Drago Gabrić

Drago Gabrić (born 27 September 1986 in Split) is a Croatian football midfielder who plays for NK Zagora Unešić.

Drago Gabrić
Gabrić with Trabzonspor in 2009
Personal information
Full name Drago Gabrić
Date of birth (1986-09-27) 27 September 1986
Place of birth Split, SFR Yugoslavia
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position(s) Midfielder, winger
Youth career
Orkan Dugi Rat
1996–2005 Hajduk Split
2003–2004 → Omiš (loan)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004–2009 Hajduk Split 70 (13)
2005 → Solin (loan) 16 (3)
2006 → Novalja (loan) 9 (1)
2009–2011 Trabzonspor 25 (4)
2010–2011 → MKE Ankaragücü (loan) 22 (4)
2011–2012 Hajduk Split 10 (1)
2012–2015 Rijeka 12 (0)
2013–2014 → Domžale (loan) 14 (1)
2015 → Zadar (loan) 13 (2)
2016 Koper 5 (0)
2017 Junak Sinj 23 (7)
2018–2019 RNK Split 43 (31)
2019–2020 Zagora Unešić
National team
2007 Croatia U20 3 (0)
2007–2008 Croatia U21 6 (0)
2009–2010 Croatia 5 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 1 June 2019

He is a versatile player, able to play on the both sides of the field. His father, Tonči Gabrić, is a former Hajduk Split and Rijeka player and a Croatian international goalkeeper.

Club career

Hajduk Split

Gabrić made his 1. HNL debut on 16 September 2006 in a home match against Varaždin, replacing double goalscorer Josip Balatinac in the 80th minute. Varaždin again proved to be a favoured opponent for Gabrić, with his first Hajduk goal coming against the same side on 17 March 2007. He scored two further goals by the end of that season, one against Međimurje and the other against Zagreb.

When Robert Jarni was appointed as head manager of Hajduk, Gabrić became a more prominent member of the first team, managing 23 appearance in the 2007–08 season. His side struggled, though, as they finished in fifth place in the league, 30 points behind league champions and fierce rivals Dinamo Zagreb. Under Jarni, Gabrić played in a variety of positions al across the midfield and even occasionally in defence.

After Jarni resigned, Gabrić blossomed under the management of both Goran Vučević and Ante Miše, with both managers using Gabrić in a more advanced role either as a right or left winger or even as a number 10 behind the striker. This improved his scoring return, with the player netting eight times in 30 league games in the 2008–09 season. In December 2008, Gabrić signed a new three and a half year deal with the club worth a rumoured amount of €180,000 annually. He also receive the Heart of Hajduk Award as a result of his performances in the 2007–08 season.

Trabzonspor

In August 2009, Gabrić was signed by Turkish giants Trabzonspor in a €2.5m deal. He made 28 appearances in his maiden year in Turkey, scoring four times but largely struggled to impress and was therefore sent out on loan to MKE Ankaragücü for the 2010–11 season. At Ankaragücü, Gabrić made 26 appearances and again scored four league goals.

On 23 June 2011, Gabrić was seriously injured in an accident after losing control of his car on the A1 motorway near Split, Croatia. He sustained a fractured skull and was in a coma for four days. His club at the time, Trabzonspor, terminated his contract.[1] After the accident, Gabrić was initially unable to walk, and had to undergo extensive rehabilitation in order to regain his motor skills.[2] He filed a suit against Trabzonspor for breach of contract, which ended in settlement in 2014.[3]

Return to Hajduk Split

In September 2011 Gabrić signed for Hajduk Split.[4] He made his return to football on 5 November 2011, in a round 14 1. HNL clash against NK Varaždin, the side he made his debut against and scored his first professional league goal against. He made another nine appearances that season but largely disappointed.

Rijeka

In June 2012, Gabrić moved from Hajduk to Rijeka on a free transfer, following his father's footsteps, who made the same move. At Rijeka, Drago again struggled to impress and was dropped from the squad for the last 14 matches of the season. He moved on loan to Slovenian side NK Domžale for the 2013–14 season, but once again having a poor season, scoring once in 14 games and hardly playing a part in the side's second half of the season.

Upon his return to Rijeka and with one year still left on his contract, Rijeka manager Matjaž Kek dropped the player from the squad completely and so Drago was forced to play with teammate in a similar situation Mehmed Alispahić in Rijeka's second team - playing in Croatia's third division.

Later on, Gabrić continued his career in Zadar where he played under the tutelage of former Croatia national football team manager Igor Štimac.

Career statistics

Gabric's career statistics are listed below.

Club performance League Cup Continental Total
SeasonClubLeague AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals
Croatia League Cup Continental Total
2006–07Hajduk SplitPrva HNL1634010213
2007–082324040312
2008–092987120389
Turkey League Cup Continental Total
2009–10TrabzonsporSüper Lig254––––254
2010–11MKE AnkaragücüSüper Lig22440––264
Croatia & Slovenia League Cup Continental Total
2011–12Hajduk SplitPrva HNL10120––121
2012–13RijekaPrva HNL120––––120
2013–14DomžalePrvaLiga1411020171
2014–15ZadarPrva HNL1321–––142
Total 154252319018626

International Goals
GoalDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.May 23, 2010Gradski vrt, Osijek, Croatia Wales2–02–0Friendly
gollark: UTTER OCTACHORON
gollark: I DID
gollark: OKAY
gollark: UTTER small stellated dodecahedron!
gollark: Yes, this is DTel.

References
  1. "Profesyonel Futbolcu Drago Gabric'in Sözleşmesinin Fesih Edilemesi". Trabzonspor (in Turkish). Turkish Public Disclosure System (KAP). 14 July 2011. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
  2. "VELIKI POVRATAK NAKON TEŠKE NESREĆE! ŽIVOTNA PRIČA NESRETNOG HAJDUKOVCA OSTAVLJA BEZ DAHA 'Zahvaljujem Bogu na svakom danu koji živim opet igrajući'". sportske.jutarnji.hr (in Croatian). 6 December 2018. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
  3. "Gabrić nakon gotovo tri godine riješio spor s Trabzonsporom". Dalmacija News (in Croatian). 17 June 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  4. http://www.slobodnadalmacija.com/Hajduk/tabid/83/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/149739/Default.aspx (in Croatian)
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