Tonći Pirija

Tonći Pirija (born March 13, 1980) is a Croatian former footballer.

Pirija in 2012
Personal information
Full name Tonći Pirija
Date of birth (1980-03-13) 13 March 1980
Place of birth SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia
Position(s) Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1997–2002 HNK Hajduk Split 29 (0)
2000–2001 → HNK Šibenik (loan) 6 (0)
2002–2003 OFI Heraklion 1 (0)
2004–2005 NK Zagorje 11 (0)
2005–2006 NK Međimurje 11 (1)
2006 FC Tobol
2006–2007 NK Imotski
2008–2012 Toronto Croatia
2013 London City
National team
1995–1996 Croatia U16 6 (0)
1997–1999 Croatia U19 4 (2)
1999–2000 Croatia U20 4 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 13 March 2017

Throughout his career Pirija managed to play in his country's highest tier with prominent clubs as HNK Hajduk Split, and HNK Šibenik. He had several stints abroad in the highest tiers in Greece, Slovenia, Kazakhstan, and Canada. His most notable stint abroad was in the Canadian Soccer League with Toronto Croatia with whom he achieved two CSL Championships, and a First Division title.

Pirija also played at the international level with the Croatian U20, U19, and U17 national teams.

Playing career

Pirija began his career in 1997 with HNK Hajduk Split in the Croatian First Football League.[1] In 2000, he was loaned to HNK Šibenik, where he appeared in 6 matches.[2] During his time with Hajduk he participated in the 2001–02 UEFA Champions League against RCD Mallorca.[3] He also saw action in the 2001–02 UEFA Cup against Wisła Kraków.[4] After several seasons in the Croatia top flight he went abroad to Greece to play with OFI Heraklion in the Superleague Greece.[5]

After a season in Greece he was transferred to NK Zagorje to the Slovenian PrvaLiga.[6] In 2005, he returned to Croatia to play with NK Međimurje, where he played in 11 matches and recorded 1 goal.[7] He went once more abroad to Asia to play with FC Tobol in the Kazakhstan Premier League. In the 2006 season he was playing with NK Imotski in the Croatian Second Football League.

He went overseas in 2008 to play with Toronto Croatia in the Canadian Soccer League.[8][9] He made his debut on July 13, 2008 against the Serbian White Eagles.[10] In 2010, he was appointed the team captain, and won the CSL Championship after defeating Capital City F.C. by a score of 1-0.[11] The following season he won the double with Croatia by clinching the First Division title, and defeating the Montreal Impact Academy in the CSL Championship final.[12]

In 2013, he signed with London City, where he helped London clinch a postseason berth. He featured in the quarterfinal match against York Region Shooters, where they advanced to the next round after a 4-2 victory in a penalty shootout.[13] In the next round they were eliminated from the competition after a 4-2 defeat to Kingston FC.[14]

International career

Pirija played with the Croatia national under-17 football team, and was selected for the 1996 UEFA European Under-16 Championship. He later played with the Croatia national under-19 football team, where he appeared in four matches, and recorded one goal. He made his debut for the Croatia national under-20 football team on September 28, 1999 against Slovenia.[15]In total he made four appearances for the Croatia U-20 team.

Honours

Toronto Croatia

References
  1. Woile, Dennis Grebasch, Michael. "Hajduk Split 2000-01". en.eufo.de. Retrieved 2017-07-03.
  2. "Tonči Pirija". hrnogomet.com. Retrieved 2017-03-13.
  3. UEFA.com. "UEFA Champions League - Mallorca-Hajduk Split". UEFA.com. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
  4. UEFA.com. "UEFA Europa League - Hajduk Split-Wisła Kraków". UEFA.com. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
  5. Woile, Dennis Grebasch, Michael. "OFI 2002-03". en.eufo.de. Retrieved 2017-03-13.
  6. "www.prvaliga.si". www.prvaliga.si. Retrieved 2017-03-13.
  7. "Tonci Pirija - Retired". www.footballdatabase.eu. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
  8. "Canadian Soccer League". 2011-10-02. Archived from the original on 2011-10-02. Retrieved 2017-03-13.
  9. Gossai, Amit (2008-05-23). "Soccer club starts season off on the wrong foot". Mississauga.com. Mississauga News. Retrieved 2020-06-27.
  10. Glover, Robin. "July 13, 2008 CSL Toronto Croatia vs Serbian White Eagles". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2017-03-13.
  11. Glover, Robin. "October 29, 2011 CSL--Toronto Croatia vs Capital City FC Final game". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2017-03-13.
  12. Glover, Robin. "October 27, 2012 CSL Final--Toronto Croatia vs Montreal Impact Academy". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2017-03-13.
  13. Glover, Robin. "October 11, 2013 CSL Quarterfinal--York Region Shooters vs London City". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2017-03-13.
  14. "October 20, 2013 CSL Semifinals--Kingston FC vs London City (from CSL website)". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2017-03-13.
  15. "Tonći Pirija - Croatian Football Federation". hns-cff.hr. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
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