The Rijeka–Pula derby, also called Derby della Učka (Derby della Monte Maggiore) is the name given to matches between
Rijeka
Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Primor ...
and
Istra 1961. It is a regional derby between football clubs from
Croatia's two largest northern coastal cities,
Rijeka
Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Primor ...
and
Pula
Pula (; also known as Pola, it, Pola , hu, Pòla, Venetian language, Venetian; ''Pola''; Istriot language, Istriot: ''Puola'', Slovene language, Slovene: ''Pulj'') is the largest city in Istria County, Croatia, and the List of cities and town ...
. The teams are supported by their fanbases called
Rijeka
Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Primor ...
's
Armada and
Pula
Pula (; also known as Pola, it, Pola , hu, Pòla, Venetian language, Venetian; ''Pola''; Istriot language, Istriot: ''Puola'', Slovene language, Slovene: ''Pulj'') is the largest city in Istria County, Croatia, and the List of cities and town ...
's Demoni.
History
The rivalry between Rijeka and Pula dates back to the days of
Kingdom of Italy
The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...
in the early 1920s, when numerous clubs from ''Fiume'' (Rijeka) and ''Pola'' (Pula) met at various levels of the Italian league system. The first official match between Rijeka and Pula took place on 25 June 1920, between ''Juventus Enea Fiume'' and ''US Polese''. While numerous Rijeka/Fiume (''Juventus Enea'', CS ''Olympia'', CS ''Gloria'', CS ''Fiume'', ''Veloce'', ''Magazzini Generali'') and Pula/Pola (''Polese'', ''Grion'', ''Edera'') regularly met during this period, the most notable rivalry existed between the leading club of each city,
U.S. Fiumana
Unione Sportiva Fiumana or U.S. Fiumana was an Italian football club based in the present-day Croatian city of Rijeka and the predecessor of HNK Rijeka. The club was active between 1926 and 1945, at the time when the city was part of the Kingdo ...
(successor of Olympia and Gloria after 1926) and
G.S.F. Giovanni Grion Pola
Gruppo Sportivo Fascio Giovanni Grion Pola was an Italian association football club located in Pola, now Pula in Croatia. The team was founded in 1918 as F.C. Grion Pola and was dissolved in 1945, when their home city passed from Italy to Yugo ...
. Between 1930 and 1943, these two clubs played 20 official matches, with
Fiumana
Unione Sportiva Fiumana or U.S. Fiumana was an Italian football club based in the present-day Croatian city of Rijeka and the predecessor of HNK Rijeka. The club was active between 1926 and 1945, at the time when the city was part of the Kingdo ...
winning 11 and
Grion 5 matches, alongside 4 draws.
Following the end of World War II, the two cities became part of the
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
. Like all clubs in Yugoslavia, U.S. Fiumana got restructured into the more proletarian-friendly brand
S.C.F. Quarnero in July 1946.
The new regime decided to invite a club from the occupied
Julian March
Venezia Giulia, traditionally called Julian March (Serbo-Croatian, Slovene: ''Julijska krajina'') or Julian Venetia ( it, Venezia Giulia; vec, Venesia Julia; fur, Vignesie Julie; german: Julisch Venetien) is an area of southeastern Europe wh ...
for the
1946–47 Yugoslav First League
The 1946–47 Yugoslav First League season was the first season of the First Federal League ( sh-Latn, Prva savezna liga), the top level association football competition of SFR Yugoslavia, which ended the six-year period in which national footbal ...
and Quarnero was admitted after beating the short-lived Pula-based club USO (Unione Sportiva Operaia) in a two-legged play-off in August 1946.
In late 1947 USO merged with another local club to form NK Pula, which survives today as
NK Istra
Nogometni Klub Istra ( en, Istra Football Club), commonly referred to as NK Istra or simply Istra, is a Croatian football club, from the city of Pula. The club currently plays in the fifth level of the Croatian league system but Istra has also pl ...
. The Quarnero was renamed to
NK Rijeka
Hrvatski nogometni klub Rijeka ( en, Croatian Football Club Rijeka), commonly referred to as NK Rijeka or simply Rijeka, is a Croatian professional football club from the city of Rijeka.
HNK Rijeka compete in Croatia's top division, HT Prva lig ...
in June 1954.
During this period Rijeka spent most seasons playing in the
Yugoslav First League
The Yugoslav First Federal Football League ( Serbian: Прва савезна лига у фудбалу / ''Prva savezna liga u fudbalu'', hr, Prva savezna liga u nogometu, sl, Prva zvezna nogometna liga, mk, Прва сојузна лига, ...
, while Pula clubs played in the lower tiers. Until the break-up of Yugoslavia in 1991, Rijeka played 21 official fixtures against
Istra and
Uljanik
Uljanik was a shipbuilding company in Pula, Croatia.
