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HNK Rijeka

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HNK Rijeka
Full nameHrvatski nogometni klub Rijeka
(Croatian Football Club Rijeka)
Nickname(s)Riječki bijeli (Rijeka's Whites)
Short nameRIJ, RJK
Founded1906; 118 years ago (1906)
GroundStadion Rujevica
Capacity8,279[1]
OwnerDamir Mišković, via Teanna Limited (70%)
City of Rijeka (30%)
PresidentDamir Mišković
Head coachRadomir Đalović
LeagueSuperSport HNL
2023–24SuperSport HNL, 2nd of 10
Websitehttp://www.nk-rijeka.hr/
Current season

Hrvatski nogometni klub Rijeka (English: Croatian Football Club Rijeka), commonly referred to as HNK Rijeka, is a Croatian professional association football club from the city of Rijeka.

HNK Rijeka competes in Croatia's top division, Supersport HNL, of which they have been members since its foundation in 1992. During the reconstruction of Stadion Kantrida, their traditional home ground, they have been based at Stadion Rujevica. Rijeka's traditional home colours are all white.

The club was founded in 1904, with the football team being active at last since 1906,[2][3] and following the tumultuous political changes that swept the border city of Rijeka in the following decades, it changed its name to U.S. Fiumana in 1926, to S.C.F. Quarnero in 1946,[4] to NK Rijeka in 1954,[5] and finally HNK Rijeka in 1995.[6][7][8] Rijeka is the third-most successful Croatian football club, having won one Croatian First League title, two Yugoslav Cups, six Croatian Cups, one Croatian Super Cup, Serie C 1940–41, the Italian Federal Cup 1927–28 and the 1977–78 Balkans Cup.

History

[edit]

1906–1926

[edit]

The club was founded on the 21st of April 1904 as Club Sportivo Olimpia by Antonio Marchich, Aristodemo Susmel, Agesilao Satti, Carlo Colussi, the brothers Romeo and Alessandro Mitrovich during the time Rijeka was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire as a Corpus Separatum of the Hungarian Crown. The club was originally founded as a tennis-lawn, football, swimming, cycling and athletics club.[9] The first official activities of the football section recorded by conteporary chronicles happened on the 25th November 1906, with historians still investigating the football activities in the previous 2,5 years. For lack of better data, this date is currently officially taken as the beginning of HNK Rijeka as a football club.[7][2] This also makes Rijeka the oldest still active association football club on the territory of today's Republic of Croatia.

While many clubs in town and the region often had specific ethnic leanings, Olimpia intentionally had a very international soul, with Italian, Croatian, Hungarian, and German players all playing and working with each other in unison.[10] The oldest line-up known from Rijeka's pioneer years was: Duimovic, Smoivar, Penka, Brosnich, R. Mittrovich, Lenardon, Satti, Novodnik, A. Mittrovich, Paulovatz, Cittovich (captain). Initially, the club played its matches on the main Scoglietto square, in front of the local Honved HQ, but moved to Kantrida stadium during the following decade (and the stadium changed its name to Campo Sportivo Olympia). Initially, Olimpia played in black and white garments, but in the 1910s, the club also used a fully white kit.

One of the first historic derbies between Olimpia and Doria at the Kantrida stadium, during the 1910s.
One of the last Olympia-Gloria matches before their merger, on 30 November 1924.

During the following years, Olimpia will be joined by several other local football clubs from the city of Rijeka and will continue the legacy of Fiumei Atletikai Club as the main city club, when Atletico discontinued its football section in the course of the 1910s.[11] Among the many clubs being founded in town during these years, a side, in particular, will soon rise as fierce arch-rival to Olimpia: Doria (later renamed into CS Gloria) arose from the proletarian classes and the humble old town dwellers of the industry-rich port town on the Adriatic. While Olimpia was associated with the wealthier classes, mostly players from working-class families performed for Gloria; therefore, the club found most of its sympathisers among the poorer part of the population.[12] Olimpia was renamed to Olympia on 9 January 1918 during a meeting of its board and the new president became the Fiuman writer Antonio de Schlemmer, possibly as an anti-irredentist move. During these years, it achieved its first major local and international successes: it became the champion of the Free State of Fiume championship in 1921, and it won several Julian March and North-Eastern Italian championships in the following years, soon becoming the strongest side in the Alpe-Adria region.

