Actualization of the historical heritage and sports roots of the Croatian football club Rijeka

Abstract

During the 20th century, the city of Rijeka/Fiume was a part of a number of states, most of which had authoritarian characteristics. The social and political turmoil was reflected in all segments of city life. Sport competitions, especially football, were not spared from those historical intrusions in Rijeka. This paper focuses on the sporting dimension of the issue of coexistence in a multicultural environment. It questions the relationship between politics, society, sports and nationalisms in the Kvarner area. Three different national football championships were played at the Kantrida Stadium: the Italian Divisione Nazionale, Serie B, C, the Yugoslav Federal League and the Croatian Football League. Kantrida witnessed a clash of sporting and political interests; we can therefore observe the social and cultural development of the city of Rijeka through the lens of the former quarry’s transformation. The author tries to answer the question of whether HNK Rijeka is the legitimate successor of Unione sportiva Fiumana, a club formed in 1926 by the merger of Gloria and Olimpia. The paper problematizes the thesis about their identity and answers the question of whether the clubs that functioned in the city in the first half of the 20th century are the direct forerunners of today’s HNK Rijeka. Is the actualization of sports roots an expression of the desire to clearify historical facts, a kind of “rebranding” or an actual invention of a tradition? Considering the complexity of sociopolitical processes, this topic requires a complementary research approach. Following the historical developments in the former Julian region, the author uses the comparative-historical method in drawing analogies between events during a longer time period. He also analyzes the phenomena of football politicization in SFR Yugoslavia. The text structure follows the chronological-problematic principle. By questioning the sports roots of HNK Rijeka as either Austro-Hungarian, Italian or Croatian, the author seeks to confirm the following thesis: social turmoil, national and political pressures had a significant impact on the existence of sports clubs in the city. Consequently, football clubs that existed in Rijeka over the years and regimes - Olimpia, Fiumana and Kvarner/Rijeka - were in different legal positions. HNK Rijeka cannot be deemed as a direct successor of Clubo sportivo Olimpia and Unione sportiva Fiumana. The historical overview is a kind of retrospective of past events on and off the sporting field. The focus of the text is on two periods: the Kingdom of Italy and the FNR Yugoslavia (with subsequent name changes).