Lorenco Šimić (; born 15 July 1996) 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

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

for Italian club

Avellino Avellino () is a city and ''comune'', capital of the province of Avellino in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is situated in a plain surrounded by mountains east of Naples and is an important hub on the road from Salerno to Benevento. ...

. He also played for the Croatia U21 national team.

Club career

Hajduk Split

Šimić is a product of the youth system of

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 ...

Loan at Hoverla Uzhorod

He went on loan to Hoverla Uzhhorod in the

Ukrainian Premier League The Ukrainian Premier League ( ) or UPL is a professional association football league in Ukraine and the highest level of the Ukrainian football league system. Originally known as the Vyshcha Liha ( , ) it was formed in 1991 during the 1992 in ...

in January 2015. He made his

debut on 4 May 2015, in a match against

Dynamo Kyiv The Football Club 'Dynamo Kyiv', also known as Dynamo Kyiv, or simply Dynamo, ( ) is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Kyiv. Founded in 1927 as a Kyivan football team of republican branch of the bigger Soviet Dynamo Sports Society ...

. He made two further appearances for Hoverla, before returning to

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 ...

Return to Hajduk

Šimić was promoted to the senior squad at Hajduk in January 2016. He made his debut for Hajduk on 1 March 2016, coming on as a late substitute in a match 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 ...

. Šimić got his first 1. HNL start seven days later, playing the full match and keeping a clean sheet against

Inter Zaprešić Inter may refer to: Association football clubs * Inter Milan, an Italian club * SC Internacional, a Brazilian club * Inter Miami CF, an American club * Inter Playa del Carmen, a Mexican club * FC Inter Sibiu, a Romanian club * FC Inter Turku, a Fi ...

. By the end of the season, Šimić had made eleven appearances in all competitions for Hajduk.

Sampdoria

On 31 January 2017, Šimić moved to

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 ...

side

Sampdoria Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa, Liguria. Sampdoria was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the ...

Loan at SPAL

On 15 August 2018, Šimić moved on loan to

SPAL Società Polisportiva Ars et Labor, commonly referred to by the acronym SPAL (), is a professional football club based in Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. During the 2024–25 season the team played in Serie C, the third tier of the Italian foot ...

for the second time with an option to buy.

Loan at Rijeka

On 8 August 2019, Šimić was loaned to

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 ...

in Croatia for the 2019–20 season, with a buying option. On 13 November 2019 it was reported, that Šimić, alongside three other players, practically no longer was playing for the club, as he still had not made his debut. However, that was no reports claiming, that he had been recalled, but at the same time, it was reported that he had left Rijeka, however, not from an official source.

Loan at DAC Dunajská Streda

On 6 February 2020, Slovak club

DAC Dunajská Streda DAC may refer to: Businesses and organisations * DacEasy, originally Dac Software, Inc. * Danish Architecture Centre, an international cultural attraction * Defense Ammunition Center (United States), of the United States Department of Defense * ...

announced Šimić joined them on loan until the end of the 2019–20 season. Overall he made 4

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football * ''League of Legends'', a 2009 multiplayer online battle a ...

appearances and three starts in the Slovnaft Cup. He did not score but recorded an assist in a league match against Zemplín Michalovce, by aiding a fellow Croat

Marko Divković Marko Divković (born 11 June 1999) is a Croatian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Defender (association football)#Wing-back, left wing-back or Midfielder#Winger, left winger for Danish Superliga club Brøndby IF, Brø ...

bring the lead to 2–0, in a match, that had concluded with a five-goal win.

Zagłębie Lubin

On 14 August 2020, he moved on a permanent basis to Polish club

Zagłębie Lubin Zagłębie Lubin S.A. () is a Polish professional association football, football club based in Lubin. Founded in 1945 as ''OMTUR Lubin'', the club competes in the Ekstraklasa. History The football team was founded in 1945 as OMTUR Lubin by lo ...

and signed a two-year contract. He left the club by mutual consent on 13 January 2022.

Lecce

On 16 January 2022, Lorenco joined Italian side

Lecce Lecce (; ) is a city in southern Italy and capital of the province of Lecce. It is on the Salentine Peninsula, at the heel of the Italian Peninsula, and is over two thousand years old. Because of its rich Baroque architecture, Lecce is n ...

until the end of the 2023–24 season, with an option to extend for additional year.

Ascoli

On 21 July 2022, Šimić moved to Ascoli on a two-year deal.

Maccabi Haifa

On 21 August 2023, Šimić moved to

Maccabi Haifa Maccabi Haifa () is one of the biggest sports clubs in Israel and a part of the Maccabi association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Haifa which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, such as Football, Basketball, Weightl ...

on a four-year deal. On 30 August 2024, he returned to Italy and joined

Bari Bari ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia Regions of Italy, region, on the Adriatic Sea in southern Italy. It is the first most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy. It is a port and ...

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

on loan.

Avellino

On 14 July 2025, Šimić signed a two-year contract with

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Simic, Lorenco 1996 births Living people Footballers from Split, Croatia Men's association football defenders Croatian men's footballers Croatia men's youth international footballers Croatia men's under-21 international footballers HNK Hajduk Split players FC Hoverla Uzhhorod players UC Sampdoria players Empoli FC players SPAL players HNK Rijeka players FC DAC 1904 Dunajská Streda players Zagłębie Lubin players US Lecce players Ascoli Calcio 1898 FC players Maccabi Haifa F.C. players SSC Bari players US Avellino 1912 players Croatian Football League players Ukrainian Premier League players Serie B players Serie A players Slovak First Football League players Ekstraklasa players Israeli Premier League players Croatian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Ukraine Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in Slovakia Expatriate men's footballers in Poland Expatriate men's footballers in Israel Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Ukraine Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Slovakia Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Poland Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Israel 21st-century Croatian sportsmen