1926–1943

[edit]

On 2 September 1926, following Mussolini's reforms of the FIGC and the 1924 Fiume putsch led by Italian fascists, which brought to the annexation of the independent Free State of Fiume to Italy, Olympia was forced to merge with its arch-rival Gloria into the Unione Sportiva Fiumana. Pietro Pasquali was picked as the new president of the club. Two years later, Fiumana won its first national trophy when it reached first place in the Italian Federal Cup.

Players and management celebrating the 1927-28 Federal Cup victory.

The following season saw the club playing in the Italian Serie A, with some of the biggest Italian clubs such as Ambrosiana (today's Inter, also forced into a brand image change by the new regime), Juventus and Napoli played at the Kantrida stadium (renamed to Stadio Borgomarina in those years). Despite a decent performance in Serie A, the city, now impoverished by the annexation and cut off from its natural economic hinterland, was not in the financial position to compete with the biggest cities in Italy and following these successes, the club had to see many of its stars signed by major Italian sides. During most of the 1930s and 1940s, the club competed in the second and third tier of the Italian competitions. At the reopening of a refurbished Kantrida (then renamed Stadio del Littorio) in 1935, Fiumana hosted AS Roma. In June 1941, it became champion of the newly created Italian Serie C.

Serie C's last season before the fall of fascist Italy in 1943 saw Fiumana end in third place. Mostly from workers' families, the players leaned heavily toward the partisan movement, often joining it outright. They didn't participate in the Italian Social Republic championships and the Adriatic Littoral championship set up by the German occupational force. Nonetheless, the players kept playing several matches with other local clubs and against sides organised or brought in by the German occupational authorities. Worth mentioning are the excessive celebrations for some victories against the German sides that brought several players to be imprisoned and sent to various concentration camps in Germany, and a last ceremonial game between the old legends of Olympia and Gloria that was held on 15 June 1944 while allied planes were bombing the city's surroundings.[10] Most Fiumana players joined the partisan movement and helped the Yugoslav liberation movement, with many ending up in imprisonment and being sent to concentration camps.

1943–1954

[edit]

Following the liberation of the city from the Nazi occupation and the subsequent occupation by Yugoslav troops, and due to the uncertain future status of the city during the long Paris peace conference, the club resumed its activities in the post-war period under the slightly rebranded name of Rappresentativa Sindacale Fiumana. It went on playing several games against the most notable teams of the newly constituted Yugoslav state, beating Dinamo Zagreb 4–2, Akademičar Zagreb 7–2 and Metalac Beograd 2–0.[10] During the interim post-war year, and before the first edition of the Yugoslav First League, R.S. Fiumana played against some of its future Balkan rivals. The authorities also set up an unofficial city tournament among factories named after Fiumana's late captain Giovanni Maras, who died heroically in partisan combat on the nearby Mount Risnjak.[13] Despite Maras and most of his colleagues' partisan allegiance and the many hardships endured by them in Nazi concentration camps, the name Fiumana came soon to be considered too Italian for a city that the Yugoslav occupational authorities were trying to annex by force before the official peace treaty could be signed.