History
Uljanik was founded in 1856, in the carefully selected bay of Pula (then known as Pola) as a shipyard of the Austro-Venetian Navy (from 1867 to 1918 Austro-Hungarian Navy). The foun ...
, mainly during its stay in the lower divisions in the 1950s and early 1970s, and in the
1973
Events January
* January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union.
* January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...
and
1978–79 Yugoslav Cup
The Yugoslav Cup ( hr, Pokal Jugoslavije; sr, Куп Југославије; sl, Pokal Jugoslavije, mk, Куп на Југославија), officially known between 1923 and 1940 as the King Alexander Cup ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Kup kralja Aleksandra, ...
.
Two other clubs from Rijeka,
NK Orijent
HNK Orijent is a football club from Sušak, the eastern part of the city of Rijeka, Croatia. The club was established under the name ''Orient'' in 1919. They compete in the Croatian Second Football League. It is a Phoenix club (sports), phoenix ...
and NK Lučki Radnik met more frequently Istra and Uljanik in the lower tiers of Yugoslav football.
Since
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 ...
n independence,
Istra joined Croatia's
top tier, and local derbies became a regular feature. Between 1992 and 2000,
Rijeka
Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Primor ...
and
Istra met on 17 occasions, with Rijeka winning on eight and Istra on six occasions, while three matches finished in a draw. Pula did not have a top-tier club between 2000 and 2004. In 2004, ''NK Pula 1856'', former ''Uljanik'', was promoted to
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 ...
. In 2005, the club was renamed to ''NK Pula Staro Češko'', in 2006 to ''NK Pula'' and, finally, in summer 2007 to NK Istra 1961. Since July 2004, Istra 1961 and Rijeka have played 63 regional derbies, with Rijeka winning 41 and Istra 1961 6 games, while 16 matches ended in a draw.
Results
Last updated on 14 April 2024.
List of matches
Key
Note: Home team's score always shown first
1992–2000
2004–present
Players
Top scorers
''Updated up to the last derby played on 14 April 2024.''
;9 goals
*
Antonio Čolak (Rijeka)
;7 goals
*
Robert Murić (Rijeka)
;6 goals
*
Franko Andrijašević
Franko Andrijašević (; born 22 June 1991) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Zhejiang in the Chinese Super League.
Club career
A product of the Hajduk Split academy, Andrijašević made his professional debut ...
(Rijeka)
*
Andrej Kramarić
Andrej Kramarić (; born 19 June 1991) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a forward or attacking midfielder for Bundesliga club 1899 Hoffenheim and the Croatia national team.
Kramarić started his football career in his hometo ...
(Rijeka)
;5 goals
*
Alexander Gorgon
Alexander Gorgon ( pl, Aleksander Gorgoń; born 28 October 1988) is an Austrian-Polish (Rijeka)
*
Borimir Perković (Rijeka)
;4 goals
*
Gedeon Guzina (Istra 1961)
*
Niko Janković
Niko Janković (born 25 August 2001) 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 ...
(Rijeka)
*
Ivan Krstanović (Rijeka)
*
Domagoj Pavičić
Domagoj Pavičić (born 9 March 1994) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Konyaspor in the Turkish Süper Lig.
Club career
Pavičić joined Lokomotiva on two loans from Dinamo Zagreb in order to get first team ch ...
(Rijeka)
*
Marin Tomasov
Marin Tomasov (born 31 August 1987) is a Croatian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Midfielder (association football)#Winger, winger or an Midfielder (association football)#Attacking midfielder, attacking midfielder fo ...
(Rijeka)
*
Haris Vučkić
Haris Vučkić (born 21 August 1992) is a Slovenian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Buriram United.
Vučkić has represented Slovenia international youth selections in every category. He made his senior debut ...
(Rijeka)
;3 goals
*
Leon Benko (Rijeka)
*
Roman Bezjak
Roman Bezjak (born 21 February 1989) is a Slovenian footballer who plays as a forward for Austrian side USV Wies. He made his debut for the Slovenian national team in 2013.
Club career Celje
Bezjak made his debut for Celje on 9 April 2008 ...
(Rijeka)
*
Senad Brkić
Senad Brkić (born 3 September 1969) is a Bosnian former professional footballer and current football manager who is in charge of the Čelika Zenica under-19 team.
Playing career Club
In his career Brkić played for Bosnian club Čelik Zenica o ...
(Rijeka)
*
Josip Drmić (Rijeka)
*
Héber (Rijeka)
* Josip Jerneić (Istra 1961)
*
Zoran Kvržić
Zoran Kvržić (; born 7 August 1988) is a Bosnian professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Bosnian Premier League club Borac Banja Luka.
Kvržić started his professional career at Proleter Teslić, before joining HAŠK in 2009. ...
