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Hrvatski nogometni klub Rijeka ( en, Croatian Football Club Rijeka), commonly referred to as NK Rijeka or simply Rijeka, is a Croatian professional
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
club from the city of
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 ...
. HNK Rijeka compete in Croatia's top division, HT Prva liga, of which they have been members since its foundation in 1992. During the reconstruction of
Stadion Kantrida Kantrida Stadium ( hr, Stadion Kantrida) is a football stadium in the Croatian city of Rijeka. It is named after the Kantrida neighbourhood in which it is located, in the western part of the city. It has served as the home of the HNK Rijeka foo ...
, their traditional home ground has been
Stadion Rujevica Stadion Rujevica (official name: Stadion HNK Rijeka, en, HNK Rijeka Stadium) is a stadium in the city of Rijeka, Croatia. The stadium is commonly referred to as Rujevica after its location. From August 2015, the stadium is a temporary home ground ...
. Rijeka's traditional home colours are all white. The club was founded in 1904, with the football team being active at last since 1906, and following the tumultuous political changes that swept the border city of Rijeka in the following decades, it changed its name to
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 ...
in 1926, to S.C.F. Quarnero in 1946, to NK Rijeka in 1954, and finally HNK Rijeka in 1995. Rijeka is the third-most successful Croatian football club, having won one
Croatian First League 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 ...
title, two
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, ...
s, six Croatian Cups, one
Croatian Super Cup The Croatian Football Super Cup is a football match between the winners of the Croatian national top league and football cup. The Super Cup is always held at the beginning of a new football season, and is only held when different clubs win the t ...
, the Italian Federal Cup 1927-28 and the
1977–78 Balkans Cup The 1978 Balkans Cup was an edition of the Balkans Cup, a football competition for representative clubs from the Balkan states. It was contested by 6 teams and Rijeka won the trophy. Group A ---- Group B ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- Fi ...
.


History


1906–1926

The club was founded in mid April 1904 as ''Club Sportivo Olimpia'', by the Antonio Marchich, Aristodemo Susmel, Agesilao Satti, Carlo Colussi, Romeo and Alessandro Mitrovich, when the city of Rijeka was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire as a Corpus Separatum of the Hungarian Crown. The club was founded as a tennis-lawn, foot-ball, swimming, cycling and athletics club. The first official activities of the football section were recorded on the 25th November 1906, with historians still investigating the football activities in the earlier years. This date is therefore currently considered the official beginning of HNK Rijeka as a football club. This also makes Rijeka the oldest still active association football club on the territory of today's
Republic of 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 ...
. While many clubs in town and the region had often specific ethnic leanings, Olimpia had intentionally a very international soul with Italian, Croatian, Hungarian, German players all playing and working along each other in unison. The oldest line-up known from Rijeka's pioneer years was: Duimovic, Smoivar, Penka, Brosnich, R. Mittrovich, Lenardon, Satti, Novodnik, A. Mittrovich, Paulovatz, Cittovich (captain). Initially the club played its matches on the main Scoglietto square, in front of the local Honved HQ, but moved to Kantrida stadium during the following decade (and the stadium changed its name to Campo Sportivo Olympia). Initially Olimpia played in a black and white garments, but already in the 1910s the club uses also a fully white kit. During the following years Olimpia will be joined by several other local football clubs from the city of Rijeka, and will continue the legacy of Fiumei Atletikai Club as the main city club, when Atletico discontinued its football section in the course of the 1910s. Among the many clubs being founded in town during these years, a side in particular will soon rise as a fierce arch-rival to Olimpia: ''Doria'' (later renamed into ''CS Gloria'') arose from the proletarian classes and the humble old town dwellers of the industry-rich port town on the Adriatic. While ''Olimpia'' was associated with the wealthier classes, mostly players from working-class families performed for ''Gloria'', and therefore the club found most of its sympathisers among the poorer part of the population. Olimpia was renamed ''into Olympia'' on 9 January 1918 during a meeting of its board and the new president became the Fiuman writer Antonio de Schlemmer, possibly as an anti-irredentist move. During these years it achieved its first major local and international successes: it became the champion of the
Free State of Fiume The Free State of Fiume () was an independent free state that existed between 1920 and 1924. Its territory of comprised the city of Fiume (today Rijeka, Croatia) and rural areas to its north, with a corridor to its west connecting it to the K ...
championship in 1921, and it won several Julian March and North-Eastern Italian championships in the following years, soon becoming the strongest side in the Alpe-Adria region.