As in most other cities in Yugoslavia, in 1946 the communist authorities established a new identity for the city's most representative club in order for it to take part in the upcoming Yugoslav championship[8] and rebranded and restructured the club into Società Cultura Fisica Quarnero (S.C.F. Quarnero), which later added also the bilingual title Sportsko Društvo Kvarner.[4][14][15][16] The new name followed the geographic neutral naming conventions requested to local councils by the central authorities in Belgrade in order to approve the reestablishment of the local sport club activities and to participate in competitions. The initiative came from Ettore Mazzieri, the city's sports commissioner for the Yugoslav military administration and a previous Fiumana manager. The first match with the Quarnero identify was played on 7 August 1946, bringing revenge against Hajduk Split for the loss from the previous year. The club began the new course with a resounding 2–0 against the best Yugoslav side of the time.[17] Quarnero initially continued to play in the Fiumana amaranto colours, but started switching colours after the first few championships games, and continued appearing with new kits every few matches until season 1957–58. Luigi Sošić and, in particular, Giovanni Cucera took over the role of the first post-war president, shaping the new communist direction of the club. At the same time, all former Fiumana players and staff carried on playing in the renamed club for the next few years before the Italian exodus slowly forced many of them to leave the city after the season 1947–48. As all clubs in Yugoslavia had to transform general sports clubs following the Stalinist model imposed by Belgrade in 1945,[8] S.C.F. Quarnero incorporated 11 other sections in addition to football, including boxing, fencing, basketball and tennis. The international tennis champion Orlando Sirola started his career at the club before his exile.[10]

The authorities in Belgrade soon decided that Rijeka's club should be invited to participate in the first Yugoslav First League in 1946–47 as an external guest, representing the occupied Zone B of the Julian March region, but only after a play-off with the Pula-based club Unione Sportiva Operaia. When the city of Rijeka was assigned to Yugoslavia in February 1947, and Tito broke all ties with Stalin in 1948, most Yugoslav clubs underwent a further re-organisation. Thus, in 1948, Quarnero became once again an all-football club, and the name was also modified into Società Calcio Quarnero – Nogometni Klub Kvarner. During the early period playing in Yugoslavia's competitions, Kvarner reached moderate success in various national and local leagues. Still, the club was relegated at the end of their inaugural season in the Yugoslav First League in 1946–47 due to a purely political decision to favour Ponziana, after Quarnero had already secured its stay in the first league during the season. Upon securing Rijeka for Yugoslavia, the Belgrade authorities were now trying to pander to Trieste's residents through sport in the hope of annexing also that city to Yugoslavia.[18]

The club continued to play with mixed results in Yugoslav football's second and third divisions. The club achieved mediocre results over the next ten years, concurrently with Rijeka's autochthonous population slowly leaving hometown over the years. Consequently, the club lost many of its best players because many opted to leave Yugoslavia and move overseas.

In 1954, following rising ethnic tensions around the Trieste Crisis and the subsequent elimination of all forms of bilingualism in the city, paired with a desire to have a brand more recognizable and associated the club was further renamed into NK Rijeka.[19]

1954–1991

[edit]
HNK Rijeka badge from 1954 up until 1971

Given the political interferences in the club's life and the continuous mistreatment of ethnic Italians, many of Quarnero's best players were forced to join the Fiuman exodus, and the club lingered between the second and third tier of the Yugoslav competition for the next several years. Following new Italian-Yugoslav tensions that arose during the Trieste Crisis, and the subsequent de facto abolition of the city's full bilingual rights by the communist authorities in Belgrade,[20] the club changed its name once again, into the now completely monolingual NK Rijeka (Rijeka Football Club) on 2 July 1954, giving up onto the Italian language in its brand image for the first time in the club's history. Rijeka started to use a white kit for the second time in its history in a match in Šibenik in the 1957–58 second league season. During the previous seasons, the kit colours were constantly changing, depending on what was available to the management at any given time and what the sponsors could offer.[21] The main kit remained white since. Rijeka returned to the First League in 1958 and remained in the top tier for 11 consecutive seasons until 1969, when it got relegated once again to the Yugoslav Second League.[22] Despite finishing at the top in four (out of five) seasons of the second league, due to three failed promotion play-off attempts, the club only gained promotion back to the top tier in 1974. Rijeka remained in the top tier until the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1991, with varying but improving results.[22]

