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Published: December 10th 2013
A shade over 10 years after the last arrival in Zagreb, it was time to add the Eternal Derby of Croatia to my footballing catalogue. The recent derby action has been very focussed over the Serb border, but it was now time for a comparison. We were not to know that we would be walking into one of the more controversial weeks in Croat domestic football, since the independent league started. The Man in the Middle was absent. He is always keen to recount the less than fond memories of his last visit, or perhaps he was just embarrassed about the risk of recognition following his finest teapot pose in front of the sponsor boards at the Maksimir. It is worth another look!
Bad Blue Boys & All That Jazz In advance of the eagerly awaited event on Sunday, a familirisation with the long distance bus network of the country was necessary, even if Football Travels with Ross had been disuaded from an excursion to Osjiek in the far east. British Airways were on form and we landed at the very relaxed Zagreb Airport pretty much on time. There was no dashboard riding on the Airport Bus and there was plenty of time to acquire
Stadion Kantrida
Armada Rijeka Graffitithe return tickets to Rijeka and reacquaint ourselves with a sausage diet before the scheduled departure time to Rijeka at 1330 hours.
The Autotrans coach was almost full, as pulled off for Rijeka. There was only one stop at Karlovac – home of the viable alternative to Ojuzsko – and my preferred beer supplier whilst in Croatia. The flat lands in immediate area around Zagreb and Karlovac soon then begin to give way to rolling hills, before a steady climb into the snow belt. The weather had been cold, but bright and sunny and the rise in altitude soon gives way to more artic conditions. The toll motorway was free of snow, but the surrounding roads were still largely covered. The scenery and housing was almost alpine. The overhead gantrys recorded warnings on speed and the temperature. It was soon in minus figures. There was a series of tunnels as we climbed – all branded Viaduct - some of which were of serious length.
The weather conditions continued to deteriorate, until one final tunnel. We emerged on the western side and the snow had gone. The minus figures on the temperature boards had been replaced with positive singles
and the descent into Rijeka began. The 2½ hours had passed fairly quickly and we were on track for the 1600 hours arrival. An aerial satellite view of Rijeka shows the town wedged into the area between the mountains and the sea. The bus pulled off the motorway and descended into a deep ravine. It was a long way down over the side. The town hangs to every available slope on the descent – a kind of Adriatic Valpariso. The bus emerged on a marina area of boats tucked away behind the shore and entered the congested streets of the down town. In the less than 5 minutes we were at the Bus Station – an open area of platforms in front of the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes. The office was the undistinguished door on the right hand side of the block facing the platforms. We entered to reserve our return tickets. The staff were once again English speaking and the 7.45 am bus back to Zagreb existed as we had been advised. The mission accomplished, we headed out to find the hostel. The purchase of the bus tickets was a lot more straightforward.
The hostel was
located less then 5 minutes walk in a main square. We surveyed the square. A friendly local directed us round the corner to what he presumed was the desired hostel. It bore a different name. We walked down the street a couple of minutes, before realising that it was a wrong choice. It transpired we had been directly facing it all along from our original vantage point on the square. The Lounge Hostel Carnevale was at the top of the building facing the main square and was absolutely immaculate. It had been refurbished to a very high standard and was spotlessly clean. The other half’s faith in backpacking would have been restored with facilities such as a full length mirror in the room and hairdryers in the plentiful shower rooms. I thought we might be the only guests, until we spied a member of the Vitoria Guimaraes army when we were acquiring a map. The hostel owner suggested we booked a taxi to the ground to avoid being ripped off by one of the sharks who patrol across Eastern Europe. There would be plenty more shark sightings during the evening – the graffiti depicting we were in the territory of
HNK Rijeka
Armada Rijeka Graffiti the Armada Rijeka.
It was dark as we set off for the ground. We opted to walk – 5 kms wouldn’t kill us – and as long as we kept the sea on our left, we couldn’t go wrong. Floodlights would eventually give the Stadion Kantrida away. The road disturbingly veered away from the sea and up an incline. There was little alternative, except taking a shortcut through a shipyard. The Number 1 bus route indicated we were on the right track. In just under an hour, we had reached our goal. It would be the only one we would see that night.
