Darijo Srna (; born 1 May 1982) is a Croatian former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugb ...

and current director of football of

Ukrainian Premier League The Ukrainian Premier League ( uk, "Українська Прем'єр-ліга", ''Ukrayinska Premier Liha'') or UPL is the highest division of Ukrainian annual football championship. As the Vyshcha Liha ( uk, Вища ліга, ''Top League' ...

club

Shakhtar Donetsk Football Club Shakhtar Donetsk ( uk, Футбольний клуб «Шахтар» Донецьк , short nickname "miners") is a Ukrainian professional football club from the city of Donetsk. In 2014, due to the War in Donbass, the club was f ...

. During most of his career he played as a

right wing-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either ...

. He began his career at

Hajduk Split Hrvatski nogometni klub Hajduk Split, commonly referred to as Hajduk Split () or simply Hajduk, is a Croatian professional football club based in Split, that competes in the Croatian First League, the top tier in Croatian football. Since 197 ...

, before moving to Shakhtar in 2003. He has won numerous trophies during his time at Shakhtar, including a

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...

title in

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; Protests ...

, seven

titles, five Ukrainian Cup titles and five

Ukrainian Super Cup The Ukrainian Super Cup ( uk , Суперкубок України) is an association football game of the Ukrainian Premier League in traditional super cup format that acts as the grand-opening for every new football competition season in Ukr ...

titles. He left Shakhtar in 2018 and signed one-year contract with Cagliari and then returned to Shakhtar to work as an assistant manager. Srna made his international debut for Croatia in November 2002 and is the second most capped player in the history of the Croatia national team with 134 caps, having represented his country at the

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...

and

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from ...

s, as well as at

UEFA Euro 2004 The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football competition contested by the men's national teams of UEFA member associations. Th ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

and

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

. In 2009, then manager

Slaven Bilić Slaven Bilić (; born 11 September 1968) is a Croatian professional football manager and former player. He is the current manager of EFL Championship side Watford. Bilić, who played as a defender, began his career in 1988 with his hometown c ...

made him the captain of the national team, a position he would hold until his retirement from international football in 2016; the captaincy then passed to

Luka Modrić Luka Modrić (; born 9 September 1985) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for La Liga club Real Madrid and captains the Croatia national team. He plays mainly as a central midfielder, but can also play as an a ...

. He is the most capped player in the history of Shakhtar with 536 appearances. He was popularly dubbed the "

Icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The mos ...

of Shakhtar". Srna's consistent quality and playing style earned comparisons to

Cafu Marcos Evangelista de Morais (born 7 June 1970), known as Cafu (), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a right-back. Known for his pace and energetic attacking runs along the right flank, he is regarded as one of the gr ...

Club career

Hajduk Split

Srna's talent was seen by many scouts in Croatia while he was young. He was later signed by

as his talent became desirable for the Croatian giants. At Hajduk, he won the 1999–2000 and

2002–03 Croatian Cup The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

, as well as the

2000–01 Prva HNL The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

. The club played in the first round of

1999–2000 UEFA Cup The 1999–2000 UEFA Cup season was the 29th edition of the UEFA Cup competition. The final took place at Parken Stadium in Copenhagen and was won by Galatasaray, who defeated Arsenal in the final. The game was scoreless through the first nin ...

2001–02 UEFA Cup The 2001–02 UEFA Cup was won by Feyenoord at their home ground in the final against Borussia Dortmund. It was the second time they won the competition. Liverpool could not defend their title as they automatically qualified for the 2001–02 U ...

2002–03 UEFA Cup The 2002–03 UEFA Cup was the 32nd edition of the UEFA Europa League, UEFA Cup, the second-tier European club association football, football tournament organised by UEFA. The 2003 UEFA Cup Final, final was played between Portuguese side FC Porto ...

, as well as the second round of the

2000–01 UEFA Champions League The 2000–01 UEFA Champions League was the 46th season of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA's premier European club football tournament, and the ninth since it was rebranded from the "European Champion Clubs' Cup" or "European Cup". The competitio ...

and the third round of the

2001–02 UEFA Champions League The 2001–02 UEFA Champions League was the 47th season of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA's premier club football tournament, and the 10th since its rebranding from the "European Champion Clubs' Cup" or "European Cup". The tournament was won b ...