The club's greatest successes during this period are two Yugoslav Cup titles in 1978 and 1979 and a runner-up finish in 1987, when Rijeka lost the final in the penalty shoot-out.[23] The club never managed to finish the season higher than fourth place in the Yugoslav First League. In 1984, the club came closest to a Yugoslav championship title, finishing only two points behind Red Star Belgrade. Rijeka were also the best placed Croatian club in the Yugoslav First League in 1965, 1984 and 1987.[24]

1991–present

[edit]
Players and staff celebrating their 2006 Croatian Cup win

Following the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1992, Rijeka joined the Croatian First Football League in its inaugural season. In 1995, the club changed its name to HNK Rijeka, adding the prefix "Croatian" to its name, following the example of many other clubs during the Croatian War for Independence. Today, Rijeka remains one of only four founding member clubs of the HNL to have never been relegated and is regarded as one of the country's top three clubs. Since the Croatian independence, the club won its first-ever league title in 2017, ending Dinamo Zagreb's run of 11 consecutive titles, and was a runner-up eight times.[25] Rijeka has also won six Croatian Cups, including back-to-back titles in 2005 and 2006 and most recently in 2019 and 2020. The club also won the cup in 2014 and in 2017, which helped them secure a historic Double in that year.[26]

A refereeing error denied Rijeka their first championship title in the final round of the 1998–99 season. With one match to play, Rijeka was one point ahead of Croatia Zagreb, needing a home win against Osijek to secure the title. With the match tied at 1–1, in the 89th minute, Rijeka forward Admir Hasančić converted a cross by Barnabás Sztipánovics. However, moments later, assistant referee Krečak raised his flag, and referee Šupraha disallowed Rijeka's winning goal for an alleged offside.[27] Following an investigation, 3D analysis revealed Hasančić was not, in fact, in an offside position, and that Rijeka was wrongfully denied their first championship title.[28][29] An investigation by Nacional revealed Franjo Tuđman, the president of the Republic of Croatia and an ardent Croatia Zagreb supporter, earlier in 1999 ordered the country's intelligence agencies to spy on football referees, officials and journalists, to ensure the Zagreb club wins the league title.[29]

HNK Rijeka in the European competitions

[edit]

Rijeka participated in UEFA competitions on 24 occasions, including 12 consecutive appearances since 2013–14. The greatest success was the quarter-final of the 1979–80 European Cup Winners' Cup, where they lost to Italian giants Juventus 2–0 on aggregate.[30] The most memorable result in Europe was the home win (3–1) against eventual winners Real Madrid in the 1984–85 UEFA Cup.[31] Controversially, in the return leg at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, which Rijeka lost 3–0, three of their players were sent off. Madrid scored their first goal from a dubious penalty in the 67th minute with Rijeka already down to ten men. Over the next ten minutes, two additional Rijeka players were sent off, most notably Damir Desnica. While Desnica received the first yellow card because he did not stop play after Schoeters blew his whistle, the second yellow was issued because he allegedly insulted the referee. However, unbeknownst to the referee, Desnica had been a deaf-mute since birth.[24] With Rijeka reduced to eight players, Madrid scored two additional goals, progressed to the next round and eventually won the trophy.

In 2013, after winning 4–3 on aggregate against VfB Stuttgart, Rijeka qualified for the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League group stage.[32][33] Rijeka also participated in the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League group stage, where they defeated Feyenoord and Standard Liège and drew with title-holders and eventual winners Sevilla.[34][35][36] In 2017, Rijeka reached the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League play-off, where they lost 3–1 on aggregate to Greek champions Olympiacos, and automatically qualified for the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League group stage. In the group stage, they recorded a famous home win (2–0) against AC Milan.[37] In 2020–21 Rijeka reached the group stages of the Europa League for the fourth time in eight years but once again failed to progress to the knockout stages. In 2021–22, 2023–24 and 2024–25, Rijeka was eliminated in the play-off round of UEFA Conference League.