The Stadion Kantrida was set way below the road and almost on the beach. The lights loomed into view and the odd riot police crew waited patiently. They clearly had no visions of the Vitoria Guimaraes fans causing undue issues. The stadium appears carved out of a stone quarry far beneath. A tarpaulin is erected on top of a stone wall to prevent the casual passer by merely watching from that elevated vantage point. We sought a few gaps for some aerial photography. The majority were walking down the hill on the left hand side
HNK Rijeka
Armada Rijeka Graffiti of the ground. We followed suit. We paused to photograph some Armada graffiti. It was fortunate that it was there really, as some of covered an otherwise under-utilised ticket office. The pause for graffiti examination drew attention to that fact it was occupied and apparently open for business. There were no other customers. The inflated prices probably explained why! The ticket sales girls explained our options – 190 Kuna in Blocks B or D or 140 Kuna on the opposite side under the quarry face. They both should offer decent views of the itch and any Armada display, but we opted for the almost executive Block B. The normal price had been skilfully covered up by a small sticker. Despite the ticket inflation, I was somewhat relieved that the travel arrangements had all gone to plan, we were there and had a ticket in hand. The comfortable feeling evaporated 10 minutes later as we explored the perimeter, when the floodlights cut out and the area was plunged into darkness.
The hamster was coaxed back into his wheel 10 minutes later and the floodlights sprung back into action one by one. We investigated the possibility of food. There can be
no other ground in Europe so devoid of all forms of fast food within a ½ mile radius. An apparent sausage barbeque in the adjacent boatyard turned out to be a private party. Free food did not appear as though it would be forthcoming. When all appeared lost, we spied a bar on the beach which we had overlooked on our route down from the ticket office. It would have been a pleasant pre-match beverage spot in August, but on a cold November evening let’s just say that the fridges for the beer weren’t really required. Alas, no food. The atmosphere was good natured, although on a different day with more feisty opposition it was a little strange that security would allow glass bottles and a beach full of rocks within throwing distance of rival fans.
The Stadion Kantrida is an open bowl on 3 sides. The official capacity is 10,000, although it was only ¾ full on the night. The UEFA advertising board syndrome, no doubt reduced the capacity on the night anyway. We were in the Main Stand with it’s art deco cantilever roof and it’s external staircase. The Armada were away to our left, under the
Stadion Kantrida
Ticket Office - look closely for the 2 windows shadow of a café that is your get out clause if a ticket at HNK Rijeka ever proves elusive. The nominal Vitoria Guimaraes contingent were away to our right, although a further group later revealed themselves in the seats at the far end of the Main Stand. After the effort and planning to get there, the match itself was a disappointment. A 0 – 0 draw. HNK Rijeka looked eager and played some pretty football. The chance eventually came, but a combination of indecision and a lack of ability saw it snuffed out. It ironically fell to Leon Benko, the hot shot of the previous Croatian season. In the end, the Portuguese experience knew enough to contain the European debutants. There were no programmes, but the club shop was sophisticated enough to cater for the pin badge demand.
There are plans for a new Stadium with construction scheduled to commence after the last match of the 2013 / 2014 season. The new one is supposed to be up and running for 2015 / 2016. The setting under the cliff of the stone quarry has awarded the Kantrida the honour of being included in the 2011 CNN survey of unusual
Stadion Kantrida
Armada Rijeka Graffiti grounds of the world - one of only eight. The survey also features the other major "quarry" ground at Braga in Portugal, so the judges were clearly influenced by the stone surroundings.
The walk back to town was shortened by a passing bus. Once again the food options were strangely limited, so given the proximity to Italy and the former roots of Rijeka before World War 2 we settled for a pizza. A brief night time tour of the sights was in order, given our early departure.
Appendix 1 HNK Rijeka 0 Vitoria Guimaraes (Portugal) 0 Stadium: Stadion Kantrida, Rijeka
Europa League Thursday 28 November 2013 1900 Hrs Attendance: 7138
Referee: K Jacobsen (Iceland)
HNK Rijeka: I Vargic, D Knezevic, M Bertosa, L Maric, M Alispahic, M Males, I Tomecak, Z Kyric, I Mocinic, L Benko, A Kramaric
Vitoria Guimaraes: D Jesus, D Addy, J Amorim, A Ba, P Oliveira, A Andre, J Barrientos, A Santos, L Olympio, M Maazou, Tomano
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Rainyb
Lorraine Brecht
Wow! I love old European church architecture!!