1926–1943

On September 2, 1926, following Mussolini's reforms of the
FIGC The Italian Football Federation ( it, Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio; FIGC), known colloquially as ''Federcalcio'', is the governing body of football in Italy. It is based in Rome and the technical department is in Coverciano, Florence. It ...
and the 1924 Fiume putsch led by Italian fascists, which brought to the annexation of the independent
Free State of Fiume The Free State of Fiume () was an independent free state that existed between 1920 and 1924. Its territory of comprised the city of Fiume (today Rijeka, Croatia) and rural areas to its north, with a corridor to its west connecting it to the K ...
to Italy, Olympia was forced to merge with its arch-rival Gloria into the ''Unione Sportiva Fiumana''. Pietro Pasquali was picked as the new president of the club. Two years later, Fiumana was already playing in the Italian
Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...
, and some of the biggest Italian clubs such as Ambrosiano (today's
Inter Inter may refer to: Association football clubs * Inter Milan, an Italian club * SC Internacional, a Brazilian club * Inter Miami CF, an American club * FC Inter Sibiu, a Romanian club * FC Inter Turku, a Finnish club * FK Inter Bratislava, a forme ...
, also forced into a brand image change by the new regime),
Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football leagu ...
and
Napoli Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
played at the Kantrida stadium (renamed to Stadio Borgomarina in those years). Despite a not so bad performance in Serie A, the impoverished city was not in the financial position to compete with the biggest clubs in Italy and had to see many of its stars signed by major Italian sides, passing most of the '30s and '40s between the second and third tier of the Italian competitions. At the reopening of a refurbished Kantrida (now called Stadio del Littorio) in 1935, Fiumana hosted
AS Roma ' (''Rome Sport Association''), commonly referred to as Roma (), is a professional football club based in Rome, Italy. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma has participated in the top tier of Italian football for all of its existence, except for ...
, and in June 1941, it became champion of the newly created Italian Serie C. Serie C's last season before the fall of fascist Italy in 1943 saw Fiumana end in third place. Championships in this part of Europe will be paused until 1946, but Fiumana will keep playing several matches with other local and German occupational authorities sides. Worth mentioning is a last ceremonial game between the old legends of Olympia and Gloria that was held on June the 15th 1944, played while allied planes were bombing the city's surroundings. Most Fiumana players will join the partisan movement and help the Yugoslav liberation movement, with many ending up in imprisonment and being sent to concentration camps for their sympathies.


1943–1954

Following the liberation of the city from the Nazi occupation and the subsequent occupation by Yugoslav troops, and due to the uncertain future status of the city during the long Paris peace conference, the club resumed its activities in the post-war period under the slightly rebranded name of ''Rappresentativa Sindacale Fiumana''. It went on playing several games against the most notable teams of the newly constituted Yugoslav state, beating Dinamo Zagreb 4–2, Akademičar Zagreb 7–2 and Metalac Beograd 2–0. During the interim post-war year, and prior to the first edition of 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, ...
, R.S. Fiumana played against some of its future Balkan rivals. The authorities also set up an unofficial city tournament among factories named after Fiumana's late captain
Giovanni Maras Giovanni may refer to: * Giovanni (name), an Italian male given name and surname * Giovanni (meteorology), a Web interface for users to analyze NASA's gridded data * ''Don Giovanni'', a 1787 opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, based on the legend of ...
, who died heroically in partisan combat on the nearby Mount
Risnjak Risnjak is a mountain in the Risnjak National Park, in Gorski Kotar, Croatia. It belongs to the Dinaric Alps mountain range.Naklada Naprijed, ''The Croatian Adriatic Tourist Guide'', pg. 84, Zagreb (1999), The name of the massif probably comes f ...
. Despite Maras and most of his colleagues' partisan allegiance and the many hardships endured by them in Nazi concentration camps, the name Fiumana came soon to be considered too Italian for a city that the Yugoslav occupational authorities were trying to annex by force before the official peace treaty could be signed. As in most other cities in Yugoslavia, in 1946 the communist authorities established a new identity for the city's most representative club and rebranded and restructured the club into the bilingual Società Cultura Fisica Quarnero (S.C.F. Quarnero) – Sportsko Društvo Kvarner (the name was initially only Italian but soon became bilingual Italian-Croatian). Quarnero was created on the 29th of July 1946, a brand name at the time considered by communist compromised by playing in the Italian football championships during the fascist regime. The new name followed the more geographic naming conventions requested to local councils by the central authorities in Belgrade in order to approve the reestablishment of the local sport club activities and to participate in competitions. The initiative came from Ettore Mazzieri, the city's sport commissioner for the Yugoslav military administration and a previous Fiumana manager. The first match under the rebranded identify was played on the 7th of August 1946, bringing a new important victory against
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, t ...
, a resounding 2-0 against the best Yugoslav side of the time. The club initially continued to play in the Fiumana ''amaranto'' colours, but started switching colours after a few seasons until the late '50s. Luigi Sošić was chosen as the new president, and all former Fiumana players and managers simply carried on playing in the renamed club for the next few years, before the Italian
exodus Exodus or the Exodus may refer to: Religion * Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible * The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan Historical events * Ex ...
slowly forced many of them to leave the city after the season 1947-48. As all clubs in Yugoslavia had to undergo a transformation into general sport clubs following the Stalinist model imposed by Belgrade in 1945, S.C.F. Quarnero incorporated 11 other sections in addition to football, including boxing, fencing, basketball and tennis. The international tennis champion
Orlando Sirola Orlando Sirola (30 April 1928 – 13 November 1995) was a male tennis player from Italy. Biography Sirola was born in Fiume, today the Croatian city of Rijeka. He only began playing tennis at the age of 22. In 1958 he won the singles title at ...
started his career at the club, before his exile. The authorities in Belgrade soon decided that Rijeka's club should be invited to participate in the first
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, ...
in 1946-47 as an external guest, representing the occupied Zone B of the
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 ...
region, but only after a play-off with the
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 ...
-based club Unione Sportiva Operaia. When the city of Rijeka was assigned to Yugoslavia in February 1947 and Tito broke all ties with Stalin in 1948, most Yugoslav clubs underwent a further re-organisation. Thus in 1948 Quarnero became once again an all-football club, and the name was also consequently modified once more into ''Club Calcio Quarnero – Nogometni Klub Kvarner''. During the early period playing in
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
's competitions, Kvarner reached moderate successes in various national and local leagues. Still, the club was relegated at the end of their inaugural season 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, ...
in 1946–47, due to a purely political decision to favour Ponziana, after Quarnero had already secured its stay in the first league in the course of the season. Upon securing Rijeka for Yugoslavia, the Belgrade authorities were now trying to pander to Trieste's residents through sport, in hope of annexing also that city to Yugoslavia. The club continued to play with mixed results in the second and third leagues of Yugoslav football. The club display worse and worse results over the next ten years concurrently to Rijeka's autochthonous population slowly leaving their hometown over the years. Consequently also the club was bleeding many of its best players year in year out, because many opted to leave Yugoslavia and move overseas. In 1954, following rising ethnic tensions around the Triest Crisis and the subsequent elimination of all forms of bilingualism in the city, paired with a desire to have a brand more recognizable and associated the club was further renamed into ''NK Rijeka''.


