Dario Šimić facts for kids
Šimić in 2018
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 12 November 1975 | |||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Zagreb, SR Croatia, Yugoslavia | |||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | |||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Defender | |||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||
| 1987–1992 | Dinamo Zagreb | |||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||
| 1992–1999 | Dinamo Zagreb | 140 | (14) | |||||||||||||
| 1999–2002 | Inter Milan | 66 | (3) | |||||||||||||
| 2002–2008 | AC Milan | 82 | (1) | |||||||||||||
| 2008–2010 | Monaco | 27 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2010 | Dinamo Zagreb | 0 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| Total | 315 | (18) | ||||||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||||
| 1993 | Croatia U17 | 2 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 1993–1994 | Croatia U18 | 2 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 1993–1994 | Croatia U19 | 4 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 1995 | Croatia U20 | 1 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 1994–1996 | Croatia U21 | 8 | (1) | |||||||||||||
| 1996–2008 | Croatia | 100 | (3) | |||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||||
Dario Šimić (born 12 November 1975) is a former Croatian football player. He was a very flexible defender. He could play in many defensive roles, like full-back or centre-back. He was known for being strong and good at heading the ball.
Dario Šimić started his career at Dinamo Zagreb. He later played for famous Italian clubs like Inter Milan and AC Milan. He also played for Monaco in France. In 2010, he returned to Dinamo Zagreb before retiring from football.
Šimić played for the Croatia national football team from 1996 to 2008. He was the first Croatian player to reach 100 international games, which is a huge achievement! He played in six major tournaments for Croatia, including three FIFA World Cups (1998, 2002, 2006) and three UEFA European Championships (1996, 2004, 2008). He helped Croatia win a bronze medal at the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
Contents
Club Career Highlights
Starting at Dinamo Zagreb
Dario Šimić joined Dinamo Zagreb when he was just 12 years old in 1987. He moved up through their youth teams. He made his first team debut in 1992, just before his 17th birthday. This made him one of the youngest players ever to play for the club!
From the 1993–94 season, he became a regular player for Dinamo Zagreb. He was a key part of the team during a very successful time. In six and a half years, he helped the club win four Croatian league titles and four Croatian Cups.
Šimić also played in European competitions with Dinamo. He helped them reach the group stage of the Champions League in 1998. This was a big achievement for the club. He played 140 league games and scored 14 goals for Dinamo Zagreb.
Moving to Inter Milan
After his great performances at the 1998 World Cup, big European clubs noticed Šimić. In January 1999, he joined Inter Milan in Italy. This was a big transfer at the time.
He made his Serie A debut for Inter Milan in January 1999. He played 66 league games and scored 3 goals during his three and a half years there. He played alongside famous players like Roberto Baggio and Ronaldo.
Playing for AC Milan
In 2002, Šimić moved to AC Milan, Inter's city rivals. Here, his coach Carlo Ancelotti changed his position to right-back.
He quickly became an important player for AC Milan. He played 12 games in their journey to win the UEFA Champions League title in 2003. He also helped AC Milan win the Serie A league title in the 2003–04 season. In 2007, he won the Champions League again with AC Milan! He also won the FIFA Club World Cup in 2007.
Time at Monaco and Retirement
In August 2008, Šimić moved to Monaco in France. He played 26 league games for them in his first season.
On 27 April 2010, Šimić returned to his first club, Dinamo Zagreb. However, he announced his retirement from football just three months later, on 10 August 2010. He played only a few matches in his final spell. He said he wanted to stay in football, possibly as a coach.
International Career
Dario Šimić played for Croatia's youth teams before joining the senior national team. He made his first appearance for the Croatia national football team on 13 March 1996.
He became a key player for Croatia at the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France. He played in six of Croatia's seven matches. Croatia had an amazing tournament and won the bronze medal, finishing third!
Šimić also played in the 2002 FIFA World Cup and the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He played in all three group matches at both the UEFA Euro 2004 and 2006 FIFA World Cup tournaments.
On 18 June 2006, he became the player with the most appearances for the Croatian national team. He broke the record held by Robert Jarni.
100th Cap and Retirement
Dario Šimić was very close to reaching 100 international games at UEFA Euro 2008. He finally achieved this amazing milestone on 20 August 2008. He played his 100th game for Croatia in a friendly match against Slovenia. He was the first Croatian player ever to reach 100 international caps!
After this, Šimić announced his retirement from international football on 16 September 2008. He had been a Croatian international player for over 12 years.
