Tonči Gabrić (11 November 1961 – 28 October 2024) was 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 played as a
goalkeeper
In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...
.
Club career
Gabrić started his career in
RNK Split. He played for
Čelik Zenica before moving to
HNK Rijeka
Hrvatski nogometni klub Rijeka (), commonly referred to as HNK Rijeka, is a Croatian professional association football club from the city of Rijeka.
HNK Rijeka competes in Croatia's top division, Croatian First Football League, Supersport HNL, o ...
where he was the team captain. After the dissolution of
Yugoslavia
, common_name = Yugoslavia
, life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation
, p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia
, flag_p ...
, he played in Greece with
PAOK
PAOK (, Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινοπολιτών, ''Panthessalonikeios Athlitikós Ómilos Constantinopoliton'', ''Pan-Thessalonian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans''), commonly ...
, before returning to Croatia where he played for
Pazinka for a season, before ending his career at
Hajduk Split.
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 an October 1990
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 the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, coming on as a 70th-minute substitute for
Dražen Ladić. As Croatia was still part of Yugoslavia at the time, the game is deemed unofficial. He earned a total of nine caps (two of them unofficial). He was the regular reserve goalkeeper of the national team between 1990 and 1997 and was part of the
Euro 1996 squad. His final international was the September 1997
World Cup qualification match away against
Denmark
Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
.
Personal life and death
His son
Drago is also a footballer, as is his twin sister Paškvalina who has earned 10 caps for the
national team
A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport.
The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...
.
Gabrić died in Split on 28 October 2024, at the age of 62.
Honours
Player
RNK Split
*
Croatian Republic League – South: 1983–84
Hajduk Split
*
Croatian First League:
1994–95
*
Croatian Cup:
1994–95
*
Croatian Super Cup: 1994
Orders
*
Order of Danica Hrvatska with face of Franjo Bučar – 1995
References
External links
*
*
*
*
1961 births
2024 deaths
Yugoslav men's footballers
Croatian men's footballers
Footballers from Split, Croatia
Men's association football goalkeepers
Croatia men's international footballers
UEFA Euro 1996 players
Yugoslav First League players
Yugoslav Second League players
Super League Greece players
Croatian Football League players
RNK Split players
NK Solin players
NK Čelik Zenica players
HNK Hajduk Split players
HNK Rijeka players
PAOK FC players
NK Pazinka players
Croatian expatriate men's footballers
Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Greece
Expatriate men's footballers in Greece
HNK Hajduk Split non-playing staff
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