(Rijeka)
*
Dean Ljubančić (Rijeka)
*
Asim Šehić (Istra 1961)
Players who have scored in Rijeka–Pula derby for both clubs
*
Sandi Križman
Sandi Križman (; born 17 August 1989) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a forward.
Club career
Born in Pula, he started his career in his hometown club NK Žminj, where he scored seven goals in 22 matches, aged 17. In the s ...
(2 goals, 1 for ''Rijeka'' and 1 for ''Istra 1961'')
Players who have played for both clubs (senior career)
*
Boško Anić
Boško Anić (born 27 July 1968) is a retired Croatian football defender who last played for Hajduk Split in Croatia's Prva HNL.
Club career
As a professional footballer, he started with Borac Banja Luka in Yugoslav First League
The Yugosl ...
*
Mateo Bertoša
Mateo Bertoša (born 10 August 1988) is a Croatian footballer who plays for Opatija.
Club career
Bertoša made one Croatian Prva HNL appearance for HNK Rijeka before joining NK Jadran Poreč. He then had a short stint with Ergotelis FC in Gre ...
*
Dario Bodrušić
*
Fausto Budicin
Fausto Budicin (born 1 May 1981) is a Croatian professional football manager and former player who was most recently manager of Croatian First Football League club Rijeka
Managerial career
On 27 March 2019, Budicin was appointed new manager ...
*
Denis Bušnja
*
Igor Čagalj
Igor Čagalj (born 6 October 1982) is a retired Bosnian-born Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Hom ...
*
Matko Djarmati
Matko Djarmati (born 24 February 1982) is a Croatian manager.Uefa Pro coach who currently assistant manager of Indian Super League club Chennaiyin FC.
Club career
Djarmati previously played for NK Rijeka in the Croatian Prva HNL and Skënderbe ...
*Sandi Dobrić
*
Mate Dragičević
Mate Dragičević (born 19 November 1979) is a Croatian retired association football, football Striker (association football), striker.
Club career
He has enjoyed successful stints at several clubs, with Croats, Croatian giants Hajduk Split and ...
*
João Escoval
*
Marin Grujević
*
Nedim Halilović
*
Darko Horvat
*
Dani Iglesias
Daniel "Dani" Iglesias Gago (born 17 July 1995) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive ro ...
*Elmir Imširević
*
Vanja Iveša
Vanja Iveša (born 21 July 1977 in Pula) is a retired Croatian football goalkeeper, who last played for NK Opatija.
Club career
Over 2 meters tall, Iveša's career spanned over 26 years of professional football, during which he played for numer ...
*
Sergej Jakirović
*Josip Jerneić
*
Redi Jupi
Redi Jupi (born 31 May 1974) is an Albanian retired footballer. He played in the central midfield for KS Dinamo Tirana and has 19 caps for the Albania national team since his debut in 1995. Jupi is currently the manager of Albania U21 for the ...
*Irenko Jurić
*Jurica Karabatić
*Ilija Kljajić
*Damir Knežević
*Saša Kolić
*
Fabijan Komljenović
Fabijan Komljenović (born 16 January 1968) is a Croatian retired football player.
Playing career Club
While playing for Rijeka, he was nicknamed the " Caniggia from Kantrida" due to his style of play and physical appearance.
International
He ...
*Ljupko Kontešić
*
Sandi Križman
Sandi Križman (; born 17 August 1989) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a forward.
Club career
Born in Pula, he started his career in his hometown club NK Žminj, where he scored seven goals in 22 matches, aged 17. In the s ...
*
Ivan Kurtović
*
Siniša Linić
Siniša Linić (born 23 August 1982) is a Croatian retired football midfielder who last played for Grobničan.
Club career
After joining NK Rijeka in 1999, he played for two seasons, but limited playing time saw him moving to NK Orijent in 20 ...
*
Robert Lisjak
*Josip Lukunić
*Admir Malkić
*
Ivan Mance
*
Luka Marić
*
Bernardo Matić
*
Andréa Mbuyi-Mutombo
*
Marin Mikac
*
Mato Miloš
Mato Miloš (; born 30 June 1993) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays for Ekstraklasa side Widzew Łódź as a right-back.
Club career
Born in Pula, Miloš went through the ranks of his hometown club NK Jadran Poreč, before moving t ...
*
Ivan Močinić
Ivan Močinić (born 30 April 1993) is a Croatian retired football midfielder who last played for Croatian First Football League side Šibenik.
Club career Rijeka
Močinić made his début for Rijeka in an away match against Dinamo Zagreb in ...
*
Alen Pamić
*
Manuel Pamić
*
Branko Panić
Branko Panić (born 24 November 1977) is a retired Croatian Association football, footballer.