Personal Life
Dario Šimić is married to Jelena Medić. They have four sons: Roko, Viktor, Nikolas, and David. He is the older brother of former footballer Josip Šimić.
Career Statistics
Club
| Club performance | League | Cup1 | League Cup | Continental | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Croatia | League | Croatian Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | |||||||
| 1992–93 | Croatia Zagreb | Prva HNL | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | 7 | 0 | ||
| 1993–94 | 19 | 2 | 6 | 0 | - | - | 25 | 2 | ||||
| 1994–95 | 22 | 1 | 8 | 0 | - | 1 | 0 | 31 | 1 | |||
| 1995–96 | 26 | 2 | 8 | 1 | - | - | 34 | 3 | ||||
| 1996–97 | 25 | 6 | 6 | 2 | - | 4 | 1 | 35 | 9 | |||
| 1997–98 | 29 | 2 | 2 | 0 | - | 9 | 1 | 40 | 3 | |||
| 1998–99 | 13 | 1 | - | - | 8 | 0 | 21 | 1 | ||||
| Italy | League | Coppa Italia | League Cup | Europe | Total | |||||||
| 1998–99 | Internazionale Milano | Serie A | 15 | 2 | 6 | 0 | - | 6 | 0 | 27 | 2 | |
| 1999–2000 | 19 | 1 | 3 | 0 | - | - | 22 | 1 | ||||
| 2000–01 | 18 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | 4 | 1 | 24 | 1 | |||
| 2001–02 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | 8 | 0 | 21 | 0 | |||
| 2002–03 | Milan | 29 | 1 | 3 | 0 | - | 13 | 0 | 45 | 1 | ||
| 2003–04 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 0 | - | 2 | 0 | 18 | 0 | |||
| 2004–05 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | 3 | 0 | ||||
| 2005–06 | 15 | 0 | 4 | 0 | - | 2 | 0 | 21 | 0 | |||
| 2006–07 | 22 | 0 | 6 | 0 | - | 6 | 0 | 34 | 0 | |||
| 2007–08 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | |||
| France | League | Coupe de France | Coupe de la Ligue | Europe | Total | |||||||
| 2008–09 | Monaco | Ligue 1 | 27 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | 30 | 0 | |
| 2009–10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | |||
| Croatia | League | Croatian Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | |||||||
| 2010–11 | Dinamo Zagreb | Prva HNL | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| Country | Croatia | 140 | 14 | 32 | 3 | - | 24 | 2 | 164 | 16 | ||
| Italy | 146 | 4 | 34 | 0 | - | 42 | 1 | 222 | 5 | |||
| France | 27 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | 30 | 0 | |||
| Total | 313 | 18 | 69 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 66 | 3 | 449 | 24 | ||
- 1 Played in Croatian Cup and Croatian Super Cup with Dinamo Zagreb.
- 2 Played in UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and UEFA Cup with Croatia Zagreb, Internazionale Milano and Milan.
International
- Source:
| Croatia national team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 1996 | 5 | 0 |
| 1997 | 8 | 0 |
| 1998 | 13 | 1 |
| 1999 | 7 | 0 |
| 2000 | 5 | 0 |
| 2001 | 8 | 0 |
| 2002 | 6 | 0 |
| 2003 | 10 | 1 |
| 2004 | 8 | 0 |
| 2005 | 5 | 0 |
| 2006 | 11 | 1 |
| 2007 | 9 | 0 |
| 2008 | 5 | 0 |
| Total | 100 | 3 |
International goals
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01. | 10 October 1998 | Ta' Qali Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta |  Malta |
1–1 | 1–4 | UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying |
| 02. | 10 September 2003 | King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium |  Belgium |
1–1 | 2–1 | UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying |
| 03. | 1 March 2006 | St. Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland |  Argentina |
3–2 | 3–2 | Friendly |
Honours
Club
Dinamo Zagreb
- Croatian First League: 1992–93, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98
- Croatian Football Cup: 1993–94, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98
- Croatian Super Cup: 2010
Milan
- Serie A: 2003–04
- Coppa Italia: 2002–03
- UEFA Champions League: 2002–03, 2006–07
- UEFA Super Cup: 2003
- FIFA Club World Cup: 2007
International
Croatia
- FIFA World Cup Third place – Bronze medal: 1998
Individual
- Croatian Football Hope of the Year: 1995
- UEFA awards 100 caps: 2011
Orders
Order of the Croatian Interlace – 1998
See also
In Spanish: Dario Šimić para niños
- List of footballers with 100 or more caps