1954–1991

Given the political interferences in the club's life and the continuous mistreatment of ethnical Italians many of Quarnero's best players were forced to join the Fiuman
exodus Exodus or the Exodus may refer to: Religion * Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible * The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan Historical events * Ex ...
, and the club lingered between the second and third tier of the Yugoslav competition for the next several years. Following new Italian-Yugoslav tensions that arose during the Trieste Crisis, and the subsequent ''de facto'' abolition of the city's full bilingual rights by the communist authorities in Belgrade, the club changed its name once again, into the now completely monolingual ''NK Rijeka'' (Rijeka Football Club) on the 2nd of July 1954, giving up onto the Italian language in its brand image for the first time in the club's history. Rijeka started to use a white kit for the second time in its history in a match in
Šibenik Šibenik () is a historic city in Croatia, located in central Dalmatia, where the river Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea. Šibenik is a political, educational, transport, industrial and tourist center of Šibenik-Knin County, and is also the ...
in the 1957–58 second league season. During the previous seasons the kit colors were constantly being changed, depending on what was available to the management at any given time of the season and to what the sponsors were able to offer. The main kit remained white since. Rijeka returned to the First League in 1958 and remained in the top tier for 11 consecutive seasons until 1969, when it got relegated once again to the
Yugoslav Second League Yugoslav or Yugoslavian may refer to: * Yugoslavia, or any of the three historic states carrying that name: ** Kingdom of Yugoslavia, a European monarchy which existed 1918–1945 (officially called "Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes" 1918–1 ...
. Despite finishing at the top in four (out of five) seasons of the second league, due to three failed play/off attempts, the club only gained a promotion back to the top tier in 1974. Rijeka remained in the top tier until the
breakup of Yugoslavia The breakup of Yugoslavia occurred as a result of a series of political upheavals and conflicts during the early 1990s. After a period of political and economic crisis in the 1980s, constituent republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...
in 1991, with varying but improving results. The club's greatest success during this period are two
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, ...
titles in
1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...
and
1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
and a runner-up placement in
1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...
, when Rijeka lost the final in the
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 pen ...
. The club never managed to end higher than the fourth place 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, ...
. In
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...
, the club came closest to a Yugoslav championship title, finishing only two points behind
Red Star Belgrade Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club, ), commonly known as Red Star Belgrade in English-language media, is a Serbian professional football club based in Bel ...
. Rijeka were also the best placed Croatian club 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, ...
in
1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...
,
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...
and
1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...
.


1991–present

Following the breakup of Yugoslavia, in 1992 Rijeka joined the
Croatian First Football League 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 (soccer), football league competition, established in 1992. Previously, i ...
in its inaugural season. In 1995 the club changes one final time its name to ''HNK Rijeka'', adding the prefix "Croatian" to its name, following the example of many other clubs during the
Croatian War for Independence The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995 between Croat forces loyal to the Government of Croatia—which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY)—and the Serb-controlled Yugos ...
. Today Rijeka remains one of only four founding member clubs of the HNL to have never been relegated and is regarded as one of the country's top three clubs. Since the Croatian independence, the club won its first-ever league title in
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 ...
, ending
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 ...
's run of 11 consecutive titles, and was a runner-up in seven different seasons. In the final round of the 1998–99 season, a refereeing error denied Rijeka their first championship title. With one match to play, Rijeka were one point ahead of Croatia Zagreb, needing a home win against
Osijek Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...
to secure the title. With the match tied at 1–1, in the 89th minute, Rijeka forward
Admir Hasančić Admir Hasančić (born 29 November 1970) is a retired Bosnian-Herzegovinian football striker who spent his career playing for Čelik Zenica and FK Sarajevo in Bosnia, NK Rijeka and NK Zagreb in Croatian First League and Hapoel Petah Tikva in Isra ...
converted a cross by
Barnabás Sztipánovics Barnabás Sztipánovics (born 2 July 1974) is a Hungarian retired football player. Career In the 1998–99 season, he shared the place of the scorer leader of the Croatian First Football League with his teammate from Rijeka, Igor Musa, bot ...
. However, moments later, assistant referee Krečak raised his flag and referee Šupraha disallowed Rijeka's winning goal for an alleged offside. Following an investigation, 3D analysis revealed Hasančić was not, in fact, in an offside position, and that Rijeka were wrongfully denied their first championship title. An investigation by ''
Nacional Nacional, the Portuguese and Spanish word for "national", may refer to: Airlines * Nacional Transportes Aéreos, a Brazilian airline defunct in 2002 * Transportes Aéreos Nacional, a Brazilian airline defunct in 1961 Bank * Banco Nacional, a ...
'' revealed
Franjo Tuđman Franjo Tuđman (; 14 May 1922 – 10 December 1999), also written as Franjo Tudjman, was a Croatian politician and historian. Following the country's independence from Yugoslavia, he became the first president of Croatia and served as p ...
, the president of the Republic of Croatia and an ardent Croatia Zagreb supporter, earlier in 1999 ordered the country's intelligence agencies to spy on football referees, officials and journalists, with the aim of ensuring the Zagreb club wins the league title. Rijeka has also won six Croatian Cups, including back-to-back titles in
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 ...
and
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 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
and most recently in
2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
and
2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...
. It won the cup also in
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 ...
and in
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 ...
, which helped them secure a historic
Double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...
in that year.


