Dario Šimić (; born 12 November 1975) is a Croatian former
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 lea ...
. Šimić was a versatile
defender who played as
full-back,
sweeper or
centre back; a physical and hard-tackling defender, he was known in particular for his strength and ability in the air.
A product of
Dinamo Zagreb Academy, he later played for
Serie A
The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...
sides
Inter Milan
Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football ...
and
AC Milan
(), commonly referred to as Milan or AC Milan () mainly outside of Italy, is an Italian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Founded in 1899, the club competes in the Serie A, the top tie ...
and
Ligue 1
Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...
side
Monaco
Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...
, before returning to Dinamo Zagreb in 2010, where he retired from the game during the same year.
Šimić played for
Croatia national football team
The Croatia national football team () represents Croatia in men's international Association football, football matches. It is governed by the Croatian Football Federation (HNS), the governing body for football in Croatia. It is a member of UEF ...
between 1996 and 2008. He retired from international football shortly after becoming the first Croatian player to win 100 international caps. He is currently the team's eighth
most capped player. He was a member of Croatia's squad for each of the six major tournaments for which the team qualified during the 1990s and 2000s, which includes three
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...
s (11 appearances in
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...
,
2002
The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...
and
2006
2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification.
Events
January
* January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute.
* January 12 – A stampede during t ...
) and three
UEFA European Championship
The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro or Euros, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition ...
s (5 appearances in
1996
1996 was designated as:
* International Year for the Eradication of Poverty
Events January
* January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...
,
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
and
2008
2008 was designated as:
*International Year of Languages
*International Year of Planet Earth
*International Year of the Potato
*International Year of Sanitation
The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...
).
Club career
Dinamo Zagreb
Šimić joined
Dinamo Zagreb in 1987 at the age of twelve and rose through the ranks of their youth academy before being promoted to the senior squad for the
1992–93 season. His debut for the Blues came under manager
Miroslav Blažević in the first match of the season, a
Prva HNL away game against
Varteks on 23 August 1992, which made him the youngest ever player to debut for the club as Šimić was only three months shy from his 17th birthday. He continued to make five more appearances in his first top-flight season and although was widely regarded as a promising player, he struggled to make a bigger impact in his first season with the squad which eventually won the Croatian title that year.
However, right from the beginning of the
1993–94 season he established himself as a first team regular and was one of the key players of the squad in one of the most successful periods in club's history. In the next six seasons Šimić helped the club win another four titles as well as four
Croatian Cups. In this period Šimić also experienced his first taste of European football when Dinamo (known as ''Croatia Zagreb'' from 1992 to 2000) played
Auxerre
Auxerre ( , , Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Auchoirre'') is the capital (Prefectures in France, prefecture) of the Yonne Departments of France, department and the fourth-largest city in the Burgundy historical region southeast of Par ...
in a
1994–95 Cup Winners' Cup first round tie as he appeared a 3–1 home win at
Maksimir
Maksimir () is one of the districts of Zagreb, Croatia, population 48,902 (2011 census). Maksimir stadium and Maksimir Park are located in it. It was named for Bishop Maksimilijan Vrhovac.
The urban center of the Maksimir district is located a ...
on 29 September 1994. He regularly appeared in all of the club's European campaigns over the following four seasons and took part in some of the club's biggest achievements in recent times, such as reaching the
1997–98 UEFA Cup round of 16 (where they were knocked out by
Atlético Madrid
Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...
2–1 on aggregate) and group stage of the
1998–99 Champions League (after knocking out
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
*Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Foot ...
3–1 on aggregate in the second qualifying round).
Other notable Dinamo players and Šimić's teammates from that era were
Silvio Marić,
Dražen Ladić,
Igor Cvitanović,
Mark Viduka
Mark Antony Viduka ( ; born 9 October 1975) is an Australian former Association football, football player who played as a centre forward. Viduka captained the Australia men's national soccer team, Australia national team at the 2006 FIFA World Cup ...
and
Robert Prosinečki, as well as
Krunoslav Jurčić and
Goran Jurić with whom he formed a solid defensive partnership. In his years with the club, Šimić earned a total of 140 league appearances and scored 14 goals.
