NK Inter Zaprešić

Nogometni klub Inter Zaprešić is a professional Croatian football club based in Zaprešić, a town northwest of the capital Zagreb. They play in the Druga HNL after they were relegated from the Prva HNL at the end of the 2019–20 season.

Inter Zaprešić
Full nameNogometni klub Inter Zaprešić
Nickname(s)Keramičari (The Ceramists),
Div iz predgrađa (The Giant from the Suburb)
Short nameINT
Founded25 June 1929 (1929-06-25)
(as NK Sava)
GroundStadion ŠRC Zaprešić
Capacity5,228[1]
ChairmanBranko Laljak
ManagerTomislav Ivković
LeagueDruga HNL
2019–20Prva HNL, 10th (relegated)
WebsiteClub website

The team are nicknamed Keramičari (The ceramics makers), because they were sponsored by a ceramics factory through much of their history) or Div iz predgrađa (The giant from the suburb). The team's colours are yellow and blue. Home games at Stadion ŠRC Zaprešić.

History

The club was originally established in 1929 as NK Sava.[2] In 1932 the name was changed to NK Jelačić. After the end of WW2 the club was renamed NK Zaprešić. The club kept that name until 1962, when they were renamed Jugokeramika, after their main sponsor, a local ceramics factory. That same year the club's ground, ŠRC Zaprešić, was built and opened. The club's first notable success came in the 1980s under the tenure of manager Zorislav Srebrić (1985–1990).[2] Up until then the club had spent their entire existence in lower level leagues, but in 1987 they managed to reach the finals of the qualifying playoff for promotion to the Yugoslav Second League (which they lost against fellow Croatian side Šparta from Beli Manastir).[2] In 1987 the east stand of the ground was built, and Jugokeramika's home served as one of the venues for the 1987 Summer Universiade football tournament.

Following Croatia's independence in 1991, Jugokeramika (the factory) changed its name to "Inker" (an acronym for Industrija keramike, Eng: Ceramics Industry) and the club followed suit, adopting the name NK Inker Zaprešić. The club participated in the inaugural season of the newly established Croatian championship and finished fourth, but more memorable was their 1992 Croatian Cup win. The team was managed by Ilija Lončarević and notable players of the cup-winning squad included Croatian internationals Ivan Cvjetković, Krunoslav Jurčić and Zvonimir Soldo.[3] Although this meant that Inker had qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup, UEFA didn't let Croatian clubs to participate in European competitions due to the ongoing war, so Inker missed out on their first ever chance to participate in continental competitions. However, the club holds the distinction of playing the first ever international club match hosted by a Croatian club since Croatian independence, a friendly against Sturm Graz played in February 1992, and they were also the first Croatian side to play abroad, when they played a friendly against Brighton & Hove Albion in England in the summer of 1991.[2]

In the following years the club's performances rapidly declined and in 1997 they were relegated to 2. HNL, and in 1999 further down to 3. HNL. The year 2000 proved to be a turning point, and in 2001 they bounced back to second level and in 2003 got promoted back to top level after six years of absence. In 2003 their main sponsor the ceramics factory Inker ceased sponsoring the club, so the club was renamed once again, to Inter Zaprešić. In the 2004–05 season they finished runners-up in the league, which is still their record-high finish. The following season Inter finally debuted in European competitions, but were knocked out in their first tie by Serbian side Red Star 7–1 on aggregate in the second qualifying round of the 2005–06 UEFA Cup, with Srđan Pecelj scoring Inter's only European goal to date.[4] Inter's success between 2002 and 2005 was largely helped by players who were loaned from Croatian powerhouse Dinamo Zagreb (such as Luka Modrić, Vedran Ćorluka and Eduardo), so Inter's fortunes changed again once again after they were recalled to Dinamo. They slipped down to second level again in 2006, but managed to win promotion immediately in the 2006–07 season. The following years were a struggle and the main goal was to preserve Prva HNL status except in 2010–11 when the club surprisingly finished 5th overall. In 2013, they slipped down, for the third time in their history, to Druga HNL. As of 2015–16 season they play in Prva HNL again.

