| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 1 May 1982 | ||
| Place of birth | Metković, SFR Yugoslavia | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Right back Right midfielder |
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| Club information | |||
| Current club | FC Shakhtar Donetsk | ||
| Number | 33 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Neretva Metković | |||
| Hajduk Split | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1999–2003 | Hajduk Split | 69 | (7) |
| 2003– | Shakhtar Donetsk | 187 | (15) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2002– | Croatia | 89 | (19) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23 May 2011. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Darijo Srna (pronounced [ˈdaːriɔ ˈsrna]; born 1 May 1982 in Metković)[1] is a Croatian footballer who plays for Shakhtar Donetsk as a captain and is also the captain of the Croatian national team.
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Srna's talent was seen by many scouts in Croatia while he was young. He was later signed by Hajduk Split as his talent became desirable for the Croatian giants[2]
In 2003, Srna was sold, along with Stipe Pletikosa to Shakhtar Donetsk.[3] He is a common member and the captain in his club side, for whom he has made a large impact in the league.
After the 2006 World Cup, Benfica were reported to be after the player's signature but nothing materialized, with what many considered a fallen or rejected sale. Since then, he has been linked with a number of other clubs, including S.S. Lazio.
Srna made his debut in main stage of UEFA Champions League on 14 September 2004 against Milan.
On 20 May 2009, Srna won the UEFA Cup as captain of Shakhtar. Srna provided the assist for Jádson's winning goal seven minutes into extra time. This was the last UEFA Cup before the change to the Europa League.
Srna was named in the UEFA Champions League Team Of The Year according to player rater (statistics) in the 2010-2011 season where Shakhtar lost in the quarter-final to Barcelona. Srna gave 5 assists in 5 games[4]
Srna made his full international debut for the Croatian national team in a friendly match against Romania in November 2002. He went on to score his first international goal on his competitive debut for Croatia in their Euro 2004 qualifier against Belgium in March 2003, netting the opening goal in Croatia's 4–0 win. He made a total of six appearances in Croatia's qualifying campaign for the Euro 2004, including both play-off matches against Slovenia.
At the Euro 2004 finals, he appeared as a substitute in Croatia's group matches against Switzerland and England before they were knocked out of the tournament in the first round.[3]
After the Euro 2004, Srna went on to become one of the key players in Croatia's 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign, scoring five goals in nine appearances during the campaign and being the team's top goalscorer in the competition. During the 2006 World Cup qualifying, he scored both goals in Croatia's two 1–0 wins over Sweden, including a long-range free kick in the away fixture in Gothenburg. He also netted both goals in Croatia's 2–2 home draw against Bulgaria as well as one goal in their 3–1 away win at Iceland.
Srna then starred in all three games of Croatia's 2006 World Cup campaign. He was highly praised and remembered for his spectacular 30 yard free kick which put Croatia ahead against Australia in the infamous "Graham Poll three-yellow card" blunder match that ended 2–2 and saw Croatia therefore exit from the group stage.
In September 2006, Srna was temporarily dropped from the Croatian squad for a Euro 2008 qualifying match with Russia because of a late night partying spree in a local disco along with teammates Boško Balaban and Ivica Olić.[5]
Srna was considered the hero of the match when he came on as a substitute against Macedonia in a Euro 2008 qualifying match and scored shortly after from a free kick which was shot into the right corner of the goal.[6] In the 88th minute, he provided a cross which found fellow teammate Eduardo and allowed him to score and snatch a late win for Croatia. He also scored Croatia's equaliser in their hard fought away victory against Israel, which eventually ended 4–3 in Croatia's favor. Srna went on to miss a penalty against Estonia, however his overall contribution to teamwork attack compensated for this mistake which Croatia quickly capitalized on to win 2–0.
Since helping his country qualify for Euro 2008 with a strong qualifying campaign, Srna was unsurprisingly named in their 23-man squad for the current tournament. On 12 June, Srna scored the opening goal in the 24th minute of Croatia's 2–1 victory over Germany in their second game of Group B. He was the only player to score for Croatia in their unsuccessful penalty shootout in the quarter finals against Turkey. At the conclusion of the match, Srna was seen struggling to hold back an emotional breakdown because of Croatia's strong efforts but eventual defeat.
After the tournament, Srna has been said to succeed current captain Niko Kovač in carrying the captaincy armband for the national team. Amongst other candidates, his head coach at Shakhtar gave an interview which praised his hard work and passion for the game, leaving him to be a most likely candidate.[7]
Srna was born to a Bosnian Muslim father Uzeir and a Croatian mother Milka. He has stated that he owes all his credentials to his father, Uzeir, who kept him alive and faithful during the tough years of the war, helping him pursue his dream as a footballer in light of his own personal tragedies. During World War II, Chetniks killed Uzeir's pregnant mother and his father was killed by a stray bullet during the ethnic cleansing against Bosnian Muslims.[8] Before leaving Croatia to join for Shakhtar, he gifted his parents with a brand new Mercedes.[9] He has a tattoo of a deer playing football on his leg, as 'Srna' in Croatian means 'deer'.[10]
Srna has a half-brother, Renato who works as a coach at Neretva, from Uzeir's previous marriage with a woman called Nada.[10] His other brother Igor has Down syndrome. As a result, Srna dedicates all his goals to him,[10] and even revealed a shirt under his jersey saying "Igor, svi smo uz tebe" ("Igor, we are all here for you") after scoring a goal against Macedonia. He also has a tattoo of "Igor" along his heart.
While playing for Shakhtar Srna occasionally bought many tickets for orphans. Besides buying tickets, he also paid for the transport. One time he paid for 920 children,[11] another time he paid for 760 children.[12]
Srna is married to longtime girlfriend Mirela Forić, whom he met through their mutual friends, footballer Boško Balaban and his wife Iva.[13][14] Their daughter Kasja was born in July 2010.[15]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Hajduk Split | 1999-00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 1 | 0 |
| 2000–01 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 13 | 0 | |
| 2001–02 | 25 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1 | - | - | 32 | 3 | |
| 2002–03 | 27 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | - | - | 37 | 5 | |
| Total | 63 | 4 | 11 | 3 | 9 | 1 | - | - | 83 | 8 | |
| Shakhtar | 2003–04 | 19 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 0 | - | - | 29 | 3 |
| 2004–05 | 22 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 41 | 2 | |
| 2005–06 | 21 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 33 | 2 | |
| 2006–07 | 19 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 34 | 4 | |
| 2007–08 | 28 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 0 | - | - | 41 | 0 | |
| 2008–09 | 25 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 17 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 46 | 5 | |
| 2009–10 | 26 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 1 | - | - | 39 | 4 | |
| 2010–11 | 27 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 39 | 4 | |
| Total | 187 | 15 | 28 | 5 | 82 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 302 | 24 | |
| Career total | 250 | 19 | 39 | 8 | 91 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 385 | 32 | |
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