HNK Rijeka in the European competitions

Rijeka participated in
UEFA competitions UEFA competitions (french: competitions de l'UEFA), referred improperly by the mass media as European football, are the set of tournaments organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), generally in professional and amateur asso ...
on 21 occasions, including nine consecutive appearances since 2013–14. The greatest success was the quarter-final of the 1979–80 European Cup Winners' Cup, where they lost to Italian giants
Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football leagu ...
2–0 on aggregate. The most memorable result in Europe was the home win (3–1) against eventual winners
Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...
in the
1984–85 UEFA Cup The 1984–85 UEFA Cup was the 14th season of the UEFA Cup. It was won by Real Madrid, who gained an aggregate victory over Videoton of Hungary in a two-legged final. Changes *Spain +1 *Netherlands -2 *Scotland +1 *Czechoslovakia +1 *East German ...
. Controversially, in the return leg at
Santiago Bernabéu Stadium The Santiago Bernabéu Stadium ( es, Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, ) is a football stadium in Madrid, Spain. With a current seating capacity of 81,044, it has been the home stadium of Real Madrid since its completion in 1947. It is the second-larg ...
, which Rijeka lost 3–0, three of their players were sent off. Madrid scored their first goal from a doubtful penalty in the 67th minute with Rijeka already down to ten men. Over the next ten minutes, two additional Rijeka players were sent off, most notably
Damir Desnica Damir Desnica (born 20 December 1956) is a Croatian retired footballer who played as a forward. Club career Born in Obrovac, Croatia, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Desnica spent much of his career with HNK Rijeka, appearing in nearl ...
. While Desnica received the first yellow card because he did not stop play after Schoeters blew his whistle, the second yellow was issued because he allegedly insulted the referee. However, unbeknownst to the referee, Desnica had been a
deaf-mute Deaf-mute is a term which was used historically to identify a person who was either deaf and used sign language or both deaf and could not speak. The term continues to be used to refer to deaf people who cannot speak an oral language or have som ...
since birth. With Rijeka reduced to eight players, Madrid scored two additional goals, progressed to the next round and eventually won the trophy. In 2013, after winning 4–3 on aggregate against
VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V., commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's football team is currently part of Germany's first division, the Bundesliga. VfB Stu ...
, Rijeka qualified for the
2013–14 UEFA Europa League group stage The group stage of the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League was played from 19 September to 12 December 2013. A total of 48 teams competed in the group stage. Draw The draw was held on 30 August 2013, 13:00 CEST (UTC+2), at the Grimaldi Forum, Monaco. Th ...
. Rijeka also participated in the
2014–15 UEFA Europa League group stage The 2014–15 UEFA Europa League group stage was played from 18 September to 11 December 2014. A total of 48 teams competed in the group stage to decide 24 of the 32 places in the knockout phase of the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League. Draw The draw wa ...
, where they defeated
Feyenoord Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the club changed to various names before settling on being called after its ...
and
Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège (; nl, Standard Luik ; german: Standard Lüttich ) or simply Standard in Belgium, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Liège. They are one of the most ...
and drew with title-holders and eventual winners
Sevilla Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Gua ...
. In 2017, Rijeka reached the
2017–18 UEFA Champions League The 2017–18 UEFA Champions League was the 63rd season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 26th season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. The final was pla ...
play-off, where they lost 3–1 on aggregate to Greek champions
Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...
, and automatically qualified for the
2017–18 UEFA Europa League group stage The 2017–18 UEFA Europa League group stage began on 14 September and ended on 7 December 2017. A total of 48 teams competed in the group stage to decide 24 of the 32 places in the knockout phase of the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League. Draw The draw ...
. In the group stage they recorded a famous home win (2–0) against
AC Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seasons ...
but once again failed to progress to the knockout stages.


Private ownership

In February 2012,
Gabriele Volpi Gabriele Volpi (born 29 June 1943) is an Italian-born Nigerian businessman, active in various sectors in Nigeria and Angola, the owner of the Italian football club Spezia Calcio and the former owner of Croatian football club HNK Rijeka. Early l ...
– an Italian businessman and the founder of Orlean Invest, as well as the owner of football club
Spezia La Spezia (, or , ; in the local Spezzino dialect) is the capital city of the province of La Spezia and is located at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the southern part of the Liguria region of Italy. La Spezia is the second largest city ...
and water polo club
Pro Recco A.S.D. Pro Recco (Official name: Associazione Sportiva Dilettantistica Pro Recco) is an Italian water polo club from Recco, in Liguria. It currently plays in Serie A1. Pro Recco is the most successful club in men's water polo. In men's domestic ...
– injected much needed capital into the club. With the privatization process complete by September 2013, Volpi, through Dutch-based Stichting Social Sport Foundation, became the owner of 70% of the club, with the City of Rijeka in control of the remaining 30%. On 29 December 2017 it was announced that chairman Damir Mišković, through London-based Teanna Limited, acquired the majority stake in the club from Stichting Social Sport Foundation.


