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Ivan Šunjić

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Ivan Šunjić
Šunjić with Birmingham City in 2019
Personal information
Full name Ivan Šunjić[1]
Date of birth (1996-10-09) 9 October 1996 (age 28)[2]
Place of birth Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)[2]
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Pafos
Number 26
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2015 Dinamo Zagreb 1 (0)
2015–2016 Dinamo Zagreb II 30 (1)
2016–2018 Lokomotiva 51 (4)
2018–2019 Dinamo Zagreb 24 (0)
2018 → Lokomotiva (loan) 11 (3)
2019–2024 Birmingham City 160 (7)
2022–2023 → Hertha BSC (loan) 20 (0)
2024– Pafos 10 (2)
International career‡
2012 Croatia U16 6 (0)
2012–2013 Croatia U17 21 (0)
2013–2014 Croatia U18 4 (0)
2014–2015 Croatia U19 8 (3)
2014–2019 Croatia U21 18 (1)
2017 Croatia 1 (0)
2024– Bosnia and Herzegovina 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:17, 19 November 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 12:18, 20 November 2024 (UTC)

Ivan Šunjić (born 9 October 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Cyprus First Division club Pafos and the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team.

He previously played domestically for Dinamo Zagreb and Lokomotiva, joined English club Birmingham City in 2019, spent the 2022–23 season on loan to Bundesliga club Hertha BSC, and was released at the end of the 2023–24 season.

Šunjić was born in Bosnia and emigrated to Croatia as a young child. He was a regular selection for Croatia's youth teams from under-16 through to under-21 level, and was capped once for the senior team in 2017. In 2024, he switched his allegiance to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Club career

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Early life and club career

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Šunjić was born on 9 October 1996 in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina.[2] He and his family – father Jozo, mother Aleksandra, and older brother Nikola[3]  – moved from their home in Kakanj to Zagreb, Croatia, in 2000.[4]

Šunjić began his football career in the youth ranks of NK Špansko, moved on to NK Zagreb in 2009, and joined Dinamo Zagreb at Cadet level in 2012.[5][6] The 18-year-old Šunjić made his senior debut for Dinamo Zagreb on 10 May 2014, replacing Ante Coric after 59 minutes of a 2–1 defeat away to Istra in the Prva NL, straight after Jozo Šimunović had been sent off and Istra had tied the scores via the ensuing penalty. With the league title already secured, Dinamo fielded a weakened side for the match, with many of the regular first-team players rested between the two legs of the 2014 Cup Final.[7][8] He helped Dinamo II gain promotion from the Tréca NL in 2014–15 [hr] and played regularly for them in the Druga NL, but his first-team involvement was limited to 25 minutes in an early round of the 2015–16 Croatian Cup before he moved on.[6]

Lokomotiva Zagreb

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After appearing only for the reserves, he joined Lokomotiva on 10 February 2016.[9] On 13 May 2017, he scored his first goal for the club in the dying minutes of a 2–0 league victory over Inter Zaprešić.[10] Ahead of the 2017–18 season, Šunjić was made the club captain.[11] On 15 September, he scored the winning goal in the final minutes of a 1–0 league victory against Cibalia.[12]

On 12 February 2018, Šunjić rejoined Dinamo Zagreb and signed a contract until 15 June 2023. However, at the same time, he was loaned to Lokomotiva for the rest of the season.[13]

Dinamo Zagreb

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He returned to Dinamo Zagreb for the 2018–19 season and featured 41 times in all competitions. He made 8 appearances in the Europa League, scoring in a 4–1 win over Fenerbahçe on 20 September 2018[2][14] and starting in Dinamo Zagreb's impressive 1–0 first leg win against Benfica in the round of 16 of the Europa League on 7 March.[15] He was suspended for the second leg, in which Dinamo Zagreb were eliminated.[16] Šunjić made 30 league appearances as Dinamo Zagreb finished as champions, and scored a 90th-minute goal in the Croatian Cup semifinal against Osijek that secured a 2–0 win.[17] He started in the final, which Dinamo Zagreb lost 3–1 to Rijeka.[18]

Birmingham City

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On 26 July 2019, Šunjić signed a five-year contract with Birmingham City of the English Championship. The officially undisclosed fee was reported as €7 million.[19][20] He made his debut as a second-half substitute in Birmingham's opening fixture of the season, a 1–0 win away against Brentford on 3 August 2019.[21] His "rasping rising 20-yard shot which flew into the net" to tie the scores away to Derby County won him the Championship Goal of the Month award for October,[22] but Birmingham lost the match.[23] Three months into the season, the Birmingham Mail rated his performance at 9/10, describing him as "imposing and dynamic" and suggesting that "the destructive side of his game [had] gone up a level",[24] Interviewed during the first COVID-19 lockdown, Šunjić felt satisfied by his season thus far, despite dips in form which he felt inevitable in a "fast, physical league" with many games, but admitted there were areas in which he could improve.[25] He finished the season with 44 appearances (40 starts).[23]

