Građanski Zagreb
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| Full name | Prvi hrvatski građanski športski klub |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Purgeri (The Citizens) |
| Founded | 26 April 1911 |
| Dissolved | 6 June 1945 |
| Ground | Stadion Koturaška (1924–1945) |
| Capacity | 10,000 |
| League |
Yugoslav League (1923–1940) Croatian League (1940–1945) |
HŠK Građanski Zagreb (alternatively spelled Gradjanski or Gradanski), also known as 1. HŠK Građanski or fully Prvi hrvatski građanski športski klub (English: First Croatian Citizens' Sports Club) was a Croatian football club established in Zagreb in 1911 and dissolved in 1945. The club had a huge influence on the development of football in Croatia and Kingdom of Yugoslavia and achieved its greatest success in the period between the two World Wars.
In 1911, when Croatia was still part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Građanski was founded in Zagreb by Andrija Mutafelija and a few of his friends in response to rumors that a football club that was meant to play in the Hungarian football league (as opposed to the Croatian Sports Union) was about to be established. Građanski was therefore founded as a multi-sports club with a distinctly Croatian identity intended to cater to citizens of Zagreb, with sections dedicated to football, handball and cycling. At first they used grounds in Zagreb's neighbourhoods of Tuškanac, Martinovka and Kanal, until they built their own stadium at Koturaška street, which was officially opened in 1924 by Stjepan Radić, a prominent Croatian politician.
The club lost their first game to city rivals HAŠK (5–1) but it soon became very popular and widely supported by the Zagreb's working class (in contrast to HAŠK, which was an academic sports club and was seen as an upper class club affiliated with the University of Zagreb and its students). In following years, a healthy rivalry developed between the two city clubs, and after the Kingdom of Yugoslavia First League was launched on a national level in 1923, Građanski's greatest rivals outside Zagreb soon became BSK Belgrade and Hajduk Split. During the 1920s and 1930s Građanski became the most popular club in Zagreb as they won five Yugoslav championship titles (1923, 1926, 1928, 1937, 1940 and were runners-up in 1925 and 1939).
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