Private ownership

[edit]

In February 2012, Gabriele Volpi – an Italian businessman and the founder of Orlean Invest, as well as the owner of football club Spezia and water polo club Pro Recco – injected much-needed capital into the club. With the privatization process complete by September 2013, Volpi, through Dutch-based Stichting Social Sport Foundation, owned 70% of the club, with the City of Rijeka in control of the remaining 30%.[38][39] On 29 December 2017 it was announced that chairman Damir Mišković, through London-based Teanna Limited, acquired the majority stake in the club from Stichting Social Sport Foundation.[40][41]

Record transfers

[edit]

In January 2015, Rijeka sold their star striker Andrej Kramarić to Leicester City for a club-record £9.7 million transfer fee.[42]

Historical names

[edit]
  • 1904 – C.S. Olimpia (Club Sportivo Olimpia)
  • 1918 – C.S. Olympia (Club Sportivo Olympia)
  • 1926 – U.S. Fiumana (Unione Sportiva Fiumana), after merger with C.S. Gloria
  • 1945 – R.S. Fiumana (Rappresentativa Sindacale Fiumana)
  • 1946 – S.C.F. Quarnero (Società Cultura Fisica Quarnero), after rebranding to partake in the Yugoslav football championships system
  • 1948 – S.C. Quarnero - N.K. Kvarner (Società Calcio Quarnero - Nogometni Klub Kvarner)
  • 1954 – N.K. Rijeka (Nogometni Klub Rijeka)
  • 1995 – H.N.K. Rijeka (Hrvatski Nogometni Klub Rijeka)

Stadium

[edit]
Main articles: Stadion Kantrida and Stadion Rujevica
The Kantrida stadium in season 1921–22. At the time, the field was named Campo Sportivo Olimpia, as per the club's original name.
Rujevica stadium, NK Rijeka's current home.

The club initially played at the Honved training field in front of today's Popular University of Rijeka in the central Scoglietto suburb of Rijeka. During the 1920s, the club was allowed to build a new and, at the time, modern facility in Scoglietto, and toward the end of the decade, it started using Stadion Kantrida as its primary field, naming it Campo Sportivo Olympia. Kantrida was the club's traditional home ground for over 95 years (with a short hiatus between 1947 and 1951 due to refurbishing) until July 2015. Since August 2015, Rijeka has been based at the newly built Stadion Rujevica, a modern all-seater with a capacity of 8,279. Stadion Rujevica is part of Rijeka's new training centre and is the club's temporary home ground. Following the club's move to Rujevica, plans emerged to build a new, state-of-the-art, all-seater Stadion Kantrida.[43][44] The project was on hold for close to a decade as the club was seeking funding and co-investors to make the project viable. In December 2023, plans were unveiled that, in addition to the stadium, investors plan to build a commercial complex, which may include three residential highrise towers and a hotel, with a total cost exceeding €100 million. The new Kantrida stadium will be located at the previous location but rotated 90 degrees from the previously proposed location, facing north–south. The facility is designed to accommodate 12,000 to 14,000 spectators and will meet UEFA's fourth-category standards.[45]

Support

[edit]
Main article: Armada Rijeka

Rijeka's ultras group is called Armada Rijeka, or simply Armada. The group has been active since 1987, but some forms of organised (albeit not registered as associations) support were present and following the club already in the decades before, with the earliest reported in the 1920s.

During most home matches, the majority of the seats are occupied by season ticket holders. For the 2023–24 season, the club has more than 6,200 season ticket holders and 15,300 members.

Rivalries

[edit]
Further information: Adriatic derby, Dinamo–Rijeka derby, Derby della Učka, and Osijek–Rijeka derby

Rijeka's greatest rivalry nowadays is with Hajduk Split. Since 1946, the Adriatic derby has been contested between the two most popular Croatian football clubs from the Adriatic coast, Rijeka and Hajduk. Other rivalries exist with other major clubs in Croatia Dinamo Zagreb and a milder with Osijek. The primary regional derby is with Istra Pula. The origins of the Rijeka–Pula rivalry date back to the clashes between Fiumana and Grion Pola since the late 1920s. The city derby with Orijent is probably the oldest, with its roots in the clashes between CS Olimpia and CS Gloria against Orijent and the other more successful in those early years Sušak-based club, Victoria.

Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors

[edit]
Period Kit manufacturer Shirt partner
1998–1999 Adidas INA
1999–2002 Kronos
2002–2003 Torpedo
2003–2004 Lero
2004–2005 Legea
2005–2006 INA
2006–2008 Kappa Croatia Osiguranje
2008–2012 Jako
2012–2014 Lotto  –
2014–2016 Jako
2017–2018 Sava Osiguranje
2018–2023 Joma
2023– Favbet

Players

[edit]

Current squad

[edit]
As of 17 November 2024[46]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Croatia CRO Josip Posavec
2 DF Croatia CRO Lovro Kitin
3 DF Croatia CRO Bruno Goda
4 MF Croatia CRO Niko Janković
5 DF Croatia CRO Niko Galešić
6 DF Bosnia and Herzegovina BIH Stjepan Radeljić
7 FW France FRA Naïs Djouahra
8 MF Slovenia SVN Dejan Petrovič
9 FW Serbia SRB Komnen Andrić
10 MF Croatia CRO Toni Fruk
13 GK Bosnia and Herzegovina BIH Martin Zlomislić
14 MF Bosnia and Herzegovina BIH Amer Gojak
18 MF Albania ALB Lindon Selahi
20 FW Croatia CRO Dominik Dogan
No. Pos. Nation Player
21 MF Bosnia and Herzegovina BIH Silvio Ilinković
24 DF Croatia CRO Bruno Burčul
25 GK Croatia CRO Domagoj Ivan Marić
27 FW Croatia CRO Šimun Butić
28 DF Croatia CRO Ivan Smolčić (captain)
29 MF Croatia CRO Andro Babić
30 MF Croatia CRO Bruno Bogojević
32 DF Croatia CRO Marijan Čabraja
34 DF Serbia SRB Mladen Devetak
41 FW Croatia CRO Gabriel Rukavina
45 DF Croatia CRO Ante Majstorović
77 FW Croatia CRO Stipe Perica
87 MF Croatia CRO Marco Pašalić

Youth academy

[edit]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
22 FW Croatia CRO Noel Jakac

Dual registration

[edit]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
— GK Nigeria NGA David Nwolokor (at Croatia Opatija)
— DF Croatia CRO Noel Bodetić (at Croatia Orijent)
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF North Macedonia MKD Matej Momčilovski (at Croatia Orijent)
— MF Croatia CRO Borna Panić (at Croatia Orijent)

Out on loan

[edit]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
55 DF Croatia CRO Duje Dujmović (at Croatia Šibenik until 26 June 2025)
99 GK Serbia SRB Aleksa Todorović (at Croatia Karlovac 1919 until 14 June 2025)
No. Pos. Nation Player
— FW Croatia CRO Niko Gajzler (at Slovenia Radomlje until 29 June 2025)
— FW Croatia CRO Dominik Simčić (at Slovenia Koper until 30 June 2025)

Club officials and technical staff

[edit]
Further information: Category:HNK Rijeka chairmen and investors and Category:HNK Rijeka non-playing staff
Position Staff
President Croatia Damir Mišković
Vice-president Croatia Dean Šćulac
Croatia Zlatan Hreljac
General director Croatia Igor Butorac
Administrative director Croatia Marina Vela
Director of finance Croatia Marina Cesarac Dorčić
Director of communications Croatia Alen Fućak
Director of football Croatia Srećko Juričić
Sporting director Croatia Darko Raić-Sudar
Sporting director (assistant) Croatia Antonini Čulina
Academy director Croatia Luka Pavlović
Club secretary Croatia Milica Alavanja
Press secretary Croatia Sandra Nešić
Power of attorney Croatia Vlatko Vrkić
Head coach Montenegro Radomir Đalović
Assistant coach Croatia Dario Grabušić
Team manager Croatia Alen Rivetti
Performance analyst Croatia Rade Ljepojević
Chief scout Croatia Ranko Buketa
Fitness coach Croatia Ivan Ćuković
Goalkeeping coach Croatia Mario Jozić
Team doctor Croatia Nataša Bakarčić
Croatia Boban Dangubić
Physiotherapist Croatia Marin Polonijo
Croatia Matija Čargonja
Croatia Matej Lulić
Kit manager Croatia Denis Miškulin