Hertha Berlin loan

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Šunjić joined Bundesliga club Hertha Berlin on loan for the 2022–23 season.[26]

Return to Birmingham

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Šunjić was a first-team regular during the 2023–24 season as Birmingham were relegated to the third tier for the first time in nearly 30 years.[27][28] He was released at the end of the season.[29]

Pafos

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Šunjić signed for Cyprus First Division club Pafos on 1 August 2024.[30]

International career

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Šunjić was included in Croatia's squad for the 2013 Under-17 World Cup, and played all three group matches.[31]

Šunjić was called up to the senior national team for a friendly match against Mexico in the United States on 28 May. He played the whole of the match, in which an inexperienced Croatia team comprising largely debutants and reduced to ten men secured a 2–1 victory against a relatively strong Mexican side.[32][33]

He captained Croatia at the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championships and played all three of their matches.[19][18]

Sergej Barbarez called Šunjić up for the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team for Nations League A matches against Germany and the Netherlands in November 2024.[34] He made his debut on 16 November, starting in central midfield against Germany at Europa-Park Stadion, Freiburg, and played 74 minutes as Germany won 7–0, a Nations League record.[35]

Career statistics

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Club

[edit]
As of match played 10 November 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Dinamo Zagreb 2013–14[18] Prva HNL 1 0 0 0 — 0 0 1 0
2014–15[18] Prva HNL 0 0 0 0 — 0 0 0 0
2015–16[18] Prva HNL 0 0 1 0 — 0 0 1 0
Total 1 0 1 0 — 0 0 2 0
Dinamo Zagreb II 2014–15 [hr][6] Tréca HNL West 18 1 — — — 18 1
2015–16[18] Druga HNL 12 0 — — — 12 0
Total 30 1 — — — 30 1
Lokomotiva 2015–16[18] Prva HNL 10 0 — — — 10 0
2016–17[18] Prva HNL 23 1 1 0 — 6[c] 0 30 1
2017–18[18] Prva HNL 29 6 3 0 — — 32 6
Total 62 7 4 0 — 6 0 72 7
Dinamo Zagreb 2018–19[18] Prva HNL 24 0 4 1 — 13[d] 1 41 2
2019–20[18] Prva HNL 0 0 — — 1[e] 0 1 0
Total 24 0 4 1 — 14 1 42 2
Birmingham City 2019–20[23] Championship 40 3 4 0 0 0 — 44 3
2020–21[36] Championship 43 0 1 0 1 0 — 45 0
2021–22[37] Championship 41 3 1 0 2 0 — 44 3
2023–24[27] Championship 36 1 2 0 2 0 — 40 1
Total 160 7 8 0 5 0 — 173 7
Hertha BSC (loan) 2022–23[18] Bundesliga 18 0 1 0 — — 19 0
Pafos 2024–25[18] Cypriot First Division 10 2 0 0 — 8[f] 0 18 2
Career total 305 17 18 1 5 0 28 1 356 19
  1. ^ Includes Croatian Cup, FA Cup, DFB-Pokal
  2. ^ Includes EFL Cup
  3. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  4. ^ Five appearances in UEFA Champions League, eight appearances and one goal in Europa League
  5. ^ Appearance in Champions League
  6. ^ Seven appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League, one in Cypriot Super Cup

International

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Šunjić with Croatia U19 in 2015
As of match played 19 November 2024
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Croatia[38] 2017 1 0
Bosnia and Herzegovina[39] 2024 2 0
Total 3 0

