Zvonimir Šarlija (born 29 August 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 defender for

Cypriot First Division The Cypriot First Division (), also known as the Cyprus League by Stoiximan for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Cyprus and the highest level of the Cypriot football league system. Operated by the Cyprus Fo ...

club

Pafos Paphos, also spelled as Pafos, is a coastal city in southwest Cyprus and the capital of Paphos District. In classical antiquity, two locations were called Paphos: Old Paphos, today known as Kouklia, and New Paphos. It is the fourth-largest cit ...

, on loan from

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 ...

Career

Born in Koprivnica, Zvonimir Šarlija started practicing football at the local club

NK Slaven Belupo Nogometni klub Slaven Belupo (), often referred to as Slaven Belupo, is a Croatian professional football club based in the city of Koprivnica in the north of Croatia. They play their home matches at Gradski stadion in Koprivnica. They play in ...

, where his father used to play and captain the senior team. As per club practice, he was moved between Slaven and its feeder side

NK Koprivnica NK Koprivnica is a Croatian football club based in the town of Koprivnica. The team shares a stadium with top-flight team NK Slaven Belupo. From the season 2007–08 they are playing continuously in the Treća HNL. Current Squad Honours ...

. At the age of 18, he captained the club's fourth-tier reserve side, where he scored 2 goals in 22 matches, along with the U-19 side. Subsequently, he was loaned out by his club, first in 2015 to its third-tier feeder

, scoring one goal in twenty appearances, then to second-tier

NK Solin NK Solin is a Croatian football club based in the town of Solin, 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, ...

. Back at

Slaven Belupo Nogometni klub Slaven Belupo (), often referred to as Slaven Belupo, is a Croatian professional football club based in the city of Koprivnica in the north of Croatia. They play their home matches at Gradski stadion in Koprivnica. They play in ...

in 2017, Šarlija gathered 49 caps for the senior side in all competitions. On 29 June 2019,

announced that Šarlija had moved to

CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow () is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet Union, Soviet era, it was the central part of the Armed Forces (sports ...

, with CSKA confirming the season-long loan deal, with the first option to buy, on 1 July. On 18 January 2020, CSKA Moscow confirmed that their loan deal with Šarlija had ended, and that he'd joined Kasımpaşa on loan for the remainder of the 2019/20 season with Kasımpaşa confining they had an option to make the move permanent at the end of the season. On 31 August 2020, it was announced that Šarlija signed for Turkish club Ankaragücü. The reported fee was €350.000 . On 30 July 2021, he signed a two-year contract with Panathinaikos. In the summer of 2023, Šarlija officially joined

on a four-year contract.

Personal life

Šarlija's father Milan, originally from Jasenice near

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 ...

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...

captained

, and later became the club's director for a while. His younger brother Lovro and cousin Ante are also former

players, while his brother Luka is the club's spokesman. Šarlija is a lifelong

fan, having a tattoo of Ivica Hlevnjak-Bukle's legendary statement "Emocije su zajebane.".

Career statistics

Honours

Panathinaikos *

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup (), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Betsson Greek Cup for sponsorship reasons is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second-most important domestic men's footba ...

: 2021–22 Pafos *

: 2024–25

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sarlija, Zvonimir 1996 births Living people Footballers from Koprivnica Men's association football defenders Croatian men's footballers NK Slaven Belupo players NK Solin players PFC CSKA Moscow players Kasımpaşa S.K. footballers MKE Ankaragücü footballers Panathinaikos F.C. players HNK Hajduk Split players Pafos FC players Croatian Football League players First Football League (Croatia) players Russian Premier League players Süper Lig players Super League Greece players Cypriot First Division players Croatian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Russia Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Russia Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Greece Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus 21st-century Croatian sportsmen