. He made 84 appearances for the club, including 64 league appearances, and scored eight goals, four of which came in the league, before moving to Ukrainian club

Shakhtar Donetsk

In 2003, Srna was sold, along with Hajduk goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa, to Shakhtar Donetsk. He is a common member and the captain in his club side, for whom he has made a large impact in the league. In his first season with the club, he made 29 appearances, including 19 in the league, scoring three goals, all of which came in the Ukrainian Cup. He helped the club to win the Ukrainian Cup, his first honour with the club, and to a second-place finish in the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

. In his second season, Shakhtar won the Super Cup and the

. He made 42 appearances for the club, 22 of which came in the league, and netted two goals, once in the league and once in the

cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, cl ...

. Srna made his debut in main stage of

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

on 14 September 2004 against

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...

. His third season saw Shakhtar retain the

title. He made 21 league appearances, scoring twice. After the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...

, 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 had been linked with a number of other clubs, including

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, but a move never materialized. The following season, Shakhtar were trumped to the Premier League title by

Dynamo Kyiv Football Club Dynamo Kyiv (, ) is a Ukrainian professional Association football, football club based in Kyiv. Founded in 1927 as a Kyivan football team of republican branch of the bigger Soviet Union, Soviet Dynamo Sports Club, Dynamo Sports Soc ...

as they failed to achieve any silverware. Darijo made 35 appearances for the club, 20 in the league, and scored four times, three of which came in the league. In the 2007–08 season, Shakhtar picked up the Premier League trophy and were victorious in the Ukrainian Cup Final. He made 41 appearances, 28 of which came in the league.

2008–09 season

The 2008–09 season saw Shakhtar win the Super Cup and the

. On 15 July 2008, Shakhtar emerged victorious in the Super Cup Final against Dynamo Kyiv. At the end of extra time, the teams were level at 1–1. In the ensuing

penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

, Shakhtar converted all five of its penalties to win 5–3. Srna, who captained the side, scored one of the penalties. On 3 August, he scored the first goal in a 3–0 victory over

Illichivets Mariupol Football Club Mariupol ( uk, Футбольний клуб "Маріуполь" ) was a Ukrainian professional football club based in Mariupol, that competed in the Ukrainian Premier League. The club ceased to exist as a result of the Siege of ...

. On 13 August, he scored the first goal in a 2–0 victory over

Dinamo Zagreb Građanski nogometni klub Dinamo Zagreb ( en, Dinamo Zagreb Citizens' Football Club, link=yes, italics=yes), commonly referred to as GNK Dinamo Zagreb or simply Dinamo Zagreb (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. Dinamo ...

in the Champions League. On 18 October he scored a goal in Shakhtar's 4–2 win against

Kryvbas :''Kryvbas'' ''may also refer to the FC Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih, the football team in Kryvyi Rih. See also Kryvbas (disambiguation)'' Kryvbas (, full name Kryvorizkyi Iron Ore Basin, ) is an important economic and historical region in central Ukraine ...

. On 2 March, he scored the winning goal in Shakhtar's 2–1 league victory over Illichivets. On 22 March, he scored the only goal in a league win over

Vorskla The Vorskla (; ) is a river that runs from Belgorod Oblast in Russia southwards into northeastern Ukraine, where it joins the Dnieper. It has a length of , and a basin area of .Donbass Arena for a 3–2 aggregate win to progress to the final. Darijo played the full 90 minutes of both legs. On 20 May 2009, he captained Shakhtar in the 2–1 victory over

Werder Bremen Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen (), Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen, Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, they are be ...

in the UEFA Cup Final. Srna provided the assist for

Jádson Jádson Rodrigues da Silva, professionally known as Jádson (; born 5 October 1983), is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder. He is currently playing for Vitória. Having begun his career at Atlético Para ...

's winning goal seven minutes into extra time. He also picked up a yellow card. This was the last UEFA Cup before its rebranding as the UEFA Europa League. Shakhtar finished the

season in second position, 15 points behind champions Dynamo Kyiv. Darijo made 46 appearances and scored 5 goals, with 25 appearances and 4 goals in the league. Darijo Srna 2

2009–10 season

In the 2009–10 season, Shakhtar regained the

title. On 28 August, he played in Shakhtar's 1–0 extra time loss to

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

in the 2009 UEFA Super Cup, picking up a yellow card on 65 minutes. He scored the third goal in a 4–1 away victory over

Club Brugge (), known simply as Club Brugge (in English also: ''Club Bruges''), is a Belgian professional football club based in Bruges, Belgium. It was founded in 1891 and its home ground is the Jan Breydel Stadium, which has a capacity of 29,062.