Career
Panić previously played for HNK Rijeka and NK Pomorac in the Croatian Prva HNL and for KS Flamurtari Vlorë in Albania.
References
Externa ...
*
Goran Paracki
*
Dalibor Pauletić
*
Renato Pilipović
Renato Pilipović (born 14 January 1977) is a Croatian retired footballer who played as a midfielder. He is currently working as an assistant manager of the Croatia national under-21 team.
Career
He was also capped for Croatia once at full inter ...
*
Andrej Prskalo
Andrej Prskalo (; born 1 May 1987) is a Croatian Association football, football Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper, who plays for NK Opatija.
Career Early years in HNK Rijeka
Prskalo signed his first professional contract with HNK Ri ...
*
Natko Rački
*Dragan Raković
*
Zedi Ramadani
*
Ivan Rodić
*
Elvis Scoria
Elvis Scoria (born 5 July 1971) is a Croatian former football player and manager. He played for HNK Rijeka, Dinamo Zagreb (then called Croatia Zagreb), NK Istra, NK Zagreb and for Spanish club UE Lleida.
Playing career
As a player Scoria appe ...
*
Ahmad Sharbini
*Dalibor Starčević
*
Valentino Stepčić
*
Andro Švrljuga
*
Dragan Tadić
Dragan Tadić (born 12 February 1973) is a Croatian retired football midfielder who was most recently the manager of Croatian club Rijeka.
Club career
He had spent the peak years of his career playing for various clubs in Croatia’s Prva HNL ...
*
Goran Vincetić
*
Luka Vučko
Luka Vučko (born 11 April 1984, in Split) is a Croatian retired footballer who played as a defender.
Career Club
A product of HNK Hajduk Split, Vučko had stints with Prva HNL sides Hajduk Split and NK Rijeka, after before moving to Süper ...
*
Matej Vuk
*
Neven Vukman
Neven Vukman (born 11 April 1985) is a Croatian football midfielder, who is currently playing for hometown club Ivančica.
Club career
A product of the NK Varteks youth academy (a club which folded in 2015, and is not associated with his 2019 ...
*
Ivor Weitzer
*
Zoran Zekić
Zoran Zekić (; born 29 April 1974) is a Croatian professional football manager and former player who played as a striker. He is the current manager of NK Osijek in the Croatian Football League.
Managerial career
In 2010 Zekić was appointed ...
*
Damir Zlomislić
*
Andrej Živković
Managers who have managed both clubs
*
Milivoj Bračun
Milivoj Bračun (born 22 April 1958) is a Croatian football manager and former player who was most recently the manager of Slovenian First League side FC Koper.
Born in Zagreb, SR Croatia, back then within Yugoslavia, Bračun played for Dinam ...
*
Nenad Gračan
Nenad Gračan (born 23 January 1962) is a Croatian football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He is the coach of the Croatia women's national football team.
Club career
Born in Rijeka, SFR Yugoslavia, Gračan started playin ...
*
Srećko Juričić
Srećko Juričić (born 30 December 1954) is a Croatian former professional association football, footballer, who is currently the sporting director for HNK Rijeka.
Juričić has also had a career as a manager (association football), manager coac ...
*
Robert Rubčić
Robert Rubčić (born 2 November 1963) is a Croatian retired association football, footballer and Manager (association football), manager.
Playing career
As a player, Rubčić played for HNK Rijeka for much of his career, collecting 184 league ...
*
Elvis Scoria
Elvis Scoria (born 5 July 1971) is a Croatian former football player and manager. He played for HNK Rijeka, Dinamo Zagreb (then called Croatia Zagreb), NK Istra, NK Zagreb and for Spanish club UE Lleida.
Playing career
As a player Scoria appe ...
*
Zoran Vulić
Zoran Vulić (; born 4 October 1961) is a Croatian professional football manager and former player who played as a defender. He is most notable for having managed Hajduk Split five separate times between 1998 and 2018, which is a record among ...
Prva HNL results
The table lists the place each team took in each of the seasons.
See also
*
Eternal derby
*
Adriatic derby
Adriatic derby ( hr, Jadranski derbi) is the name given to matches between two largest Croatian football clubs coming from the Adriatic coast, Hajduk Split and Rijeka. The teams are supported by their fanbases called Split's Torcida and Rijeka's ...
*
Dinamo–Rijeka derby
Dinamo–Rijeka derby is the name given to matches between Dinamo Zagreb and Rijeka. The teams are supported by their fanbases called Zagreb's Bad Blue Boys and Rijeka's Armada.
Games of note are the 1993–94 Croatian Football Cup final whe ...
References
External links
*''History of Rijeka's participation in championships'' a
NK-Rijeka.hr
{{DEFAULTSORT:Istra 1961-Rijeka rivalry
derby
Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...
NK Istra 1961
Football derbies in Croatia