Name changes
  • NK Sava (1929–1932)
  • HŠK Jelačić (1932–1945)
  • NK Zaprešić (1945–1962)
  • NK Jugokeramika (1962–1991)
  • NK Inker Zaprešić (1991–2003)
  • NK Inter Zaprešić (2003–present)

Supporters

Because of Zaprešić's geographic proximity to Zagreb, the hometown of GNK Dinamo Zagreb , Inter Zaprešić always struggled to attract people to games. Nevertheless, throughout the years, a group of fans managed to organise themselves into the supporters group called Divlje Svinje (Wild Pigs).[5]

History

In 1990's, some members of Bad Blue Boys who wanted a new challenge came together and cheered using the flares during the game of Inter Zaprešić. Few days later, the picture of them was released in daily newspapers and the event is known as the day when Wild Pigs were formed.[5] More and more people were joining the group on a game to game basis. In 1991, Wild Pigs were formally registered as a citizen association in Zaprešić.

At the end of the 1996–97 season, Inter Zaprešić was relegated to a lower level and members of Wild Pigs started to give up with organised support and those left did not have enough patience and will to go on. As more and more members were leaving the group, eventually it has fallen apart.

At the end of the 2002–03 season, Inter Zaprešić came back to the top tier of Croatian football after playing 6 years in lower divisions. That was the spark needed for forming Wild Pigs once again. During 2004–05, Inter Zaprešić was a contender for the national championship which was the huge boost to fanbase and membership of the group. Several records were broken that year for the club, especially in attendance category.

Just a year after, at the end of 2005–06 season, Inter Zaprešić was relegated once again to lower division. The existence of the group was in question, just like in 1997. But this time, the group did not fall apart.[5]

Reviving the group

In 2012/13, the group was revived by the younger fans who organised cheering during the first home game in the second part of season. Eventually, club had support in every home and away game. At the end of the season, Inter Zaprešić was relegated to a lower division, but Wild Pigs continued with their effort to support the team.

Honours
Croatian First League
Croatian Second League
Croatian Cup
Croatian Super Cup

Recent seasons
Season League Cup European competitions Top goalscorer
Division P W D L F A Pts Pos Player Goals
1992 1. HNL 22 10 6 6 37 19 26 4th W Igor Čalo 7
1992–93 1. HNL 30 9 9 12 35 31 27 9th SF Ivan Cvjetković 6
1993–94 1. HNL 34 17 8 9 48 34 42 4th R2 Renato Jurčec 11
1994–95 1. HNL 30 11 6 13 41 41 39 7th R2 Renato Jurčec 12
1995–96 1. HNL 36 9 11 16 36 53 43(5) 13th QF Tomislav Žitković 8
1996–97 1. HNL 30 6 3 21 22 65 21 16th ↓ QF Siniša Odorjan 8
1997–98 2. HNL 32 21 4 7 62 29 67 4th R1
1998–99 2. HNL 36 3 5 28 25 103 14 19th ↓ R1
1999–00 3. HNL 28 11 4 13 50 47 37 6th R1
2000–01 3. HNL 30 22 0 8 88 43 66 2nd ↑ QF
2001–02 2. HNL 30 11 8 11 46 40 41 8th R2
2002–03 2. HNL 32 23 3 6 79 30 72 1st ↑ R2
2003–04 1. HNL 32 11 9 12 40 38 42 8th R1 Ivica Karabogdan 10
2004–05 1. HNL 32 15 9 8 44 39 54 2nd R1 Bernard Gulić
Davor Piškor
Zoran Zekić		 5
2005–06 1. HNL 32 8 7 17 30 53 31 12th ↓ R2 UEFA Cup QR2 Tomislav Gondžić 6
2006–07 2. HNL 30 21 5 4 60 28 68 1st ↑ QF Bernard Gulić 19
2007–08 1. HNL 33 8 9 16 27 59 33 11th QF Davor Kukec 6
2008–09 1. HNL 33 9 9 15 41 50 36 9th R2 Ilija Sivonjić 8
2009–10 1. HNL 30 10 3 17 36 50 33 13th R2 Mario Grgurović
Miroslav Šarić		 5
2010–11 1. HNL 30 12 6 12 31 35 42 5th R2 Aleksandar Trajkovski 4
2011–12 1. HNL 30 11 5 14 33 33 38 11th R2 Ante Budimir
Tomislav Šarić		 6
2012–13 1. HNL 33 8 11 14 36 41 35 10th ↓ R1 Mislav Oršić 12
2013–14 2. HNL 33 16 5 12 47 32 53 3rd QF Ilija Nestorovski 22
2014–15 2. HNL 30 17 7 6 48 25 58 1st ↑ R1 Ilija Nestorovski 23
2015–16 1. HNL 36 11 14 11 39 48 47 5th QF Ilija Nestorovski 25
2016–17 1. HNL 36 5 13 18 26 57 28 8th QF Jakov Puljić 11
2017–18 1. HNL 36 11 10 15 44 63 43 7th QF Komnen Andrić
Vlatko Blažević		 8
2018–19 1. HNL 36 9 4 23 40 84 31 8th SF Komnen Andrić 10
2019–20 1. HNL 36 3 8 25 32 72 17 10th ↓ QF Serder Serderov 9
Key
League: P = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; Pts = Points won; Pos = Final position;
Cup / Europe: PR = Preliminary round; QR = Qualifying round; R1 = First round; R2 = Second round; Group = Group stage; QF = Quarter-final; SF = Semi-final; RU = Runner-up; W = Competition won;

