Drago Gabrić (born 27 September 1986) is a Croatian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for Croatian side Zagora Unešić. He also plays

futsal Futsal is a variant of association football played between two teams of five players each on a court smaller than a football pitch. Its rules are based on the Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of the Game of association football, and i ...

. He is a versatile player, able to play on both sides of the field. His father,

Tonči Tonči is a Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene masculine given name used as a diminutive form of Anton (given name), Anton, Antonij and Antonijo in Croatia and Slovenia. It is sometimes spelled Tonci in Croatia where it is som ...

, was a former

Hajduk Split Hrvatski Nogometni klub Hajduk Split, commonly referred to as Hajduk Split (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Split, that competes in the Croatian First League, the top tier in Croatian football. Since 1979, the club's home ...

and

Rijeka Rijeka (; Fiume ( �fjuːme in Italian and in Fiuman dialect, Fiuman Venetian) is the principal seaport and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, third-largest city in Croatia. It is located in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County on Kvarner Ba ...

player, and a Croatian international goalkeeper.

Club career

Hajduk Split

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

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

. When

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

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

Dinamo Zagreb Građanski nogometni klub Dinamo Zagreb (), commonly referred to as simply Dinamo Zagreb (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. Dinamo play their home matches at Stadion Maksimir. They are the most successful club in Cr ...

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

Goran Vučević Goran Vučević (born 18 May 1971) is a Croatian former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder. He spent most of his professional career with Hajduk Split (in several capacities, including player and manager) and Barcelona ( ...

and

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

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

Heart of Hajduk Award Heart of Hajduk () is an annual football award established in 1994 and officially awarded by the Hajduk Split supporters' association Torcida Split to the Hajduk player of the year. The inaugural winner of the award was the midfielder Ante Miše ...

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

Trabzonspor

In August 2009, Gabrić was signed by Turkish giants

Trabzonspor Trabzonspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional sports club located in the city of Trabzon, located in Black Sea region, northeastern Turkey. Established in 1967 through the merger of several local clubs, Trabzonspor is one of the most prominent A ...

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

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

for the 2010–11 season. At Ankaragücü, Gabrić made 26 appearances and again scored four league goals. On 23 June 2011, Gabrić was seriously injured in an accident after losing control of his car on the A1 motorway near

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

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

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

breach of contract Breach of contract is a legal cause of action and a type of civil wrong, in which a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one or more of the parties to the contract by non-performance or interference with the other part ...

, which ended in

settlement Settlement may refer to: *Human settlement, a community where people live *Settlement (structural), downward movement of a structure's foundation *Settlement (finance), where securities are delivered against payment of money *Settlement (litigatio ...

in 2014.

Return to Hajduk Split

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

Rijeka

In June 2012, Gabrić moved from Hajduk to

on a free transfer, following his father's footsteps, who made the same move. At Rijeka, Drago again struggled to impress and was dropped from the squad for the last 14 matches of the season. He moved on loan to Slovenian side

NK Domžale Nogometni klub Domžale (), commonly referred to as NK Domžale or simply Domžale, is a Slovenian professional Association football, football club based in the town of Domžale that competes in the Slovenian PrvaLiga, the top tier of Slovenian ...

for the 2013–14 season, but once again having a poor season, scoring once in 14 games and hardly playing a part in the side's second half of the season. Upon his return to Rijeka and with one year still left on his contract, Rijeka manager Matjaž Kek dropped the player from the squad completely and so Drago was forced to play with teammate in a similar situation

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

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

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

where he played under the tutelage of former

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 ...

manager

Igor Štimac Igor Štimac (; born 6 September 1967) is a Croatian professional football manager and former player. In his playing career, Štimac had three spells with Hajduk Split and also played for Cádiz in Spain, and for Derby County and West Ham Un ...

International career

Gabrić made his debut 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 ...

in a November 2009

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

against

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (, ; ; ), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein ( ), is a Landlocked country#Doubly landlocked, doubly landlocked Swiss Standard German, German-speaking microstate in the Central European Alps, between Austria in the east ...

and earned a total of five caps, scoring one goal. His final international was a May 2010 friendly away against

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Trabzonspor *

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

: 2009–10

References

External links

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