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Ivan Šunjić
Bosnian footballer (born 1996) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Ivan Šunjić (born 9 October 1996) is a Bosnian & Croatian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Cyprus First Division club Pafos and the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team.
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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 Hercegovina, 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.
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Club career
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Early life and club career
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. He moved 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 Ćorić 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 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
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
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
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
Šunjić joined Bundesliga club Hertha Berlin on loan for the 2022–23 season.[26]
Return to Birmingham
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
Šunjić signed for Cyprus First Division club Pafos on 1 August 2024.[30]
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International career
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 in May 2017 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]
With waning opportunity with the Croatia senior side, Šunjić opted to switch his FIFA nationality to Bosnia and Herzegovina, his country of birth. Sergej Barbarez called Šunjić up to 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]
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Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 4 May 2025
- Includes Croatian Cup, FA Cup, DFB-Pokal, Cypriot Cup
- Includes EFL Cup
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Five appearances in UEFA Champions League, eight appearances and one goal in Europa League
- Fourteen appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League, one in Cypriot Super Cup
International
- As of match played 24 March 2025
Honours
Dinamo Zagreb
References
External links
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