Toni Šunjić (; born 15 December 1988) is a Bosnian 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

Bosnian Premier League The Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina (; ; sr-Cyrl, Премијер лига Босне и Херцеговине), officially known as the Wwin League of Bosnia and Herzegovina for sponsorship purposes, is the top tier football leagu ...

club Zrinjski Mostar. Šunjić started his professional career at Zrinjski Mostar, who loaned him to

Kortrijk Kortrijk ( , ; or ''Kortrik''; ), sometimes known in English as Courtrai or Courtray ( ), is a Belgian City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region, Flemish Provinces of Belgium, province of We ...

in 2010. In 2012, he joined Zorya Luhansk. Two years later, he moved to Kuban Krasnodar. The following year, he was transferred to

VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V. (), commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German professional sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's Association football, football team is currently part of Germany's f ...

, who sent him on loan to

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

in 2017. Šunjić signed with

Dynamo Moscow MGO VFSO "Dynamo" (), commonly known as Dynamo Moscow (), is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. Founded by Felix Dzerzhinsky on 18 April 1923, Dynamo Moscow was the first institution created from the All-Union Dynamo Sports Club. Dynamo Mosco ...

later that year. In 2020, he joined

Beijing Guoan Beijing Guoan Football Club (), known in AFC competitions as Beijing FC, is a Chinese professional football club based in Beijing, that competes in . Beijing Guoan plays its home matches at the Workers' Stadium, located within Chaoyang Distr ...

. Later that year, he was loaned to

Henan Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...

, with whom he signed permanently a year later. In 2024, he went back to Zrinjski Mostar. A former youth international for

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

, Šunjić made his senior international debut in 2012, earning over 40

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

until 2020. He represented the nation at their first major championship, the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil fr ...

Club career

Early career

Šunjić came through the youth academy of his hometown club Zrinjski Mostar. He made his professional debut in a UEFA Europa League qualifier against Partizan on 2 August 2007 at the age of 18. On 3 August 2008, he scored his first professional goal in a triumph over Borac Banja Luka. In August 2010, he was sent on a season-long loan to Belgian outfit

. In January 2012, Šunjić joined Ukrainian team Zorya Luhansk. In July 2014, he switched to Russian side Kuban Krasnodar.

VfB Stuttgart

In August 2015, Šunjić was transferred to German outfit

for an undisclosed fee. He made his official debut for the squad against

Hertha BSC Hertha, Berliner Sport-Club e. V., commonly known as Hertha BSC () or Hertha Berlin, is a German professional football club based in Berlin. Hertha BSC plays in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of German football league system, German footbal ...

on 12 September and managed to score a goal. Despite VfB Stuttgart's relegation to the 2. Bundesliga in May 2016, Šunjić decided to stay at the club. In January 2017, he was loaned to Italian side

until the end of the season.

Dynamo Moscow

In June, Šunjić signed a two-year deal with

. He made his competitive debut for the team on 18 July against their biggest rivals Spartak Moscow. On 3 November, he scored his first goal for Dynamo Moscow against Ural. In June 2019, he extended his contract with the squad until June 2021.

Later stage of career

In September 2020, Šunjić moved to Chinese side

, who loaned him to

, with an option to make the transfer permanent, which was activated in January 2021. In January 2024, he returned to Zrinjski Mostar.

International career

Šunjić represented

at various youth levels. In August 2012, he received his first senior call up, for a friendly game against

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, and debuted in that match on 15 August. In June 2014, Šunjić was named in Bosnia and Herzegovina's squad for the

, country's first major competition. He made his tournament debut in the second group tie against

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

on 22 June. On 31 August 2017, in a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier against

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

, Šunjić scored his first senior international goal. He retired from international football on 24 June 2021.

Personal life

Šunjić and his long-time girlfriend Viktoria have two daughters named Stefani and Kiara.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Bosnia and Herzegovina's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Šunjić goal.''

Honours

Zrinjski Mostar *

: 2008–09, 2024–25 * Bosnian Cup: 2007–08, 2023–24 * Bosnian Supercup:

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

References

External links