In the meantime, Šimić's former coach at Dinamo, Miroslav Blažević, was appointed
Croatia
Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
manager in 1994. In 1996, impressed by his string of good performances, Blažević called him up and, after playing 16 games for Croatia's youth teams, Šimić earned his first full international cap on 13 March 1996 in a friendly against South Korea, coming on as a substitute for
Igor Štimac. Šimić quickly became a first team regular in the national team under Blažević, and went on to play in six
1998 FIFA World Cup
The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 1 ...
qualifiers, as well as six matches at the final tournament itself in France, where Croatia eventually won third place.
Inter Milan
His good performances at the 1998 World Cup and in the 1998–99 Champions League attracted attention from some of Europe's biggest clubs and he went on to join
Inter Milan
Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football ...
in January 1999 for a fee of 11 million euros, which was at the time Dinamo's all-time transfer record (but to this day surpassed by many other transfers).
Under coach
Marcello Lippi
Marcello Romeo Lippi (; born 12 April 1948) is an Italian former professional association football, football player and manager, who led the Italy national football team, Italy national team to victory in the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
He was appoin ...
, Šimić had his
Serie A
The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...
debut in a 2–0 win against
Venezia at
San Siro on 10 January 1999. By the end of his first season in Italy, Šimić earned a total of 17 appearances and scored 2 goals for Internazionale. In the following couple of seasons Šimić's services were regularly used, until the 2001–02 season, when he had only 12 league and 8 European appearances. and in June 2002 Internazionale and their cross-city rivals
AC Milan
(), commonly referred to as Milan or AC Milan () mainly outside of Italy, is an Italian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Founded in 1899, the club competes in the Serie A, the top tie ...
agreed a player swap with
Ümit Davala going in the opposite direction, which Šimić was valued €16.5 million, despite it was purely accounting purpose. In his years with Internazionale, he earned a total of 66 league appearances and scored 3 goals. The club failed to win any silverware in this period, and their highest finish was fourth place in the
1999–2000 season, even though this was the time when some of football's biggest stars played there with Šimić, such as
Roberto Baggio,
Ronaldo,
Ivan Zamorano,
Diego Simeone and
Christian Vieri
Christian Vieri (; born 12 July 1973), commonly known as Bobo Vieri, is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a centre forward. Having been born in Italy, Vieri moved with his family to Australia as a child, before returning ...
.
AC Milan
At AC Milan, Šimić was immediately made a member of the first-team squad under
Carlo Ancelotti
Carlo Ancelotti (; born 10 June 1959) is an Italian professional football manager and former player who is the manager of the Brazil national team. Nicknamed "Carletto" in Italy and "Don Carlo" in Spain, he is regarded as one of the greatest ...
, who changed Šimić's playing position from centre back to right back in a four-men defensive line. His debut for AC Milan came in a
2002–03 Champions League third qualifying round away game against
Slovan Liberec on 28 August 2002. Šimić went on to make 12 appearances for AC Milan in their run to the UEFA Champions League title in 2003, though he was omitted from both semi-final legs against Inter and the
final match against Serie A rivals
Juventus
Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...
at
Old Trafford
Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...
. He made 29 Serie A appearances for AC Milan in his first season with the club, but in the following three seasons he never regained his place as a first-team regular, making only 27 league appearances over the three seasons. In May 2006, he signed a contract extension until 2009 with AC Milan, just weeks after openly criticising coach Carlo Ancelotti over lack of playing time.
He was more or less able to regain his place as a regular with AC Milan in the Serie A in 2006–07, making 22 league appearances that season. However, his opportunities in the UEFA Champions League, won again by AC Milan that season, were limited as he only made six appearances (including two in the qualifying rounds) until the round of 16. The 2007–08 season saw him making only four Serie A appearances for the club. In his only UEFA Champions League appearance that season, against
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
*Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Foot ...
, he was member of the starting eleven but was forced to leave the pitch due to an injury after spending less than 30 minutes in the game.
