NK Istra 1961

Istra 1961
Full name Nogometni Klub Istra 1961
Nickname(s) Verudeži
Zeleno-žuti (The Green-Yellows)
Short name IST
Founded 1948 (1948)
Ground Stadion Aldo Drosina
Capacity 9,800[1]
Owner Baskonia Alavés
Manager Curro Torres
League Prva HNL
2017–18 Prva HNL, 9th
Website Club website

Nogometni Klub Istra 1961 (English: Istra 1961 Football Club), commonly referred to as NK Istra 1961 or simply Istra 1961, is a football club from Pula, Istria, Croatia, currently playing in the Croatian First Division.

The football club NK Uljanik from which the club originates was founded in 1948. In 1961, it merged with another local club, NK Pula, to form NK Istra. For this reason, 1961 is occasionally considered as the club's founding year. The greatest club success was in the 2002–03 season when they finished runners-up in the Croatian Cup, losing to Hajduk Split 4–1 on aggregate. In the 2004–05 season, the club changed its name into NK Pula 1856, because 1856 was the year that the Austro-Hungarian Empire made Pula the port of its arsenal and the shipyard Uljanik was opened. Also in the same year, it competed in the Prva Liga for the first time. In 2005, it was renamed again to NK Pula Staro Češko due to a sponsorship contract with the brewery Daruvarska pivovara (Staro Češko is a beer brand). Just one year later, the name was once again changed, this time to NK Pula. Again, just a year later in the middle of 2007, the name was changed for the fifth time in as many years, to NK Istra 1961. The change of name came after an ultimatum from the local fans Demons who said the club would have their support only if the club changed its name and club colours to the traditional city colours (yellow and green). After renaming club was sold in 2011 to a Russian who achieved promotion for the club and sold it in 2015.

Its crest features the city's Roman Arena in Pula, as well as the old team crest.

Istra 1961 play their home matches at the recently renovated Stadion Aldo Drosina, which has a capacity of approximately 10,000 spectators.

Nk Istra 1961 [2] was bought by an American Investment group in 2015. The NK Istra academy system is very strong and consistently competes for top spots in the rankings. Nk Istra 1961 has a rich fan history. The group of die hard fans are referred to as the Demoni, and are known for their explosive chants and celebrations as well as their extreme pride for the club.

Recent seasons

Former crest
Season League Cup Top goalscorer
Division P W D L F A Pts Pos Player Goals
1992 3. HNL West B 14 4 8 2 21 9 16 3rd
1992-93 3. HNL West 30 16 7 7 56 32 39 1st R1
1993-94 2. HNL South 30 7 7 16 21 43 21 14th
1994-95 2. HNL West 36 12 8 16 40 48 44 13th
1995-96 2. HNL West 34 18 8 8 58 36 62 5th
1996-97 2. HNL West 30 19 6 5 65 21 63 3rd
1997-98 2. HNL West 30 12 7 11 42 31 43 6th
1998-99 3. HNL West 30 13 7 10 33 35 46 3rd
1999-00 3. HNL West 30 17 6 7 56 30 57 3rd R1
2000-01 3. HNL West 30 17 11 2 73 26 62 1st ↑
2001-02 2. HNL South 30 17 8 5 57 26 59 2nd PR
2002-03 2. HNL South 32 20 7 5 63 31 67 2nd RU
2003-04 2. HNL South 32 18 8 6 59 33 62 1st ↑ QF
2004-05 1. HNL 32 7 14 11 28 31 35 10th QF Josip Jerneić, Vedran Stošić 6
2005-06 1. HNL 32 13 6 13 44 36 45 7th R1 Stiven Rivić 12
2006-07 1. HNL 33 6 11 16 28 40 29 11th ↓ R1 Marko Radas, Almir Halilović 5
2007-08 2. HNL 30 17 7 6 42 14 58 3rd R1 Saša Šest 8
2008-09 2. HNL 30 18 6 6 46 20 60 1st ↑ R1 Mohamed Kalilou Traoré 9
2009-10 1. HNL 30 9 8 13 31 40 35 11th R2 Asim Šehić 15
2010-11 1. HNL 30 9 4 17 24 44 31 15th QF Siniša Linić 5
2011-12 1. HNL 30 11 9 10 35 33 42 9th QF Sandi Križman 7
2012-13 1. HNL 33 11 11 11 35 32 44 6th R2 Goran Roce 11
2013-14 1. HNL 36 12 8 16 45 56 44 6th SF Dejan Radonjić 9
2014-15 1. HNL 36 7 14 15 36 59 35 9th QF Dejan Radonjić 16
2015-16 1. HNL 36 4 12 20 23 58 24 9th R2 Stefan Nikolić 5
2016-17 1. HNL 36 10 9 17 33 49 39 6th R2 Goran Roce 8
2017-18 1. HNL 36 6 9 21 28 60 27 9th QF Five players 3