Last updated: 13 August 2024
Source: Club officials

Notable players

[edit]
For a list of many former and current HNK Rijeka players, see Category:HNK Rijeka players.
Further information: List of HNK Rijeka players
To appear in this section a player must have satisfied all of the following three criteria:

Source: Appearances and Goals. Last updated 26 March 2024.

All-time Best 11

[edit]

According to a 2005–07 survey of former players (older than 40 years of age) and respected journalists, Marinko Lazzarich found that the best all-time team of Rijeka is as follows:

1. Jantoljak, 2. Milevoj, 3. Hrstić, 4. Radaković, 5. Radin, 6. Juričić, 7. Lukarić, 8. Gračan, 9. Osojnak, 10. Naumović, 11. Desnica.[47]

Rijeka's daily, Novi list, in 2011 declared the following 11 players as Rijeka's best all time team:

1. Jantoljak, 2. Šarić, 3. Radin, 4. Juričić, 5. Hrstić, 6. Loik, 7. Radaković, 8. Mladenović, 9. Naumović, 10. Skoblar, 11. Desnica.[48]

Best 11 (2010–20)

[edit]

In 2020, the club's fans voted to select the best squad over the past decade to fit in a 4–2–3–1 formation:

Prskalo – Ristovski, Župarić, Mitrović, Zuta – Kreilach, Moisés – Vešović, Andrijašević, Sharbini – Kramarić. Manager: Kek.[49]

Historical list of coaches

[edit]
For a list of HNK Rijeka managers, see Category:HNK Rijeka managers.

Source:[50][51]

Winning managers

[edit]
Name Nationality Honours Total
Matjaž Kek  Slovenia 2013–14 Croatian Cup, 2014 Croatian Super Cup, 2016–17 Croatian First League, 2016–17 Croatian Cup
4
Dragutin Spasojević  Yugoslavia 1977–78 Yugoslav Cup, 1977–78 Balkans Cup
2
Delfino Costanzo Valle Italy 1926–27 Italian Federal Cup
1
Marijan Brnčić  Yugoslavia 1978–79 Yugoslav Cup
1
Elvis Scoria  Croatia 2004–05 Croatian Cup
1
Dragan Skočić  Croatia 2005–06 Croatian Cup
1
Igor Bišćan  Croatia 2018–19 Croatian Cup
1
Simon Rožman  Slovenia 2019–20 Croatian Cup
1

