares never hurt anyone if you know how to handle it. Never! Only if panic starts...

Did you take flares with you on away games?
Yeah, we always had them, our guys that worked on ships, sailors use to supply them... Now, not long ago Lovre Najev died, sailor. He would always bring a box of them when he returns...

People from Imotski and Sinj?
No, people from Imotski and Sinj were not there...Those from Omis, Stobren, Krilo Jesenice, Klis, Kastel, Solin, Mravincan would come. It was too far away for them to come... I know some people who would walk from Omis to Split for a game.

What was your first antagonism?
I have to say this and I don't care what other say. I hated people from Zagreb more than those from Belgrade. A lot of us from Split use to think the same. You would know that those from Belgrade are against you, while those from Zagreb would pretend that they are with you, and would do / say otherwise behind your back. I can't remember now if it was '63 or '64 when deceased Guzina i Roncevic went to ask them, plea them to lose the game, because if we lost that game we would be out of the league. He comes in and says: We have to fight guys, there is no other way, they won't let us win...and when he said that, he fell down and died. And Roncevic had an infract on that game and a couple of moths later he died. It was all because of that game. We won that game 1:0 I was there, and it is hard to say now if he could save that goal, 80 percent of us that were coming back from Zagreb in a train thought that he let us win. Dinamo fought, they wanted to give us that goal... After that Partizan came, we played 1:1 and stayed in the league... On that game one of our players got the red card because he punched in the head Markovic who wanted to score a goal against us, I can't remember what player it was, but Markovic wanted to score against us. He never liked us.

Other supporters in Split?
Every team was scared to come to Split, especially their fans...

Were there fights with the supporters?
No, only those fights with the military...

I saw some photos, ultras from Celik in Split...
Yeah, that was an important game for them, we didn't want to attack them, they were with us on the same side, back then the police did not separate the supporters like they do today. If those were the fans of Dinamo, Red Star or Partizan, there would be troubles...but you can't touch them, you feel sorry for them, they came here to win.

With Partizan, you had a big incident with the army?
Yes, we attack them... On first two occasions they would attack us, provoke us while this time we attack them. They ran away from us... That fight was because of political reason and 5 months later you could not see one single soldier in the city... It was raining, around 6 am the train arrived. About 500 of Hajduk supporters came from Zagreb. There were about 1000 of us that waited for them. When they arrived there was singing, hugging, like a celebration... Then again we went to Park and Belevija in the city. No one tried to push us away. Police didn't, but later on we moved away around 10 O`clock because people that worked in those hotels asked us nicely.

What songs did you sing?
Tres tres trese se...who touches Hajduk...Most frequent songs were sport songs...and our songs like Marjane, Marjane...like that.

People knew that Torcida from Zagreb is coming...
Yeah, yeah, that was known... We didn't know that Torcida was coming, but a big group of Hajduk supporters from Zagreb... Then later on it was Torcida. Then Doric gave us the flags with the letter T on them. There were not many of that, maybe 100 of them.

How many of you's were there when you walked around the city?
There were 2 or 3 groups. 300 - 500 in each group.

Zuvela ended up in prison and you couldn't talk much about it...
Yes, you couldn't talk much about Zuvela. We were scared, I won't pretend that we were the heroes when we were not... It was that time, some where working, other going to university... I think that those un literate bosses over hyped it, to be more scary that it actually was. That how it all started, one bunt.

How did the party look at it? They didn't understand...
Valenta tried to explain it them, that it was the name of supporters group in Rio de Janeiro... but that didn't work.

When did you start with banners?
Banners where there before, I think about '51., '52.

No one made any troubles?
No, we would carry it around city, and on the stadium. But you couldn't write anything. You could not write in English, because they would not understand it and would not let you place it on the stadium... Once we wrote 'Red Star Died' , we placed FK (Footbal club) in front of it so that it is known that it is against the club not regime, but they took it anyway in from of the theatre.

As far as you can remember, when was the first massive appearance of Torcida on away game?
First massive away game was in 1955 when we went to Zagreb, for a game Dinamo-Hajduk. We had a special train for that game. It was raining like crazy, the tickets were cheap, that was all the work of Jole Vidosevic, who had some connections with in the trains department.

How many Hajduk supporters were there on that game?
If on the stadium there were 30 thousands, then I'm sure that there were 10 thousands of us all together.

When where the smoke box / bombs first introduced?
That started later on, we could have used it before, but we liked flares better. You get the smoke, you can't breathe, nor see the game...we didn't like it.

When did you start using first drums and horns?
Since the start! Since Torcida started we had all kinds of things, like bells, drums, horns. We would take an instrument from a musician and then give it back to them after the game...

'67 and the cup winners...
We were specially preparing for that game. Plac was packed, it was a working day, nice weather and we all wanted to see that trohpy in Split. Torcida then, when we were called 4. Vilaja, organized supporters from each suburb of Split, to take their separate place on the stadium. Not to be like any other time, when we're all together on eastern stands or northern. And we succeeded with that! So we where everywhere you look. After the game, some fans of Sarajevo said that in the first 10 minutes they feared us like crazy. We won the cup and went on to celebrate.

On that game there were flares and smoke bombs?
Yeah, yeah you can see that on the pictures. We had everything.