in the

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

. He scored a goal and picked up a yellow card in a 2–0

Ukrainian Cup The Ukrainian Cup ( uk, Кубок України) is an association football national knockout cup competition run by the Ukrainian Association of Football. The competition is conducted almost exclusively among professional clubs. Since the 2003� ...

victory over Dynamo Kyiv on 28 October. He netted his first league goal of the season in a 2–1 victory against

Zorya Luhansk FC Zorya Luhansk ( uk, ФК «Зоря» Луганськ ) is a Ukrainian football team. Zorya Luhansk is based in the city of Luhansk, Ukraine. However, because of the Russo-Ukrainian War, the team play their games at Slavutych-Arena in Zapori ...

on 20 March. On 3 April, he scored the only goal in a league victory over Obolon. Srna played 39 matches, 26 in the league, and scored four goals, two of which came in the league.

2010–11 season

The 2010–11 season was extremely successful for Shakhtar as they won the treble (

and the Super Cup). He played in Shakhtar's 7–1 Super Cup victory over

Tavriya Simferopol Sports Club Tavriya ( uk, Спортивний клуб "Таврія") was a Ukrainian football club from Simferopol. Tavriya was a member of the Ukrainian Premier League from its founding and won the first Ukrainian Premier League making them ...

on 4 July. On 15 September, he netted the only goal, and picked up a yellow card, in a 1–0 Champions League win over

Partizan Partizan may refer to: Sport * JSD Partizan, a sports society from Belgrade, Serbia, which includes the following clubs: **AK Partizan, athletics ** Biciklistički Klub Partizan, cycling ** Džudo Klub Partizan, judo **FK Partizan, association fo ...

. In the following match, against Tavriya, after going 1–0 down, Srna scored the equaliser in a 4–1 victory. On 30 October, he was sent off in added time against

Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk Football Club Dnipro ( uk, Футбо́льний Клуб «Дніпро́», ) was a Ukrainian football club based in Dnipro. The club was owned by the Privat Group that also owns BC Dnipro and Budivelnyk Kyiv. In 2018 FC Dnipro was forced in ...

as Shakhtar won 1–0. On 1 April, he scored the first goal in a 3–1 victory over Illichivets Mariupol. On 7 May, against

Metalurh Donetsk Football Club Metalurh Donetsk ( uk, Футбо́льний клуб «Металу́рг» Доне́цьк, ) was a Ukrainian professional football club based in Donetsk that went bankrupt in July 2015. History Club predecessor Football ...

, he scored the second goal in a 2–0 win. On 25 May, he played in the 2–0 Ukrainian Cup Final victory over Dynamo Kyiv, picking up a yellow card. Srna was named in the UEFA Champions League Team of the Year according to player rater (statistics) in the 2010–11 season where Shakhtar lost in the quarter-final to Barcelona. Srna created five assists in five games. He made 39 appearances, 27 of which were in the league, scoring four goals, three of which came in the league. Darijo Srna

2011–12 season

Shakhtar won the

and the

in the 2011–12 season, Darijo's sixth league title with the club. He scored a goal in first half injury time in a 2–0 away win over Metalurh Donetsk. On 2 December, he scored the first goal in a 5–0 league victory over

Arsenal Kyiv Football Club Arsenal Kyiv () is a Ukrainian football club based in Kyiv. In 2019, the club's professional team was dissolved, but its junior teams continue to compete in city competitions. The club claims to be a successor of Kyiv Arsenal fa ...

at the Donbass Arena. On 16 April, in the 27th gameweek of the season, Srna netted the final goal in a 5–1 victory over

. On 6 May, he played in the Ukrainian Cup Final against Metalurh Donetsk in which Shakhtar emerged victorious after an extra time winner from

Oleksandr Kucher Oleksandr Mykolayovych Kucher ( uk, Олександр Миколайович Кучер; born 22 October 1982) is a Ukrainian former professional footballer and current manager of Ukrainian club Dnipro-1. He was a powerful defender who was g ...

made it 2–1. This marked Srna's fourth Ukrainian Cup success with Shakhtar. He picked up a yellow card in the final match of the season, a 3–0 victory over

Oleksandriya Oleksandriia () is a city located in Oleksandriia Raion, Kirovohrad Oblast (region) in central Ukraine. Administratively, Oleksandriia serves as the administrative center of Oleksandriia Raion (district). Oleksandriia also hosts the administrat ...

. Shakhtar won the league by four points over Dynamo Kyiv; Srna scored 3 goals in 25 league matches and made a total of 34 appearances in the season.