Presidents

[edit]
For a list of HNK Rijeka chairmen, see Category:HNK Rijeka chairmen and investors.
  • Antonio Carlo de Schlemmer 1918–1920
  • Antonio Marcich 1920–1921
  • Pietro Pasquali 1921–1923
  • Clemente Marassi 1923–1925
  • Nino Host-Venturi 1925–1926
  • Giovanni Stiglich 1926–1928
  • Ramiro Antonini 1928–1929
  • Oscar Sperber 1929–1931
  • Costanzo Delfino 1931–1936
  • Alessandro Szemere 1936–1937
  • Eugenio Zoncada 1937–1938
  • Alessandro Andreanelli 1938–1939
  • Giuseppe Ianetti 1939–1940
  • Alesandro Andreanelli 1940–1941
  • Carlo Descovich 1941–1942
  • Andrea Gastaldi 1942–1945
  • Luigi Sošić, 1946
  • Giovanni Cucera, 1946–1948
  • Ambrosio Stečić, 1948–1952
  • Dr. Zdravko Kučić, 1953–1954
  • Milorad Doričić, 1955–1956
  • Milan Blažević, 1957–1959
  • Stjepan Koren, 1960–1963
  • Milorad Doričić, 1964–1969
  • Vilim Mulc, 1969–1971
  • Davor Sušanj, 1971
  • Ljubo Španjol, 1972–1978
  • Zvonko Poščić, 1978–1979
  • Nikola Jurčević, 1980
  • Marijan Glavan, 1981
  • Davor Sušanj, 1981–1984
  • Stjepko Gugić, 1985–1986
  • Dragan Krčelić, 1986–1989
  • Želimir Gruičić, 1989–1991
  • Darko Čargonja, 1991–1992
  • Josip Lokmer, 1993–1994
  • Krsto Pavić, 1994–1995
  • Hrvoje Šarinić, 1995–1996
  • Franjo Šoda, 1996–1997
  • Prof. Žarko Tomljanović, 1997–2000
  • Hrvoje Šarinić, Dr. Ivan Vanja Frančišković, Robert Ježić, 2000
  • Robert Ježić, 2000
  • Sanjin Kirigin, 2000–2002
  • Duško Grabovac, 2002–2003
  • Robert Ježić, 2003–2008
  • Dr. Ivan Vanja Frančišković, 2008–2009
  • Ivan Turčić, 2009–2011
  • Robert Komen, 2011–2012
  • Damir Mišković, 2012–

Source:[50][51]

Seasons, statistics and records

[edit]
Further information: List of HNK Rijeka seasons, List of HNK Rijeka records and statistics, and HNK Rijeka record by opponent

Honours

[edit]

Rijeka has won one Croatian First Football League title, two Yugoslav Cups and six Croatian Cups, one Italian Coppa Federale. In European competitions, the club has reached the quarter-final of the Cup Winners' Cup in 1979–80, UEFA Cup Round of 32 in 1984–85, and group stages of the UEFA Europa League in 2013–14, 2014–15, 2017–18 and 2020–21. The club has also won the 1977–78 Balkans Cup.[52]

Domestic

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Croatia

Yugoslavia

Italy

  • Italian Coppa Federale
  • Italian North-East league
    • Winners (1): 1923–24
    • Runners-up: 1924–25
  • Italian Third League
  • Julian March Championship
    • Winners (2): 1921–22, 1922–23
  • Friuli and Julian March Cup
    • Winners (1): 1922–23

Free State of Fiume

  • Fiuman championship
    • Winners (1): 1920–21
  • Fiuman-Julian Cup
    • Winners (1): 1921

Austria-Hungary

  • Grazioli Cup
    • Runners-up: 1919

International

[edit]

Source:,[53] Last updated 31 July 2020.

Rankings

[edit]

UEFA club coefficient ranking

[edit]
See also: UEFA coefficient

All time UEFA ranking:[56] 271

European record

[edit]
Main article: HNK Rijeka in European football

By competition

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Competition Pld W D L GF GA Last season played
UEFA Champions League 8 2 2 4 10 11 2017–18
UEFA Cup / UEFA Europa League 72 27 19 26 100 89 2024–25
UEFA Conference League 16 7 4 5 25 20 2024–25
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 10 3 3 4 8 9 1979–80
UEFA Intertoto Cup 4 1 1 2 3 5 2008
Total 110 40 29 41 146 134

Source: uefa.com, Fully up to date on 29 August 2024.
Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against. Defunct competitions indicated in italics.

By ground

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Ground Pld W D L GF GA GD
Home 55 28 14 13 89 52 +37
Away 55 12 15 28 57 82 −25
Total 110 40 29 41 146 134 +12

Source: uefa.com, Fully up to date on 29 August 2024.
Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against.

By season

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Non-UEFA competitions are listed in italics.

Last updated on 29 August 2024.
Note: List includes matches played in competitions not endorsed by UEFA.
† Matches played at neutral ground in Ascoli and Pisa, Italy.

Player records

[edit]

References

[edit]
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