European record

Summary
Competition Pld W D L GF GA Last season played
UEFA Cup 2 0 0 2 1 7 2005–06
Total 2 0 0 2 1 7

Source: uefa.com, Last updated on 10 September 2010
Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against. Defunct competitions indicated in italics.

By season
Season Competition Round Opponent Home Away Agg.
2005–06 UEFA Cup QR2 Red Star Belgrade 1–3 0–4 1–7

Player records

Current squad
As of 28 January, 2021[7]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
3 DF  CRO Tom Plezier
4 DF  CRO Damir Grgič
5 DF  GER Stjepan Vego
6 DF  CRO Ivan Nekić
7 FW  CRO Mihael Bencic
8 MF  CRO Mateo Dunic
9 MF  CRO Martin Sroler
12 GK  CRO Ivan Krizanovic
14 DF  CRO Nikola Soldo
15 MF  SEN Pape Assane (on loan from Lokomotiva Zagreb)
16 MF  CRO Damir Magdic (on loan from Dinamo Zagreb)
17 MF  CRO Silvio Gorican (on loan from Lokomotiva Zagreb)
No. Pos. Nation Player
18 DF  CRO Gordan Barić
19 FW  CRO Bruno Zdunic (on loan from Lokomotiva Zagreb)
20 DF  CRO Luka Uzelac
21 MF  CRO Marko Vranjkovic (on loan from Lokomotiva Zagreb)
22 FW  CRO Ivan Abramović
22 DF  CRO Gordan Barić
23 DF  CRO Matija Benčić
24 DF  CRO Luka Leon Kovač
25 MF  CRO Marko Uzelac
28 MF  CRO Tomislav Mazalović
29 MF  CRO Lovro Dobric (on loan from Lokomotiva Zagreb)
35 GK  CRO Mladen Matković

Notable players

The following Inter players have been capped at full international level. Years in brackets indicate their spells at the club.

     

Current technical staff

As of July 2017[8]

Position Staff
Manager Željko Petrović
Assistant manager Branko Lađević
Technical director Igor Džanko
Goalkeeping coach Dragutin Pavalić
First team doctor Tomislav Vlahović
Marko Matoic
Physiotherapist Ante Božić
Nikola Fotivec
Academy manager Srećko Bogdan

Source: inter.hr

Managerial history

References
  1. ŠRC Zaprešić, www.inter.hr Archived 22 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  2. "NK Inter Zaprešić – Povijest kluba" (in Croatian). NK Inter Zaprešić. Archived from the original on 25 June 2010. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  3. Purić, Bojan (7 February 2000). "Croatian Cup Finals 1992–1999". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  4. "NK Inter Zaprešić – Profile". UEFA.com. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  5. "Divlje Svinje – povijest" (in Croatian). NK Inter Zaprešić. Archived from the original on 3 July 2013. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
  6. Matasović, Brunislav (12 July 2005). "2004–05 in Croatian Football". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  7. "Igrači" (in Croatian). NK Inter Zaprešić. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  8. "Stručni stožer" (in Croatian). NK Inter Zaprešić. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
  9. "Raskid s Petrovićem, odbačene špekulacije". inter.hr. 10 April 2020. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
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