Record transfers

In January 2015, Rijeka sold their star striker
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 ...
to
Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
for a club-record £9.7 million transfer fee.


Stadium

The club initially played at the Honved training field, in front of today's Popular University of Rijeka in the central ''Scoglietto'' suburb of Rijeka. During the 1920s the club was allowed to build a new and very modern for the time facility in Scoglietto, and toward the end of the decade it started using Stadium Kantrida as its main field, naming it ''Campo Sportivo Olympia''. Kantrida was the club's traditional home ground for over 95 years (with a small hiatus between 1947 and 1951, due to refurbishing), until July 2015. With a new project for a refurbished and bigger Kantrida Stadium being presented, and the field awaiting demolition and reconstruction, in August 2015, Rijeka have been based at the newly built
Stadion Rujevica Stadion Rujevica (official name: Stadion HNK Rijeka, en, HNK Rijeka Stadium) is a stadium in the city of Rijeka, Croatia. The stadium is commonly referred to as Rujevica after its location. From August 2015, the stadium is a temporary home ground ...
, a modern
all-seater An all-seater stadium is a sports stadium in which every spectator has a seat. This is commonplace in professional association football stadiums in nations such as the United Kingdom, Spain, and the Netherlands. Most association football and Ame ...
with a capacity of 8,279. Stadion Rujevica is part of Rijeka's new training centre and serves as the club's temporary home ground. Following the demolition of old Kantrida, a new, state-of-the art, 14,600-capacity all-seater stadium should be built on the same location. In addition to the stadium, investors are planning to build a commercial complex that will include a shopping mall and a hotel. The project is on hold as the club is seeking funding and co-investors to make the project viable.


Support

Rijeka's
ultras Ultras are a type of association football fans who are renowned for their fanatical support. The term originated in Italy, but is used worldwide to describe predominantly organised fans of association football teams. The behavioural tende ...
group are called ''
Armada Rijeka Armada are a football ultras group that support HNK Rijeka. They also support Rijeka's other sports clubs, such as RK Zamet ( handball), Primorje EB (waterpolo) and KK Kvarner 2010 (basketball). The name Armada was given in 1987 at a bar i ...
'', or simply Armada. The group has been active since 1987, but some forms of organised (albeit not registered as associations) support were present and following the club already in the decades before, and the earliest we know reach well into the '20s of the XX. century. During most home matches, the majority of the seats are occupied by
season ticket A season ticket, or season pass, is a ticket that grants privileges over a defined period of time. History The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' has illustrative quotations which show the term ''season ticket'' used in the United States in 1820 ...
holders. For the 2017–18 season the club had 5,922 season ticket holders and 8,403 members.


Rivalries

Rijeka's greatest rivalry nowadays is with
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, t ...
. Since 1946, the
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 ...
is contested between the two most popular Croatian football clubs from the
Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) ...
coast, Rijeka and Hajduk. Other rivalries exist with other major clubs in Croatia
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 ...
and a milder with
Osijek Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...
. The main regional derby is that with Istra Pula. The origins of the Rijeka–Pula rivalry date back to the clashes between
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 ...
and Grion Pola since the late 1920s. The city derby with Orijent is probably the most ancient, with its roots in the clashes between CS Olimpia and CS Gloria against Orijent and the other more successful in those early years Sušak based club,
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...
.


Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors


Players


Current squad


Out on loan


Youth system


Club officials and technical staff


Notable players

:To appear in this section a player must have satisfied ''all'' of the following three criteria: * (1) player has at least 100 appearances in official matches, including first division (
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, ...
and
Croatian First Football League 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 (soccer), football league competition, established in 1992. Previously, i ...
), domestic cup (
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, ...
, Croatian Football Cup, Croatian Cup and Croatian Football Super Cup, Croatian Supercup) and UEFA club competitions; * (2) player has scored at least 20 goals in official matches if Forward (association football), forward, 5 if midfielder and no goal requirement if Defender (association football), defender or Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper in first division (
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, ...
and
Croatian First Football League 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 (soccer), football league competition, established in 1992. Previously, i ...
), domestic cup (
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, ...
, Croatian Football Cup, Croatian Cup and Croatian Football Super Cup, Croatian Supercup) and UEFA club competitions; and * (3) player has played at least one international match for their national team while under contract with Rijeka. * Otherwise, also included are 30 of the club's List of HNK Rijeka records and statistics#Top goalscorers, top scorers and List of HNK Rijeka records and statistics#Most appearances, most capped players in the first division. * Ezio Loik * Rodolfo Volk * Mario Varglien * Giovanni Varglien * Luigi Ossoinach * Andrea Kregar *
Giovanni Maras Giovanni may refer to: * Giovanni (name), an Italian male given name and surname * Giovanni (meteorology), a Web interface for users to analyze NASA's gridded data * ''Don Giovanni'', a 1787 opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, based on the legend of ...
* Ernő Egri Erbstein * Ferenc Molnár * Balassa Béla * Alexander Gorgon * Senad Brkić *
Admir Hasančić Admir Hasančić (born 29 November 1970) is a retired Bosnian-Herzegovinian football striker who spent his career playing for Čelik Zenica and FK Sarajevo in Bosnia, NK Rijeka and NK Zagreb in Croatian First League and Hapoel Petah Tikva in Isra ...
* Zoran Kvržić * Héber Araujo dos Santos * Fredi Bobic * Filip Bradarić * Elvis Brajković * Antonio Čolak * Dario Knežević *
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 ...
* Mate Maleš * Mladen Mladenović * Roberto Paliska * Dubravko Pavličić * Mladen Romić * Daniel Šarić * Leonard Zuta * Radomir Đalović * Marko Vešović * Roman Bezjak * Josip Drmić * Mario Gavranović * Radojko Avramović * Marijan Brnčić * Boško Bursać * Nikica Cukrov *
Damir Desnica Damir Desnica (born 20 December 1956) is a Croatian retired footballer who played as a forward. Club career Born in Obrovac, Croatia, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Desnica spent much of his career with HNK Rijeka, appearing in nearl ...
* Adriano Fegic * Nenad Gračan * Tonči Gulin * Miloš Hrstić * Janko Janković * Marijan Jantoljak * Srećko Juričić * Miodrag Kustudić * Vladimir Lukarić * Sergio Machin * Danko Matrljan * Nikica Milenković * Anđelo Milevoj * Velimir Naumović * Petar Radaković * Zvjezdan Radin * Milan Radović * Mauro Ravnić * Milan Ružić * Miroslav Šugar * Edmond Tomić * Bruno Veselica * Mladen Vranković * Nedeljko Vukoje Source: List of HNK Rijeka records#Appearances and Goals, Appearances and Goals. Last updated 23 April 2022.