2012–13 season

Darijo began the 2012–13 season with an assist for

Luiz Adriano Luiz Adriano de Souza da Silva (born 12 April 1987), or simply Luiz Adriano (), is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Süper Lig club Antalyaspor. Born in Porto Alegre, he began his career at hometown club Internac ...

in the sixth-minute of Shakhtar's 2–0 Super Cup victory over Metalurh Donetsk. He assisted

Ilsinho Ilson Pereira Dias Júnior (born 12 October 1985), commonly known as Ilsinho (formerly Ilson, Jr.), is a Brazilian retired professional Association football, footballer who played as a right midfielder. He originally started his career as a Defe ...

for the second goal in a 3–1

win against

Hoverla Uzhhorod Football Club Hoverla Uzhhorod ( ) was a Ukrainian professional Association football, football club based in Uzhhorod. Following the end of the 2015–16 Ukrainian Premier League, 2015–16 season it was expelled from the Ukrainian Premier Leagu ...

. He assisted Fernandinho for a 93rd-minute winner against Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih. and added another for Marko Dević in a 4–0 victory against

Volyn Lutsk Volhynia (also spelled Volynia) ( ; uk, Воли́нь, Volyn' pl, Wołyń, russian: Волы́нь, Volýnʹ, ), is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between south-eastern Poland, south-western Belarus, and western Ukraine. Th ...

. On 19 August, Srna assisted Willian for the third goal in a 5–1 win against

Chornomorets Odesa FC Chornomorets Odesa ( ) is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Odesa. The club's home ground is the 34,164 capacity Chornomorets Stadium opened in 1935 and rebuilt in 2011. According to the club's website, it was formed in 1936 a ...

In the next match, he provided Luiz Adriano with an assist in a 3–0 win over

Karpaty Lviv Football Club Karpaty Lviv ( ) is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Lviv. History Early years (1963–68) The team of Karpaty was founded on 18 January, 1963. In 1961 Silmash Lviv won the championship of Lviv Oblast but lost its p ...

. On 2 September, he assisted Oleksandr Kucher's second goal in a 3–1 victory against Dynamo Kyiv. On 23 September, Srna scored a free-kick in a 4–1 victory over Dynamo Kyiv in the last 32 of the

. On 28 September, he scored the winning goal in a 2–1 victory against Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk. He picked up the Man of the Match award for his contribution to win over Dnipro. On 19 October, he assisted Ilsinho for a goal in a 2–1 victory against Illichivets. On 13 February 2013, Srna netted with an expertly-struck free-kick in the 31st minute in the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16 tie with

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional footb ...

, which ended in a 2–2 draw. At the end of the 2012–13 season in Ukraine, he finished with the most assists, with 12.

2013–14 season

In mid-season, Srna helped Shakhtar win the 2014 United Supercup, a tournament between the top-two placed clubs from Russia and Ukraine, becoming the assists leader and joint top scorer of the tournament. By the end of the season, the club won the Ukraine Premier League and the 2014 Ukrainian Super Cup.

2014–15 season

In the first game of the season, Srna set a new record of games played for Shakhtar in the Premier League.

2015–16 season

In the 2015–16 season, Srna played 41 games and scored six goals. Shakhtar announced that their captain had extended his contract for the 2016–17 season, a day after the club celebrated their 80th anniversary.

Doping case

He was suspended from 22 September 2017 until 22 August 2018 for failed doping test for

dehydroepiandrosterone Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), also known as androstenolone, is an endogenous steroid hormone precursor. It is one of the most abundant circulating steroids in humans. DHEA is produced in the adrenal glands, the gonads, and the brain. It functio ...

Cagliari Calcio

On 22 June 2018 Srna, signed one-year deal with Italian side

Cagliari Calcio Cagliari Calcio, commonly referred to as Cagliari (), is an Italian football club based in Cagliari, Sardinia. In the 2022-23 season, they compete in Serie B. As of 2021–22, the team is temporarily playing their home games at the 16,416-seat ...

with an option to extend it for another year. In June 2019, the contract ended and Srna left the club.

Return to Donetsk

In July 2019, Srna returned to Shakhtar

as an assistant manager on a one-year contract until 2020. He then moved on to the Director of football role.

International career

Euro 2004

Srna made his full international debut for the Croatia national team in a friendly match against

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

in November 2002. He went on to score his first international goal on his competitive debut for Croatia in their UEFA Euro 2004 qualifier against

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

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

Euro 2004 The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football competition contested by the men's national teams of UEFA member associations. The ...

