Leading Croatian side Hajduk mean business despite the absence of key strikers for the Wing Lung Bank Lunar New Year Cup, which kicks off on Thursday. Shortly after arriving in Hong Kong yesterday, the squad was training for their opening match against Ulsan Hyundai of South Korea.
'We want to win as this is going to be a big test before we start the second half of our domestic season,' said coach Robert Jarni, a former Juventus, Real Madrid and Hajduk player and a national soccer legend. 'We have been training hard back home for the last couple of weeks to perform our best in Hong Kong.'
Hajduk drew 2-2 against German side Werder Bremen in a friendly match before coming out, and also won the country's indoor six-a-side tournament during the winter break.
They were in third place when the League went on its winter break. It resumes on February 23. A traditional powerhouse in the country, they have won six Croatian league titles and nine league championships under the Yugoslavia era.
The coach is confident his charges will do well in Hong Kong. 'The weather conditions are fine here and are similar to Croatia and the players know it is an important tournament,' said Jarni. 'The only problem is the time difference as the players need to catch a bit more sleep.'
Talented Nikola Kalinic did not come to Hong Kong due to a hamstring problem. The 20-year-old striker is top of the scoring table with 13 league goals. Another striker, Sinisa Linic, is also absent due to injury. But the side still includes defender Igor Tudor, a Croatian international who has played for Juventus, and Latvian international Maris Verpakovskis, although the latter will be available only for Sunday's second match due to international duty for his country.