All-time Best 11

According to a 2005–07 survey of former players (older than 40 years of age) and respected journalists, Marinko Lazzarich found that the best all-time team of Rijeka is as follows: 1. Marijan Jantoljak, Jantoljak, 2. Anđelo Milevoj, Milevoj, 3. Miloš Hrstić, Hrstić, 4. Petar Radaković, Radaković, 5. Zvjezdan Radin, Radin, 6. Srećko Juričić, Juričić, 7. Vladimir Lukarić, Lukarić, 8. Nenad Gračan, Gračan, 9. Stojan Osojnak, Osojnak, 10. Velimir Naumović, Naumović, 11. Damir Desnica, Desnica. Rijeka's daily, ''Novi list'', in 2011 declared the following 11 players as Rijeka's best all time team: 1. Marijan Jantoljak, Jantoljak, 2. Daniel Šarić, Šarić, 3. Zvjezdan Radin, Radin, 4. Srećko Juričić, Juričić, 5. Miloš Hrstić, Hrstić, 6. Ezio Loik, Loik, 7. Petar Radaković, Radaković, 8. Mladen Mladenović, Mladenović, 9. Velimir Naumović, Naumović, 10. Josip Skoblar, Skoblar, 11. Damir Desnica, Desnica.


Best 11 (2010–20)

In 2020, the club's fans voted to select the best squad over the past decade to fit in a 4–2–3–1 formation: Andrej Prskalo, Prskalo – Stefan Ristovski (footballer, born February 1992), Ristovski, Dario Župarić, Župarić, Matej Mitrović, Mitrović, Leonard Zuta, Zuta – Damir Kreilach, Kreilach, Moisés Lima Magalhães, Moisés – Marko Vešović, Vešović, Franko Andrijašević, Andrijašević, Anas Sharbini, Sharbini – Andrej Kramarić, Kramarić. Manager: Matjaž Kek, Kek.