Monaco
In August 2008, Šimić moved to
Monaco
Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...
. He made his
Ligue 1
Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...
debut on 23 August 2008 in Monaco's 1–1 draw at home to
Caen
Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...
, playing the entire match and assisting
Frédéric Nimani for the opening goal. He went on to establish himself as a regular at the club, making a total of 26 league appearances before being sent off against
Le Havre
Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...
in April 2009. He lost his place as a regular in the team after that, making no appearances since Monaco's final league match of the 2008–09 season, a goalless draw at
Paris Saint-Germain
Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain () or simply PSG, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris. They compete in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top d ...
.
Dinamo Zagreb
On 27 April 2010, Šimić returned to Dinamo Zagreb on a
free transfer, after having spent eleven years playing abroad. However, Šimić went on to announce his retirement from active football only three months later on 10 August 2010.
During the short spell Šimić appeared in 3 competitive matches for the Blues, including the 2010
Croatian Supercup,
and two European away matches against
Koper
Koper (; ) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, fifth-largest city in Slovenia. Located in the Slovenian Istria, Istrian region in the southwestern part of the country, Koper is the main urban center of the Slovene coast. Port of Koper i ...
and
Sheriff Tiraspol,
without ever appearing in the
2010–11 Prva HNL.
In his announcement, Šimić said that he enrolled at the coaching academy and confirmed that his future plans involved staying in football, possibly as a manager.
International career
Between 1993 and 1996, Šimić won a total of 17 international caps for the Croatian under-19 and
under-21 national teams, scoring one goal for the under-21 team. He made his senior international debut on 13 March 1996 in a friendly match against the
Korea Republic, coming on as a substitute for
Igor Štimac in the final 20 minutes.
Šimić only made one appearance for
Croatia
Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
at the
UEFA Euro 1996
The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in ...
finals in England. However, he established himself as a regular at the
1998 FIFA World Cup
The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 1 ...
finals in France, where he appeared in six of Croatia's seven matches in their run to a third-place finish, only missing the third-place match with a yellow-card suspension.
He made two appearances for Croatia at the
2002 FIFA World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...
finals and also featured in all of their three group matches at the
UEFA Euro 2004
The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial association football, football competition contested by the List of men's national associatio ...
finals. Both these tournaments saw Croatia being eliminated in the group stage, just like the
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to FIFA World Cup hosts ...
finals, where he appeared in all of Croatia's three matches. Winning his 82nd international cap in the team's second match at the latter tournament, against
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
on 18 June 2006 in
Nuremberg
Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...
, he dislodged
Robert Jarni (81 caps) as the Croatian national team's all-time cap leader. In the final group match, a 2–2 draw against
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, he was sent off five minutes from time after receiving his second yellow card.
Šimić also scored three goals for Croatia, with his final international goal coming in a friendly match against
Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
on 1 March 2006 in
Basel
Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...
, where he netted a last-minute goal to give Croatia a 3–2 victory. Alongside experienced
Robert Kovač and
Igor Tudor, he is considered one of the best Croatian defenders in recent history.
100th cap and retirement
Šimić came very close to completing the fairy tale and winning his 100th cap for Croatia at the finals of the
UEFA Euro 2008
The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial association football, football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA ( ...
. However, he missed the first two games of the tournament, unable to dislodge
Vedran Ćorluka,
Robert Kovač or
Josip Šimunić
Josip "Joe" Šimunić (; born 18 February 1978) is a retired footballer and current president of NK Rudeš.
Born in Australia to Bosnian Croat parents, Šimunić started his career at Melbourne Knights then moved to Germany where he spent ...
from their berths in the first team. With a place in the quarter-finals secured after the first two games, Croatia coach
Slaven Bilić
Slaven Bilić (; born 11 September 1968) is a Croatian professional football manager and former player.
Bilić, who played as a defender, began his career in 1988 with his hometown club Hajduk Split, later having successful spells with Karls ...
gave many of his second-string players a chance to play in the final group match against
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
, with Šimić starting the match and captaining the side on the occasion of his 99th cap. Croatia went on to win the match 1–0, finishing the group stage with 3 wins in 3 matches. However, he was once again left an unused substitute in the quarter-finals against
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
, which Croatia lost in
penalty shootout
The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...
