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NK Inter Zaprešić

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This article is about football club dissolved in 2022. For club founded in 2022 as informal successor of Inter Zaprešić, see NK Inker Zaprešić.

Nogometni klub Inter Zaprešić was a Croatian professional football club based in Zaprešić, a town northwest of the capital Zagreb.

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; 95 years ago (1929-06-25)
(as NK Sava)
Dissolved21 July 2022 (2022-07-21)
GroundStadion ŠRC Zaprešić
Capacity5,228[1]
PresidentBranko Laljak

The team were 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 Ivan Laljak-Ivić Stadium. On 20 July 2022, Inter has dissolved due to financial issues.[2]

History

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Early years and "Jugokeramika"

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The club was originally established in 1929 as NK Sava.[3] 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).[3] 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).[3] 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.

"Inker" era

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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.[4] Although this meant that Inker had qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup, Croatian clubs couldn't 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.[3] 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 club got promoted back to top level by winning its first Druga HNL title.

League success

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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.[5] 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 in 2006, but managed to win promotion immediately in the 2006–07 season when club won its second Druga HNL title. 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.

Recent years

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In 2014, club hired Samir Toplak. Primary goal was to secure promotion, which Toplak accomplished by winning club's third Druga HNL title and got promoted to Prva HNL. Following season, club exceeded expectations by finishing 5th. Successful campaign was led by Ilija Nestorovski, who scored 25 league goals making him the league's top scorer. In 2019, in the eve of COVID-19 pandemic, club started restructuring to a sports stock company.[6] New ownership structure sacked Toplak after five and a half years in charge, longest serving Prva HNL coach to this date, and appointed Željko Petrović.[7] As pandemic reached Croatia, restructuring was never completed. Pandemic, ownership turmoil and managerial changes took effect on team performance which finished last in 2019–20 Prva HNL campaign, ending a five-year top flight spell.

Name changes

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  • NK Sava (1929–1932)
  • HŠK Jelačić (1932–1945)
  • NK Zaprešić (1945–1962)
  • NK Jugokeramika (1962–1991)
  • NK Inker Zaprešić (1991–2003)
  • NK Inter Zaprešić (2003–2022)

Supporters

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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).[8]

History

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In the 1990s, 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.[8] 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 who 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. [citation needed]

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.[8]

Reviving the group

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In 2012–13, the group was revived by 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

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Recent seasons

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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
2020–21 2. HNL 34 12 9 13 49 41 45 10th R1 Martín Šroler 9
2021–22 2. HNL 34 13 9 8 34 29 48 3rd R1 Dominik Rešetar 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

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Summary

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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

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

Player records

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Current squad

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As of 13 April 2022[10]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK   CRO Luka Ivan Lukic
3 MF   CRO Branimir Barišić
4 DF   CRO Luka Jelenic
5 FW   KSA Abdulah Bader A Mahbub
6 DF   CRO Ivan Nekić
8 MF   CRO Ivan Jajalo
9 FW   CRO Matija Kanceljak
10 MF   CRO Nikola Rak
11 MF   CRO Lovro Banovec
12 GK   CRO Ivan Križanović
13 DF   CRO Nino Vukasović (on loan from Dinamo Zagreb)
15 DF   CRO Luka Dumančić
16 MF   CRO Damir Magdić
No. Pos. Nation Player
17 FW   CRO Mateo Plehan
20 DF   CRO Luka Uzelac
23 MF   CRO Ilan Pejić
24 FW   CRO Dominik Rešetar
25 MF   CRO Marko Uzelac
26 DF   KSA Bandar Derwish W Ahmed
27 FW   CRO Filip Soldo
28 MF   CRO Tomislav Mazalović
29 MF   CRO Sacha Marasović
31 DF   CRO Luka Leon Kovač
33 DF   ARG Gonzalo Gamarra (on loan from Slaven Belupo)
35 GK   CRO Fran Gelo
- MF   SVN Rai Rudonja

Notable players

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Years in brackets indicate their spells at the club.

     

Technical staff

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As of April 2022[11]

Position Staff
Sporting director   Đuro Bago
Head coach   Borimir Perković
Assistant coach   Tomislav Gondžić
  Igor Bubnjić
  Viktor Novačić
Goalkeeping coach   Dragutin Pavalić
First team doctor   Tomislav Vlahović
  Marko Matoic
  Dejan Blažević
Physiotherapist   Nikola Štok
  Nikola Fotivec
Academy coach   Srećko Bogdan

Source: inter.hr

Recent coaching history

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References

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  1. ^ ŠRC Zaprešić. inter.hr. Archived 22 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
  2. ^ "After 93 Years, Historic Croatian Football Club Going Bankrupt? Inter Zaprešić in Trouble". Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d "NK Inter Zaprešić – Povijest kluba" (in Croatian). NK Inter Zaprešić. Archived from the original on 25 June 2010. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  4. ^ Purić, Bojan (7 February 2000). "Croatian Cup Finals 1992–1999". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  5. ^ a b "NK Inter Zaprešić – Profile". UEFA.com. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  6. ^ "'OVO JE POVIJESNI DAN! IZBJEGLI SMO BANKROT!'" (in Croatian). jutarnji.hr. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
  7. ^ "Samir Toplak dobio otkaz, Željko Petrović novi trener zaprešićkog Intera" (in Croatian). nacional.hr. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
  8. ^ a b c "Divlje Svinje – povijest" (in Croatian). NK Inter Zaprešić. Archived from the original on 3 July 2013. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
  9. ^ Matasović, Brunislav (12 July 2005). "2004–05 in Croatian Football". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  10. ^ "Prva momčad" (in Croatian). NK Inter Zaprešić. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
  11. ^ "Stručni stožer" (in Croatian). NK Inter Zaprešić. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
  12. ^ "Raskid s Petrovićem, odbačene špekulacije". inter.hr. 10 April 2020. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
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