Managers

* Karoly Bela (September 1926 – July 27) * Delfino Costanzo Valle (August 1927 – July 29) * Imre Emmerich Poszonyi (August 1929 – July 32) * Luigi Ossoinak (August 1932 – July 33) * Andrea Kregar (August 1933 – July 36) * Eugen Payer (August 1936 – July 38) * Marcello Mihalich (August 1938 – July 40) * Angelo Piccalunga (August 1940 – July 42) * Artur Kolisch (August 1942 – 44) * Hans Bloch (July 1946 – August 46) * Jozo Matošić (August 1946 – August 47) * Ivan Smojver & Ante Vukelić (September 1947 – October 47) * Franjo Glaser (October 1947 – July 48) * Zvonko Jazbec (September 1948 – December 48) * Franjo Glaser (January 1949 – December 50) * Slavko Kodrnja (January 1951 – December 51) * Ljubo Benčić (January 1952 – August 52) * Nikola Duković (September 1952 – April 53) * Antun Lokošek (May 1953 – December 53) * Ratomir Čabrić (January 1954 – July 54) * Franjo Glaser (August 1954 – July 56) * Nikola Duković (September 1956 – July 57) * Milorad Ognjanov (September 1957 – October 59) * Luka Kaliterna (November 1959 – May 60) * Stojan Osojnak (May 1960 – June 61) * Ostoja Simić (June 1961 – May 62) * Angelo Ziković (August 1962 – December 62) * Virgil Popescu (January 1963 – September 64) * Stojan Osojnak (October 1964 – June 67) * Vladimir Beara (May 1967 – November 68) * Angelo Ziković (November 1968 – June 70) * Ilijas Pašić (June 1970 – June 71) * Stevan Vilotić (June 1971 – June 72) * Marcel Žigante (June 1972 – May 73) * Ivica Šangulin (May 1973 – June 74) * Gojko Zec (June 1974 – June 76) * Dragutin Spasojević (June 1976 – April 79) * Marijan Brnčić ''(interim)'' (April 1979 – June 79) * Miroslav Blažević (June 1979 – January 81) * Marijan Brnčić (January 1981 – April 83) * Josip Skoblar (May 1983 – December 86) * Mladen Vranković (January 1987 – June 89) * Vladimir Lukarić (June 1989 – January 91) * Nikola "Pape" Filipović (January 1991) * Mladen Vranković (February 1991) * Željko Mudrovičić (March 1991 – June 91) * Marijan Jantoljak (June 1991 – November 92) * Srećko Juričić & Mile Tomljenović (November 1992) * Srećko Juričić (January 1993 – June 94) * Zvjezdan Radin (June 1994 – March 95) * Mladen Vranković (April 1995) * Josip Skoblar (April 1995 – June 95) * Marijan Jantoljak (June 1995 – September 95) * Ranko Buketa ''(interim)'' (September 1995 – October 95) * Josip Skoblar (October 1995 – November 95) * Miroslav Blažević & Nenad Gračan (January 1996 – June 96) * Luka Bonačić (June 1996 – August 96) * Ivan Kocjančić ''(interim)'' (August 1996) * Branko Ivanković (August 1996 – March 98) * Nenad Gračan (March 1998 – November 2000) * Boris Tičić ''(interim)'' (November 2000 – December 2000) * Predrag Stilinović (December 2000 – 1 May) * Ivan Katalinić (May 2001 – 2 May) * Zlatko Kranjčar (May 2002 – 2 November) * Mladen Mladenović (November 2002 – 3 March) * Vjekoslav Lokica (March 2003 – 3 July) * Ivan Katalinić (July 2003 – 4 May) * Elvis Scoria (1 July 2004 – 30 September 2005) * Dragan Skočić (1 October 2005 – 30 September 2006) * Milivoj Bračun (1 October 2006 – 13 March 2007) * Josip Kuže (12 March 2007 – 4 June 2007) * Zlatko Dalić (1 June 2007 – 30 June 2008) * Mladen Ivančić (7 July 2008 – 8 October 2008) * Stjepan Ostojić (footballer), Stjepan Ostojić ''(interim)'' (4 October 2008 – 13 October 2008) * Robert Rubčić (13 October 2008 – 21 September 2009) * Zoran Vulić (22 September 2009 – 10 November 2009) * Nenad Gračan (10 November 2009 – 6 November 2010) * Elvis Scoria (7 November 2010 – 16 June 2011) * Alen Horvat (20 June 2011 – 4 October 2011) * Ivo Ištuk (4 October 2011 – 18 March 2012) * Dragan Skočić (19 March 2012 – 30 April 2012) * Mladen Ivančić ''(interim)'' (30 April 2012 – 2 May 2012) * Elvis Scoria (2 May 2012 – 24 February 2013) * Matjaž Kek (27 February 2013 – 6 October 2018) * Igor Bišćan (9 October 2018 – 22 September 2019) * Simon Rožman (23 September 2019 – 27 February 2021) * Goran Tomić (1 March 2021 – 27 May 2022) * Dragan Tadić (20 June 2022 – 16 August 2022) * Fausto Budicin ''(interim)'' (16 August 2022 – 5 September 2022) * Serse Cosmi (5 September 2022 –13 November 2022) * Sergej Jakirović (30 November 2022 –) Source:


Winning managers


Presidents

* Antonio Carlo de Schlemmer 1918–1920 * Antonio Marcich 1920–1921 * Pietro Pasquali 1921–1923 * Clemente Marassi 1923–1925 * Nino Host-Venturi 1925–1926 * Giovanni Stiglich 1926–1928 * Ramiro Antonini 1928–1929 * Oscar Sperber 1929–1931 * Costanzo Delfino 1931–1936 * Alessandro Szemere 1936–1937 * Eugenio Zoncada 1937–1938 * Alessandro Andreanelli 1938–1939 * Giuseppe Ianetti 1939–1940 * Alesandro Andreanelli 1940–1941 * Carlo Descovich 1941–1942 * Andrea Gastaldi 1942–1945 * Luigi Sošić, 1946 * Giovanni Cucera, 1946–1948 * Ambrosio Stečić, 1948–1952 * Dr. Zdravko Kučić, 1953–1954 * Milorad Doričić, 1955–1956 * Milan Blažević, 1957–1959 * Stjepan Koren, 1960–1963 * Milorad Doričić, 1964–1969 * Vilim Mulc, 1969–1971 * Davor Sušanj, 1971 * Ljubo Španjol, 1972–1978 * Zvonko Poščić, 1978–1979 * Nikola Jurčević, 1980 * Marijan Glavan, 1981 * Davor Sušanj, 1981–1984 * Stjepko Gugić, 1985–1986 * Dragan Krčelić, 1986–1989 * Želimir Gruičić, 1989–1991 * Darko Čargonja, 1991–1992 * Josip Lokmer, 1993–1994 * Krsto Pavić, 1994–1995 * Hrvoje Šarinić, 1995–1996 * Franjo Šoda, 1996–1997 * Prof. Žarko Tomljanović, 1997–2000 * Hrvoje Šarinić, Dr. Ivan Vanja Frančišković, Robert Ježić, 2000 * Robert Ježić, 2000 * Sanjin Kirigin, 2000–2002 * Duško Grabovac, 2002–2003 * Robert Ježić, 2003–2008 * Dr. Ivan Vanja Frančišković, 2008–2009 * Ivan Turčić, 2009–2011 * Robert Komen, 2011–2012 * Damir Mišković, 2012– Source:


Seasons, statistics and records


Honours

Rijeka has won one
Croatian First Football League 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 (soccer), football league competition, established in 1992. Previously, i ...
title, two
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, ...
s and six Croatian Cups, one Italian Coppa Federale. In European competitions, the club has reached the quarter-final of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, Cup Winners' Cup in 1979–80 European Cup Winners' Cup, 1979–80, UEFA Cup Round of 32 in 1984–85 UEFA Cup, 1984–85, and group stages of the UEFA Europa League in 2013–14 UEFA Europa League, 2013–14, 2014–15 UEFA Europa League, 2014–15, 2017–18 UEFA Europa League, 2017–18 and 2020–21 UEFA Europa League, 2020–21. The club has also won the
1977–78 Balkans Cup The 1978 Balkans Cup was an edition of the Balkans Cup, a football competition for representative clubs from the Balkan states. It was contested by 6 teams and Rijeka won the trophy. Group A ---- Group B ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- Fi ...
.


Domestic

Croatia *Prva HNL, Croatian First League ** Winners: 2016–17 Croatian First Football League, 2016–17 ** Runners-up (7): 1998–99 Croatian First Football League, 1998–99, 2005–06 Croatian First Football League, 2005–06, 2013–14 Croatian First Football League, 2013–14, 2014–15 Croatian First Football League, 2014–15, 2015–16 Croatian First Football League, 2015–16, 2017–18 Croatian First Football League, 2017–18, 2018–19 Croatian First Football League, 2018–19 *Croatian Football Cup, Croatian Cup ** Winners (6): 2004–05 Croatian Football Cup, 2004–05, 2005–06 Croatian Football Cup, 2005–06, 2013–14 Croatian Football Cup, 2013–14, 2016–17 Croatian Football Cup, 2016–17, 2018–19 Croatian Football Cup, 2018–19, 2019–20 Croatian Football Cup, 2019–20 ** Runners-up: (2) 1993–94 Croatian Football Cup, 1993–94, 2021–22 Croatian Football Cup, 2021–22 *
Croatian Super Cup The Croatian Football Super Cup is a football match between the winners of the Croatian national top league and football cup. The Super Cup is always held at the beginning of a new football season, and is only held when different clubs win the t ...
** Winners: 2014 Croatian Football Super Cup, 2014 ** Runners-up: 2005 Croatian Football Super Cup, 2005, Croatian Football Super Cup#2006, 2006, 2019 Croatian Football Super Cup, 2019 Yugoslavia *
Yugoslav Second League Yugoslav or Yugoslavian may refer to: * Yugoslavia, or any of the three historic states carrying that name: ** Kingdom of Yugoslavia, a European monarchy which existed 1918–1945 (officially called "Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes" 1918–1 ...
** Winners (6): :it:Druga Liga 1952#Rijeka, 1952, :it:Druga Liga 1957-1958#I Zona, 1957–58, :it:Druga Liga 1969-1970#Girone Ovest, 1969–70, :it:Druga Liga 1970-1971#Girone Ovest, 1970–71, :it:Druga Liga 1971-1972#Girone Ovest, 1971–72, :it:Druga Liga 1973-1974#Girone Ovest, 1973–74 *
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, ...
** Winners (2): 1977–78 Yugoslav Cup, 1977–78, 1978–79 Yugoslav Cup, 1978–79 ** Runners-up: 1986–87 Yugoslav Cup, 1986–87 Italy *Italian Coppa Federale ** Winners (1): 1927–28 *Italian North-East league **Winners (1): 1923–24 **Runners-up: 1924–25 *Italian Third League ** Winners (1): 1940–41 Serie C, 1940–41 *Julian March Championship **Winners (2): 1921–22, 1922–23 *Friuli and Julian March Cup **Winners (1): 1922–23 Free State of Fiume * Fiuman championship ** Winners (1): 1920–21 * Fiuman-Julian Cup ** Winners (1): 1921 Austria-Hungary * Grazioli Cup ** Runners-up: 1919


International

* Balkans Cup ** Winners: 1977–78 Balkans Cup, 1977–78 ** Runners-up: 1979–80 Balkans Cup, 1979–80 * Atlantic Cup (Portugal), The Atlantic Cup: ** Winners: The Atlantic Cup (football)#2017 edition, 2017 Source:, Last updated 31 July 2020.


Rankings


UEFA club coefficient ranking

The following data indicates Rijeka's coefficient rankings through the years. :''(As of 1 November 2021), Source:'' All time UEFA ranking: ''271''


European record


By competition

Source:, Last updated on 28 July 2022.
Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against. Defunct competitions indicated in italics.


By ground

Source:, Last updated on 21 July 2022.
Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against.


By season

Non-UEFA competitions are listed in ''italics''. Last updated on 28 July 2022.
Note: List includes matches played in competitions not endorsed by UEFA.
Matches played at neutral ground in Ascoli Piceno, Ascoli and Pisa, Italy.


Player records

*Most appearances in UEFA club competitions: 38 appearances **Zoran Kvržić **Ivan Tomečak *Top scorer in UEFA club competitions: 8 goals **
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 ...


References


External links

*Official
HNK Rijeka official website


at UEFA.com *Unofficial
Hoću Ri

Forza Fiume
*Supporters
Armada Rijeka official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rijeka HNK Rijeka, Football clubs in Rijeka Football clubs in Croatia Football clubs in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County Football clubs in Yugoslavia Association football clubs established in 1946 1946 establishments in Croatia