.
On 20 August 2008, Šimić finally won his 100th international cap in a friendly match against
Slovenia
Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...
in
Maribor
Maribor ( , , ; also known by other #Name, historical names) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, second-largest city in Slovenia and the largest city of the traditional region of Styria (Slovenia), Lower Styria. It is the seat of the ...
, becoming the first Croatian player to win 100 international caps. He started the match and captained the team in the first half, before being replaced by debutant
Ivica Križanac at half-time. Croatia won the match 3–2.
Šimić was subsequently also called up for Croatia's opening two qualifiers for the
2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...
in early September 2008, at home to
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...
and
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, being an unused substitute in the former and completely left out of the latter. Following the 4–1 defeat to England, Croatia's first competitive defeat at home, rumours about Šimić being set to retire from international football appeared in the Croatian media. On 16 September 2008, it was eventually confirmed that Šimić has announced his retirement from international football after being a Croatian international for years.
Personal life
Šimić is a devout
Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
and organizes
pilgrimages
A pilgrimage is a journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is o ...
. He is the owner of Aquaviva company. He married Jelena Medić in 2000 with whom he has sons
Roko, Viktor, Nikolas and David, the latter of whom has
Down syndrome.
He is the older brother of
Josip Šimić and a distant relative of
Herzegovinian hajduk
A hajduk (, plural of ) is a type of Irregular military, irregular infantry found in Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and parts of Southeast Europe from the late 16th to mid 19th centuries, especially from Hajdú–Bihar Count ...
Andrijica Šimić.
Career statistics
Club
:
1 Played in Croatian Cup and Croatian Super Cup with '' Dinamo Zagreb''.
:
2 Played in UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...
, UEFA Super Cup
The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup Association football, football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions: the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's offic ...
and UEFA Cup
The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star.
Computer scientists and Mathematici ...
with '' Croatia Zagreb'', Internazionale Milano and Milan
Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
.
International
:Source:
International goals
Honours
Club
Dinamo Zagreb
*
Croatian First League:
1992–93,
1995–96,
1996–97,
1997–98
*
Croatian Football Cup:
1993–94,
1995–96,
1996–97,
1997–98
*
Croatian Super Cup:
2010
The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
Milan
*
Serie A
The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...
:
2003–04
*
Coppa Italia
Coppa Italia () is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since.
Juventus is the competition's most successf ...
:
2002–03
*
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...
:
2002–03,
2006–07
*
UEFA Super Cup
The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup Association football, football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions: the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's offic ...
:
2003
2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater.
In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War.
Demographic ...
*
FIFA Club World Cup
The FIFA Club World Cup (FIFA CWC) is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (FIFA), the sport's global sports governing body, governing body. The compe ...
:
2007
2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year.
Events
January
* January 1
**Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
International
Croatia
*
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...
Third place – Bronze medal:
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...
Individual
*
Croatian Football Hope of the Year: 1995
*
UEFA awards 100 caps: 2011
Orders
*
Order of the Croatian Interlace – 1998
See also
*
List of footballers with 100 or more caps
References
External links
*
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simic, Dario
1975 births
Living people
Croatian men's footballers
Croatia men's international footballers
Croatia men's under-21 international footballers
Croatia men's youth international footballers
Croatian expatriate men's footballers
Inter Milan players
AC Milan players
GNK Dinamo Zagreb players
AS Monaco FC players
UEFA Euro 1996 players
1998 FIFA World Cup players
2002 FIFA World Cup players
UEFA Euro 2004 players
2006 FIFA World Cup players
UEFA Euro 2008 players
Serie A players
Expatriate men's footballers in Italy
Expatriate men's footballers in Monaco
Footballers from Zagreb
Croatian Football League players
Ligue 1 players
FIFA Men's Century Club
Men's association football defenders
UEFA Champions League–winning players
21st-century Croatian sportsmen