, including both play-off matches against

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

. At the Euro 2004 finals, he appeared as a substitute in Croatia's group matches against

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, before they were knocked out of the tournament in the first round.

2006 World Cup

After Euro 2004, Srna went on to become one of the key players in Croatia's 2006 FIFA 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 Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, including a long-range free kick in the away fixture in

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

. He also netted both goals in Croatia's 2–2 home draw against

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

, as well as one goal in their 3–1 away win at

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

. 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 Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in the infamous "

Graham Poll Graham Poll (born 29 July 1963) is an English former football referee in the Premier League. With 26 years of experience, he was one of the most prominent referees in English football, often taking charge of the highest-profile games. His final ...

three-yellow card" blunder match that ended 2–2. However, in previous group match against

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

he missed a penalty in a 0–0 draw and Croatia finished third in the group stage with only 2 points.

Euro 2008

In September 2006, Srna was temporarily dropped from the Croatian squad for a

Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of European ...

qualifying match with

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

because of a late night partying spree in a local disco, along with teammates

Boško Balaban Boško Balaban (born 15 October 1978) is a Croatian former footballer who played as a striker. Balaban also played for the Croatia national team. Club career Early career Born in Rijeka, he started playing for local club HNK Rijeka and appear ...

and

Ivica Olić Ivica Olić (; born 14 September 1979) is a Croatian professional football manager and former player who is an assistant coach of the Croatia national team. During his career, he played for German Bundesliga clubs such as Hamburger SV, VfL Wolf ...

. 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. In the 88th minute, he provided a cross which found teammate

Eduardo Eduardo is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the male given name Edward. Another version is Duarte. It may refer to: Association football * Eduardo Bonvallet, Chilean football player and sports commentator * Eduardo Carvalho, Portuguese footbal ...

, 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 Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, which eventually ended 4–3 in Croatia's favour. Srna went on to miss a penalty against

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

, however his overall contribution to teamwork attack compensated for this mistake, which Croatia quickly capitalised 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 Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

in their second game of

Group B Group B was a set of regulations for grand touring (GT) vehicles used in sports car racing and rallying introduced in 1982 by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Although permitted to enter a GT class of the World Sportscar ...

. He was the only player to score for Croatia in their unsuccessful penalty shootout in the quarter-finals against

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. 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.

Euro 2012

After Euro 2008, Srna succeeded

Niko Kovač Niko Kovač (; born 15 October 1971) is a Croatian professional football coach and former player. He is currently the manager of Bundesliga club VFL Wolfsburg. Kovač was the long-standing captain of the Croatia national team until his retire ...

as national team captain. Srna started in all three games of the 2012 tournament as the captain, where Croatia finished third behind Spain and Italy, failing to qualify to the next stage. Italy and Spain went on to become the finalists of the tournament.

2014 World Cup

On 6 February 2013, Srna won his 100th

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

in a friendly match against

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

Craven Cottage Craven Cottage is a football ground in Fulham, West London, England, which has been the home of Fulham F.C. since 1896.According to the club'official website The ground's capacity is 22,384; the record attendance is 49,335, for a game against M ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, thereby equalling

Dario Šimić Dario Šimić (; born 12 November 1975) is a Croatian former footballer. Šimić was a versatile defender who played as full-back, sweeper or centre back; a physical and hard-tackling defender, he was known in particular for his strength and ...

as Croatia's most capped player. In that match, Srna also scored his 20th international goal. Croatia qualified for the

2014 World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting righ ...

, where Srna served as

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

for his second official international tournament, after Euro 2012. Croatia finished third in the group behind Brazil and Mexico and therefore failed to qualify for the next stage.

Euro 2016

Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...

in France, Srna, once again as team captain, played in Croatia's first group stage match against Turkey. Shortly after the match, however, he returned to Croatia upon the news of his father's death during the match. He returned to France to finish the tournament afterwards, to abide by his father's dying wish. Croatia reached the knock-out phase of the tournament, but lost 1–0 to

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

through an extra-time

Ricardo Quaresma Ricardo Andrade Quaresma Bernardo (; born 26 September 1983) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a winger. He began his career at Sporting CP and went on to play for Barcelona, Inter Milan, Porto (twice), Chelsea, Beşiktaş ...

goal. Srna amassed 134 caps and 22 goals for Croatia, which made him the country's most capped player at the time of his retirement. He held this record for over eight years, until it was overtaken by

in 2021.

