Drago Gabrić (born 27 September 1986) is a Croatian 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, rugby ...

who plays as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for Croatian third-level side Zagora Unešić. He is a versatile player, able to play on both sides of the field. His father,

Tonči Tonči is a Croatian and Slovene masculine given name used as a diminutive form of Anton, Antonij and Antonijo in Croatia and Slovenia. It is sometimes spelled Tonci in Croatia where it is sometimes a diminutive form of Antonio. Notable people w ...

, is a former Hajduk Split and Rijeka player, and a Croatian international goalkeeper.

Club career

Hajduk Split

Gabrić made his 1. HNL debut on 16 September 2006 in a home match against Varteks, replacing double goalscorer Josip Balatinac in the 80th minute.Varteks again proved to be a favoured opponent for Gabrić, with his first Hajduk goal coming against the same side on 17 March 2007. He scored two further goals by the end of that season, one against Međimurje and the other against

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...

. When

Robert Jarni Robert Jarni (born 26 October 1968) is a Croatian former professional footballer who played as a left winger or wingback and current manager. Jarni started his professional career with Hajduk Split in 1986, and went on to spend 10 years playin ...

was appointed as head manager of Hajduk, Gabrić became a more prominent member of the first team, managing 23 appearances in the 2007–08 season. His side struggled, though, as they finished in fifth place in the league, 30 points behind league champions and fierce rivals

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 ...

. Under Jarni, Gabrić played in a variety of positions al across the midfield and even occasionally in defence. After Jarni resigned, Gabrić blossomed under the management of both Goran Vučević and

Ante Miše Ante Miše (born 14 June 1967) is a Croatian football manager and former professional football player who played as a midfielder. As a player, he earned 7 caps in friendlies for Croatia in the period from 1992 to 1994. Playing career Club In ...

, with both managers using Gabrić in a more advanced role either as a right or left winger or even as a number 10 behind the striker. This improved his scoring return, with the player netting eight times in 30 league games in the 2008–09 season. In December 2008, Gabrić signed a new three and a half year deal with the club worth a rumoured amount of €180,000 annually. He also received the

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 ...

as a result of his performances in the 2007–08 season.

Trabzonspor

In August 2009, Gabrić was signed by Turkish giants

Trabzonspor Trabzonspor Kulübü is a Turkish sports club located in the city of Trabzon. Formed in 1967 through a merger of several local clubs, the men's football team has won seven Süper Lig championships. Trabzonspor also have a women's football team, ...

in a €2.5m deal. He made 28 appearances in his maiden year in Turkey, scoring four times but largely struggled to impress and was therefore sent out on loan to

MKE Ankaragücü MKE Ankaragücü or fully Makina ve Kimya Endüstrisi Ankaragücü (), is a Turkish sports club located in the city of Ankara. The football team wears a yellow and navy kit and plays its home matches at Eryaman Stadium following the closure of t ...

for the 2010–11 season. At Ankaragücü, Gabrić made 26 appearances and again scored four league goals. On 23 June 2011, Gabrić was seriously injured in an accident after losing control of his car on the

A1 motorway A1, A-1, A01 or A.1. may refer to: Education * A1, the Basic Language Certificate of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages * Language A1, the former name for "Language A: literature", one of the IB Group 1 subjects * A1, a ...

near

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, entertai ...

, Croatia. He sustained a fractured skull and was in a coma for four days. His club at the time,

, terminated his contract. After the accident, Gabrić was initially unable to walk, and had to undergo extensive rehabilitation in order to regain his motor skills. He filed a suit against Trabzonspor for breach of contract, which ended in

settlement Settlement may refer to: *Human settlement, a community where people live *Settlement (structural), the distortion or disruption of parts of a building * Closing (real estate), the final step in executing a real estate transaction *Settlement (fin ...

in 2014.

Return to Hajduk Split

In September 2011, Gabrić signed for Hajduk Split. He made his return to football on 5 November 2011, in a round 14 1. HNL clash against NK Varaždin, the side he made his debut against and scored his first professional league goal against. He made another nine appearances that season but largely disappointed.

Rijeka

In June 2012, Gabrić moved from Hajduk to Rijeka on a free transfer, following his father's footsteps, who made the same move. At Rijeka, Drago again struggled to impress and was dropped from the squad for the last 14 matches of the season. He moved on loan to Slovenian side NK Domžale for the 2013–14 season, but once again having a poor season, scoring once in 14 games and hardly playing a part in the side's second half of the season. Upon his return to Rijeka and with one year still left on his contract, Rijeka manager Matjaž Kek dropped the player from the squad completely and so Drago was forced to play with teammate in a similar situation

Mehmed Alispahić Mehmed Alispahić (born 24 November 1987) is a Bosnian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder. Club career Alispahić began his career with Iskra Bugojno in the First League of FBiH. He then joined Croatian 1. HNL club ...

in Rijeka's second team – playing in Croatia's third division. Later on, Gabrić continued his career in

Zadar Zadar ( , ; historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian: ); see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited Croatian city. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar ser ...

where he played under the tutelage of former

Croatia national football team The Croatia national football team ( hr, Hrvatska nogometna reprezentacija) represents Croatia in international football matches. It is governed by the Croatian Football Federation (HNS), the governing body for football in Croatia. It is a ...

manager

Igor Štimac Igor Štimac (; born 6 September 1967) is a Croatian football coach and former player who played as a centre back. He is the current head coach of the Indian national team. In his playing career, Štimac had three spells with Hajduk Split and ...

International career

Gabrić made his debut for

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

in a November 2009

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

against

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarch ...

and earned a total of 5 caps, scoring 1 goal. His final international was a May 2010 friendly away 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 ...

Career statistics

Gabric's career statistics are listed below.

International Goals

Honours

Trabzonspor *

Turkish Cup The Turkish Cup ( Turkish: ''Türkiye Kupası'') is a football cup competition in Turkish football, run by the Turkish Football Federation since 1962. During a brief sponsorship period with Fortis, its sponsored name was ''Fortis Türkiye Kupas� ...

: 2009–10

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gabric, Drago 1986 births Living people Footballers from Split, Croatia Men's association football midfielders Croatian men's footballers Croatia men's youth international footballers Croatia men's under-21 international footballers Croatia men's international footballers HNK Hajduk Split players NK Solin players NK Novalja players Trabzonspor footballers MKE Ankaragücü footballers HNK Rijeka players NK Domžale players NK Zadar players FC Koper players NK Junak Sinj players RNK Split players NK Zagora Unešić players Croatian Football League players First Football League (Croatia) players Süper Lig players Slovenian PrvaLiga players Second Football League (Croatia) players Croatian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Expatriate men's footballers in Slovenia Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Slovenia