NK Inter Zaprešić

NK Inter Zaprešić is a Croatian football club based in Zaprešić, a town northwest of the capital Zagreb originally founded in 1929. They play in the Prva HNL after they were promoted from Druga HNL at the end of the 2006–07 season. 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 and they play their home games at Stadion ŠRC Zaprešić.

History

The club was originally established in 1929 as NK Sava.^[1] 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 (1984–1989).^[1] 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).^[1] 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.^[2] 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.^[1]

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.^[3] 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.

Name changes

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

Achievements

• Croatian First League
  • Runners up (1): 2004–05^[4]
• Croatian Second League
  • Winners (1): 2006–07
• Croatian Cup
  • Winners (1): 1992^[2]
• Croatian Supercup
  • Runners up (1): 1992

Current squad

As of 8 December 2011

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

Recent seasons

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

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

Player records

• Top scorers in UEFA club competitions: 1 goal^[3]
  • Srđan Pecelj

Notable players

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

Managerial history

• Zorislav Srebrić
• Ilija Lončarević
• Josip Kuže
• Srećko Bogdan
• Ante Čačić
• Milivoj Bračun
• Borimir Perković

External links

• Official website (Croatian)
• Inter Zaprešić profile at UEFA.com
• Inter Zaprešić profile at Sportnet.hr (Croatian)
• Inter Zaprešić profile at Nogometni magazin (Croatian)

References