Key

1st 2nd ↑ ↓
Champions Runners-up Promoted Relegated

Top scorer shown in bold when he was also top scorer for the division.

First-team squad

As of 14 August 2018[3]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
1 Spain GK Ioritz Landeta (on loan from Alavés)
2 Argentina DF Tomás Oneto (on loan from Talleres)
3 Croatia DF Petar Rubić
4 Spain DF Julio Rodríguez
5 Croatia DF Tomislav Čuljak
6 Croatia DF Manolo Bilić
7 Spain FW Dani Iglesias (on loan from Alavés)
8 France MF Michel Espinosa
9 Spain FW Adrián Fuentes (on loan from Alavés)
10 Lithuania FW Karolis Laukzemis
11 Croatia FW Goran Roce
12 Croatia GK Josip Čondrić
13 Argentina FW Ramón Mierez
14 Albania MF Eraldo Çinari (on loan from Alavés)
15 Croatia DF Martin Franić
No. Position Player
16 Republic of Macedonia DF Agron Rufati
17 Senegal MF Arona Sané
18 Argentina FW Luis Vila
20 Croatia MF Antonio Ivančić
21 Croatia GK Lovro Majkić
22 Croatia MF Marin Grujević
23 Argentina MF Agustín Cardozo (on loan from Tigre)
24 Spain MF Arturo Segado (on loan from Alavés)
26 Ghana MF Obeng Regan
27 Croatia FW Vice Miljanić
28 Mali FW Mohamed Traoré
29 France DF Nicolas Senzemba (on loan from Sochaux)
30 Croatia DF Hisa Ramadani
31 Croatia MF Toni Burić

Records

The following are lists of top players in terms of number of appearances and goals for Istra 1961 in 1. HNL, as of 19 May 2018.[4]

Bold denotes players still playing for Istra 1961.

Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors

Period Kit manufacturer Shirt partner
2007–2010 Legea Puljanka
2011–2012 Jako Croatia Osiguranje
2012 Puma Croatia Osiguranje
2013–2016 Errea Croatia Osiguranje
2016–2018 Nike Croatia Osiguranje
2018 Kelme Croatia Osiguranje

Honours

Winners (2): 2003–04, 2008–09
Winners (1): 2000–01
Runners up: 2002–03
Semi-finals: 2013–14

Managers

Notable players

References

Nk Istra Fanpage: http://nkistrafan.weebly.com/about.html

  1. ↑ "Stadion Aldo Drosina - NK Istra 1961". www.nkistra1961.hr. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  2. ↑ "About". bryant spaces. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
  3. ↑ "Igrači - NK Istra 1961". www.nkistra1961.hr. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  4. ↑ "Igrači". hrnogomet.com. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  5. 1 2 "Coach Marijo Tot's contract terminated, temporary coach Darko Raić-Sudar". nkistra1961.hr. NK Istra 1961 (published 19 May 2017). 1 June 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  6. ↑ "Darko Raić-Sudar novi trener prve momčadi Istre 1961, pomoćni Nenad Basta" (in Croatian). 1 June 2017.
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