Tonči Žilić (born 26 February 1975) is a retired

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 football player. He spent most of his career playing in the Croatian

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 ...

, but also a spell in Italy where he played three seasons in

Serie B The Serie B (), currently named Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had been ...

Career

Born in

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, entertain ...

, Žilić began playing football for local side NK Orkan Dugi Rat, debuting early for the senior team before moving to Primorac Stobreč, at 17 and a half years of age. He joined HNK Šibenik and

NK Osijek Nogometni klub Osijek ( en, Osijek Football Club), commonly referred to as NK Osijek or simply Osijek (), is a Croatian professional football club from Osijek. Founded in 1947, it was the club from Slavonia with the most seasons in the Yugoslav ...

before leaving for Italy in December 1997. Žilić joined

side

A.S.D. Castel di Sangro Calcio Castel di Sangro Cep is an Italian association football club from Castel di Sangro in the Province of L'Aquila, Abruzzo. They currently play in Eccellenza Molise. Their moment of greatness came in 1996, when they were promoted to Serie B, a no ...

. After one season, he left and would play in Serie B for Hellas Verona F.C. and

A.C. Siena Associazione Calcio Robur Siena 1904, commonly referred to as Siena, is an Football in Italy, Italian football club based in Siena, Tuscany. The club was re-incorporated in 2020 after the bankruptcy of the previous legal entity Robur Siena, whi ...

. In 2002, Žilić returned to Croatia where he would spend the next six seasons playing in the

with Šibenik, NK Zagreb and

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 1979 ...

. After spending the 2007–2008 season outside the Hajduk first team, training with the junior team, he went to the

Druga HNL The Prva nogometna liga ( en, First football league), commonly Prva NL or 1. NL, is the second tier of the football league system in Croatia. The league was formed in 1991 with the breakup of Yugoslavia and the dissolution of the Yugoslav Secon ...

team NK Solin, where he stayed until January 2009, when he signed for the

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, and ...

n team

Drava Ptuj Nogometni klub Drava Ptuj ( en, Drava Ptuj Football Club), commonly referred to as NK Drava Ptuj or simply Drava, was a Slovenian football club, which played in the town of Ptuj. Named after the Drava river which flows through the town, Drava P ...

. After a year and a half there, he returned to his hometown club, the fourth-tier NK Orkan, serving both as a player and a youth team coach. In 2011, he joined the Treća HNL Jug side

NK Omiš NK Omiš is a Croatian football club based in the town of Omiš Omiš (, Latin and it, Almissa) is a town and port in the Dalmatia region of Croatia, and is a municipality in the Split-Dalmatia County. The town is situated approximately so ...

. Žilić made four appearances for the Croatia national under-21 football team.

References

External links

*
Profile at Lega CalioProfile at 1hnl.netProfile at HNL-Statistika.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zilic, Tonci 1975 births Living people Footballers from Split, Croatia Men's association football defenders Croatian men's footballers Croatia men's under-21 international footballers NK Primorac 1929 players HNK Šibenik players NK Osijek players A.C.D. Castel di Sangro Cep 1953 players Hellas Verona FC players Fermana F.C. players A.C.R. Siena 1904 players NK Zagreb players HNK Hajduk Split players NK Solin players NK Drava Ptuj (1933) players Croatian Football League players Serie B players Croatian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in Slovenia Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Slovenia