Personal life

Srna was born in

Metković Metković () is a town in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County of Croatia, located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the river Neretva and on the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina. Demographics The total population of the city municipal ...

Bosniak The Bosniaks ( bs, Bošnjaci, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia, which is today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who share a common Bosnian ancestry, cu ...

father Uzeir and

Croat The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, Ge ...

mother Milka. His father, a

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

orphan and a former footballer for

FK Sarajevo Fudbalski klub Sarajevo (; English: Sarajevo Football Club) is a professional football club based in Sarajevo, the capital city of Bosnia and Herzegovina and is one of the most successful clubs in the country. Founded on 24 October 1946, FK Sara ...

, supported his fledgling football career despite discrimination during the

Yugoslav Wars The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related#Naimark, Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and Insurgency, insurgencies that took place in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, SFR Yugoslavia from ...

and widespread corruption among football coaches. Before leaving Croatia to join for Shakhtar Donetsk, he gave his parents a brand new Mercedes. He has a

tattoo A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, and/or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several Process of tatt ...

of a deer playing football on his leg, as "Srna" in Croatian means "deer". Srna has also helped Bosnian club Borac Šamac, where his father played as goalkeeper and was also a coach. Srna has a half-brother, Renato, a coach at

Neretva The Neretva ( sr-cyrl, Неретва, ), also known as Narenta, is one of the largest rivers of the eastern part of the Adriatic basin. Four HE power-plants with large dams (higher than 150,5 metres) provide flood protection, power and water s ...

, from their father's first marriage. His other brother Igor has

Down syndrome Down syndrome or Down's syndrome, also known as trisomy 21, is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21. It is usually associated with physical growth delays, mild to moderate intellectual dis ...

. As a result, Srna dedicates all his goals to him, 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

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...

in international play. He also has a tattoo reading "Igor" along his heart. While at Shakhtar, Srna frequently bought match tickets for orphans and often financed their travel to the stadium at his own expense. In late 2014, he purchased 20 tonnes of tangerines from farms near Metković and had them donated to over 23,000 primary school children in the

Donbas The Donbas or Donbass (, ; uk, Донба́с ; russian: Донба́сс ) is a historical, cultural, and economic region in eastern Ukraine. Parts of the Donbas are controlled by Russian separatist groups as a result of the Russo-Ukrai ...

region during the ongoing war there. Srna married long-time girlfriend Mirela Forić, whom he met through mutual friend and footballer Boško Balaban. Their daughter Kasja was born in July 2010 and their son Karlo was born in June 2015.

Career statistics

Club

:Source:

International

:Source: :''Croatia score listed first, score column indicates score after each Srna goal''

Honours

Hajduk Split *

Prva HNL The Hrvatska nogometna liga () ( en, Croatian football league), also known as HNL or for sponsorship reasons the SuperSport HNL, is the top Croatian professional football league competition, established in 1992. Previously, it was called Prva H ...

: 2000–01 * Croatian Cup: 1999–2000, 2002–03 Shakhtar Donetsk"Darijo Srna"
. Shakhtar.com. Retrieved 24 December 2014 * Vyshcha Liha/Ukrainian Premier League: 2004–05, 2005–06, 2007–08, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2016–17, 2017–18 * Ukrainian Cup: 2003–04, 2007–08, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18 *

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...

: 2008–09 Individual *

Heart of Hajduk Award Heart of Hajduk ( hr, Hajdučko srce) is an annual football award established in 1994 and officially awarded by the Hajduk Split supporters' association Torcida Split to the Hajduk player of the year. The inaugural winner of the award was the m ...

: 2003 *Best

Player: 2008–09, 2009–10 *

Team of the Season: 2010–11 *

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

Squad of the Season: 2015–16 Orders * Order For Courage by

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

: 2009

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Srna, Darijo 1982 births Living people Sportspeople from Metković Croatian people of Bosniak descent Association football fullbacks Association football midfielders Croatian footballers Croatia youth international footballers Croatia under-21 international footballers Croatia international footballers UEFA Euro 2004 players 2006 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2008 players UEFA Euro 2012 players 2014 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2016 players FIFA Century Club NK Neretva players HNK Hajduk Split players FC Shakhtar Donetsk players Cagliari Calcio players Croatian Football League players Ukrainian Premier League players Serie A players UEFA Europa League winning players Croatian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Italy Expatriate footballers in Ukraine Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Ukraine FC Shakhtar Donetsk non-playing staff Croatian sportspeople in doping cases Doping cases in association football