Gennaro Gattuso's future at Hajduk questioned by Igor Štimac

Igor Štimac, the former Croatian national team coach and recently the head coach of India, has not held back in his critique of the current state of Hajduk Split.

The bronze-winning player from the 1998 World Cup recently ended his five-year stint in India and shared his views on various topics, including Hajduk's latest moves, during an appearance on Podcast Inkubator.

Gennaro Gattuso took over as Hajduk's coach less than a month ago, and there have been rumors about the possible signings of Edin Džeko and Ivan Rakitić. However, Štimac believes this is not the right direction for the club.

"History has shown that only local coaches win championships with Hajduk. The same goes for players; look at the last team that won the championship in 2005. Thirty-five million euros were spent on that farce of a spring season. The problem isn't with the coach or the sporting director; it's with the management model," Štimac stated.

He continued: "Coaches, presidents, and supervisory boards have changed, but the model hasn't. Hajduk won't thrive until this changes. They are facing a tough financial year, needing to sell Pukštas and Sigur, but it's already being said that those contracts are pledged, and the money spent. There's debt to private individuals and debt from last year."

Regarding Gattuso, Štimac expressed skepticism about his longevity at the club: "I don't know how long Gattuso will stay. I think he'll find an excuse to leave when the first paycheck is late."

He also questioned Gattuso's coaching impact: "Who is he going to transfer his passion to? Odidja? Look at the team's age last year; Hajduk has become a retirement home. Is that Hajduk? After such a strong generation of juniors, you have the oldest and highest-paid team. The entire sports policy needs to change!" emphasized the former Croatian international.