Honours

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Dinamo Zagreb

References

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  1. ^ "Notification of shirt numbers: Birmingham City" (PDF). English Football League. p. 4. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d "Ivan Šunjić". Dinamo Zagreb. Archived from the original on 26 July 2019. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  3. ^ Olivari, Davorin (26 July 2019). "'Odlazi ovdade!' Kako je jedan naš nekad slavni klub zbog nevjerojatno bizarnog razloga potjerao hrvatskog reprezentativca" ['Get out of here!' How one of our once famous clubs chased a Croatian international for an incredibly bizarre reason]. Jutarnji list (in Croatian). Zagreb. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  4. ^ Smailagić, Kemal (14 November 2024). "Ivan Šunjić novi Zmaj" [Ivan Šunjić the new Dragon]. Dnevni bilten (in Bosnian). Kakanj, Bosnia. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  5. ^ "Ivan Sunjic: Laufbahn" [Ivan Sunjic: Timeline]. kicker (in German). Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  6. ^ a b c "Semafor: Ivan Šunjić: Statistika po sezonama" [Semafor: Ivan Šunjić: Statistics by season] (in Croatian). Croatian Football Federation. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  7. ^ Matteoni, Robert (10 May 2014). "Dinamova mladost ipak nije izdržala! Istra stigla do slavlja u 'revijalnoj' utakmici u Puli!" [Dinamo's youth did not last! Istria reached the point of celebration in the 'exhibition' match in Pula!]. Sportske novosti (in Croatian). Zagreb. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
  8. ^ L.Š. (10 May 2014). "Istra preokretom slavila protiv Mamićevih juniora" [Istra celebrated with a reversal against Mamić's juniors]. Index.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 19 November 2024.
  9. ^ Propadalo, Karlo (10 February 2016). "Ivan Šunjić raskinuo ugovor s Dinamom i odmah potpisao za Lokomotivu" [Ivan Šunjić terminated the deal with Dinamo and immediately signed for Lokomotiva]. Nogomet Plus (in Croatian). Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  10. ^ "PRVA HNL Lokomotiva – Inter 2–0". Nacional (in Croatian). Zagreb. 13 May 2017. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  11. ^ Škrlec, Silvijo (9 December 2017). "Nakon Šunjićeva izbora Soudanijeva prednost još se povećala" [After Šunjić's election, Soudani's favor has increased] (in Croatian). T Portal. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  12. ^ Grgić, Antun (15 September 2017). "Vinkovčani imali bod u džepu, a onda se pojavio Šunjić i sve pokvario" [Vinkovci had a point in their pocket, and then Sunjic appeared and everything broke down]. Glas Slavonije (in Croatian). Osijek. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  13. ^ "Ivan Šunjić potpisao za Dinamo, ostaje u Lokomotivi do kraja sezone" [Ivan Sunjic signed for Dinamo, staying with Lokomotiva until the end of the season]. Nogomet Plus (in Bosnian). 12 February 2018. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  14. ^ "Fenerbahçe lose to Dinamo Zagreb in UEFA Europa League". Hürriyet Daily News. Anadolu. 21 September 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  15. ^ "UEFA Europa League – Dinamo Zagreb–Benfica". UEFA. 7 March 2019. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  16. ^ Rogulj, Daniela (14 March 2019). "Dinamo Zagreb exit Europa League after round of 16 loss to Benfica". Total Croatia News. Archived from the original on 7 December 2022. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  17. ^ Rogulj, Daniela (25 April 2019). "Rijeka and Dinamo to meet in final of Croatian Cup". Total Croatia News. Archived from the original on 3 November 2022. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  18. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "I. Šunjić". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
  19. ^ a b "Ivan Sunjic: Birmingham City sign Dinamo Zagreb midfielder on five-year deal". BBC Sport. 26 July 2019. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  20. ^ Husband, Ben (26 July 2019). "Birmingham City have record bid accepted for Leeds United target – reports". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  21. ^ "Brentford 0–1 Birmingham City". BBC Sport. 3 August 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  22. ^ "Birmingham midfielder Ivan Sunjic wins Sky Bet Championship Goal of the Month award for September". Sky Sports. 18 October 2019. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  23. ^ a b c "Games played by Ivan Šunjić in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  24. ^ Dick, Brian (15 November 2019). "Camp, Colin and Bellingham – How Birmingham City's players rate this season". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  25. ^ Chapman, Joseph (24 April 2020). "Birmingham City star nails what we've all been thinking with blunt admission". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  26. ^ "Ivan Sunjic joins Hertha Berlin on loan". Birmingham City F.C. 5 July 2022. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  27. ^ a b "Games played by Ivan Šunjić in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
  28. ^ Dicken, Alex (4 May 2024). "Alex Dicken's player ratings after Birmingham City relegated despite Norwich win". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  29. ^ "Blues publish retained and released players". Birmingham City F.C. 18 May 2024. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  30. ^ "Ivan Šunjić – Welcome to Pafos FC!". Pafos FC. 1 August 2024. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  31. ^ "FIFA Tournaments: Players and coaches: Ivan Sunjic". FIFA. Archived from the original on 11 September 2015. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  32. ^ Halar, Ivan; Hina (28 May 2017). "Hrvatska s 'D momčadi' i igračem manje senzacionalno pobijedila Meksiko" [Croatia with a 'D team' and a player less sensationally beat Mexico]. Večernji list (in Croatian). Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  33. ^ Rogulj, Daniela (28 May 2017). "Against all odds: young Croatian side defeats Mexico in Los Angeles!". Total Croatia News. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  34. ^ "Barbarez announces roster for November matches". Bosnia and Herzegovina Football Federation. 5 November 2024. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  35. ^ "Germany set Nations League record with 7–0 rout of Bosnia". ESPN.com. Reuters. 16 November 2024. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  36. ^ "Games played by Ivan Šunjić in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
  37. ^ "Games played by Ivan Šunjić in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
  38. ^ "Ivan Šunjić". Croatian Football Federation. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  39. ^ "Ivan Šunjić". EU-football.info. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
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