NK Istra 1961
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.
Full name | Nogometni Klub Istra 1961 | ||
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Nickname(s) | Verudeži Zeleno-žuti (The Green-Yellows) | ||
Short name | IST | ||
Founded | 1961 | ||
Ground | Stadion Aldo Drosina | ||
Capacity | 9,800[1] | ||
Owner | Baskonia - Alavés Group | ||
Manager | Ivan Prelec | ||
League | Prva HNL | ||
2018–19 | Prva HNL, 9th of 10 | ||
Website | Club website | ||
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It's a common opinion amongst many people that Istra 1961 is founded in 1961 by merging two clubs from Pula, NK Uljanik and NK Pula, forming NK Istra. However, NK Istra is not the same club as NK Istra 1961. NK Istra was the best club from Pula for decades. NK Istra 1961, then named NK Uljanik, was founded in 1964. NK Istra were competing in Prva HNL since the first season, but were relegated in the 1996-97 season to Druga HNL. They were promoted back to Prva HNL in the 1998-99 season, but they were relegated again in the next season, never coming back to Prva HNL. Meanwhile, NK Uljanik was in the shadow of NK Istra, but they were promoted to Prva HNL in the 2003-04 season and are the best club in Pula since then. NK Istra, now under the name NK Istra Pula, is competing in Prva ŽNL, the 5th football level in Croatia. The greatest club success was in the 2002–03 season when they finished runners-up in the Croatian Cup, losing to Hajduk Split 5-0 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. 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. In Summer 2018, club's ownership changed once again, this time to Basque consortium Baskonia - Alavés Group which acquired the majority share package and became sole owner of NK Istra 1961.
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.
Recent seasons
Season | League | Cup | Top goalscorer | |||||||||
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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 |
2018–19 | 1. HNL | 36 | 6 | 7 | 23 | 31 | 73 | 25 | 9th | R2 | Ramón Mierez | 9 |
Key
1st | 2nd | ↑ | ↓ |
Champions | Runners-up | Promoted | Relegated |
Top scorer shown in bold when he was also top scorer for the division.
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First-team squad
- As of 4 February 2020[3]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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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.
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Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors
Period | Kit manufacturer | Shirt partner |
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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
- Croatian Second Division:
- Winners (2): 2003–04, 2008–09
- Croatian Third Division:
- Winners (1): 2000–01
- Runners up: 2002–03
- Semi-finals: 2013–14
Managers
Igor Pamić (2004 – 05) Milivoj Bračun (2005 – 06) Krunoslav Jurčić (2006 – 07) Nenad Gračan (2007) Elvis Scoria (30 October 2007 – 2 November 2009) Valdi Šumberac (2 November 2009 – 27 February 2010) Zoran Vulić (28 February 2010 – 22 May 2010) Ante Miše (22 May 2010 – 2 August 2010) Robert Jarni (4 August 2010 – 19 September 2010) Davor Lasić (interim) (19 September 2010 – 5 October 2010) Zoran Vulić (6 October 2010 – 21 March Igor Pamić (29 March 2011 – 5 October 2015) Robert Rubčić (interim) (5 October 2015 – January 2016) Andrej Panadić (January 2016 – 18 July 2016) Goran Tomić (26 July 2016 – 1 December 2016) Darko Raić-Sudar (interim) (1 December 2016 – 30 December 2016) Marijo Tot (30 December 2016 – 19 May 2017)[5] Darko Raić-Sudar (interim) (19 May 2017 – 31 May 2017)[5] Darko Raić-Sudar (1 June 2017 – 1 June 2018)[6] Manolo Márquez (1 June 2018 – 18 September 2018) Curro Torres (19 September 2018 – 27 October 2018) Krunoslav Rendulić (28 October 2018 – 4 March 2019) Igor Cvitanović (4 March 2019 – 10 June 2019) Ivan Prelec (15 June 2019 – present)
References
Nk Istra Fanpage: http://nkistrafan.weebly.com/about.html
- "Stadion Aldo Drosina - NK Istra 1961". www.nkistra1961.hr. Archived from the original on 26 November 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
- "About". bryant spaces. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
- "Team". www.nkistra.com. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
- "Igrači". hrnogomet.com. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
- "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.
- "Darko Raić-Sudar novi trener prve momčadi Istre 1961, pomoćni Nenad Basta" (in Croatian). 1 June 2017.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to NK Istra 1961. |
- Official website (in Croatian and English)
- Istra 1961 profile at UEFA.com
- Istra 1961 profile at Sportnet.hr (in Croatian)
- Nk Istra Fanpage: http://nkistrafan.weebly.com/about.html