HNK Cibalia
Hrvatski nogometni klub Cibalia, commonly known as Cibalia Vinkovci or simply Cibalia, is a Croatian football club from the town of Vinkovci in eastern Croatia. Cibalia currently play in the Prva NL, Croatia's second tier league. Their stadium is located in the south part of their home town and can hold 10,000 spectators. The name Cibalia comes from the Roman settlement called Colonia Aurelia Cibalae which was the precursor of the present-day town of Vinkovci. In the period from 1945 to 1990 the club was called NK Dinamo Vinkovci.
|  | |||
| Full name | Hrvatski nogometni klub Cibalia Vinkovci | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Nebesko plavi (The Sky-blues) | ||
| Founded | 7 May 1919 (as HGŽK Cibalia) | ||
| Ground | Stadion HNK Cibalia | ||
| Capacity | 10,000 | ||
| Chairman | Dea Lasić | ||
| Manager | Tomislav Radotić | ||
| League | First League (II) | ||
| 2022–23 | 3rd | ||
| Website | Club website | ||
|  | |||
History
    
The club was founded in 1919 as HGŽK Cibalia Vinkovci, and in 1925 the team merged with local rivals RŠK Sloga. In the 1930s the club was coached by Bane Sekulić, Károly Nemes and Rajmond Breznik.[1] After World War II the club was banned by the new Communist regime. After the war re-established clubs Sloga and OFD Graničar merged and formed NK Dinamo Vinkovci which began competing within the Yugoslav football system. The club would see several humble decades before finally making it to the Yugoslav First League in 1982. They played in the top-tier league for five seasons until they were relegated to the Yugoslav Second League in 1987.
In 1990 the team returned its traditional name of Cibalia. The club spent much of the 1990s in the Prva HNL, Croatian top level. It remained in the Prva HNL until the 2003–04 season when it was relegated to the Druga HNL. The club was also penalized by UEFA in the same season with a deduction of six points for failure to fulfill financial obligations related to past player transfers. Nevertheless, in the 2004–05 season, Cibalia outdid all of its opponents in the second league by a large margin, won the promotion playoffs and returned to Prva HNL. It was in this season that they also had Croatian mixed martial arts legend Mirko Filipović play the final 8 minutes of a match vs HNK Vukovar.[2]
Cibalia also had some success playing in the Croatian Cup, where it reached the final in 1999 (lost to Osijek) and semi-final in 2000, 2004, 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2013.
The 2009–10 season was Cibalia's best ever season in the top division of Croatian football. They finished third after giants Dinamo Zagreb and Hajduk Split, having spent most of the season in second position. They qualified for the second qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League but eventually lost to Northern Irish side Cliftonville and exited the tournament.
Cibalia were relegated from the 1. HNL in 2018 and also faced bankruptcy.[3] They ended up being relegated directly to the third division, where they finished the season in first place and were promoted after receiving a second division license in May 2019.[4][5]
Honours
    
- Yugoslav Second League (West):
- Winners (1): 1981–82
 
- Yugoslav Third League (SR Croatia):
- Winners (1): 1974–75
 
- Yugoslav Cup
- Quarter-finals (1): 1977
 
- Croatian First League:
- Third place (1): 2009–10
 
- Croatian Second League:
- Croatian Third League (East):
- Winners (1): 2018–19
 
- Croatian Cup:
- Runners-up (1): 1999
 
- UEFA Intertoto Cup:
- Semi-finals (1): 2003
 
Supporters and Rivalries
    
The club has a relatively large but local following. Their main supporter group are called Ultrasi.[6] Their main rivals are the group Kohorta Osijek from NK Osijek.[7]
Current squad
    
- As of 1 March 2023
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Recent seasons
    
| Season | League | Cup | Europe / Other | Top league scorer(s) | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | Pos | Name | Goals | ||||
| 1992 | 1. HNL | 22 | 3 | 9 | 10 | 13 | 24 | 15 | 9th | DNQ | Josip Markovinović | 3 | ||
| 1992–93 | 1. HNL | 30 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 31 | 30 | 31 | 5th | R2 | Davor Čop | 8 | ||
| 1993–94 | 1. HNL | 34 | 11 | 13 | 10 | 37 | 27 | 35 | 7th | R2 | Josip Markovinović | 8 | ||
| 1994–95 | 1. HNL | 30 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 26 | 33 | 37 | 10th | QF | Josip Markovinović | 5 | ||
| 1995–96 | 1. HNL | 36 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 43 | 55 | 45 | 9th | R2 | Goran Meštrović | 6 | ||
| 1996–97 | 1. HNL | 30 | 11 | 0 | 19 | 35 | 56 | 33 | 13th ↓ | R1 | Antun Andričević & Ivica Marinčić | 5 | ||
| 1997–98 | 2. HNL | 30 | 22 | 5 | 3 | 80 | 19 | 71 | 1st ↑ | R1 | ||||
| 1998–99 | 1. HNL | 32 | 10 | 7 | 15 | 34 | 44 | 26 | 9th | RU | Ivan Bošnjak | 7 | ||
| 1999–2000 | 1. HNL | 33 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 42 | 39 | 45 | 6th | SF | Ivan Bošnjak | 14 | ||
| 2000–01 | 1. HNL | 32 | 5 | 18 | 9 | 31 | 45 | 33 | 9th | R2 | Intertoto Cup | R2 | Mario Meštrović | 7 | 
| 2001–02 | 1. HNL | 30 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 34 | 37 | 36 | 10th | R1 | Mladen Bartolović | 6 | ||
| 2002–03 | 1. HNL | 32 | 12 | 7 | 13 | 39 | 44 | 43 | 5th | QF | Mladen Bartolović | 9 | ||
| 2003–04 | 1. HNL | 32 | 8 | 7 | 17 | 39 | 53 | 31 | 11th ↓ | SF | Intertoto Cup | SF | Zoran Ratković | 10 | 
| 2004–05 | 2. HNL | 32 | 21 | 8 | 3 | 65 | 23 | 65 | 1st ↑ | R1 | Danijel Kuzmanović | 14 | ||
| 2005–06 | 1. HNL | 32 | 9 | 10 | 13 | 33 | 47 | 37 | 9th | R2 | Mladen Križanović Aleksandar Stojanovski Ivan Žgela | 4 | ||
| 2006–07 | 1. HNL | 33 | 9 | 5 | 19 | 33 | 53 | 32 | 10th | QF | Zoran Zekić | 12 | ||
| 2007–08 | 1. HNL | 33 | 11 | 7 | 15 | 40 | 48 | 40 | 8th | QF | Željko Malčić | 12 | ||
| 2008–09 | 1. HNL | 33 | 10 | 8 | 15 | 33 | 53 | 38 | 8th | SF | Željko Malčić | 9 | ||
| 2009–10 | 1. HNL | 30 | 16 | 9 | 5 | 46 | 20 | 57 | 3rd | R1 | Dino Kresinger | 9 | ||
| 2010–11 | 1. HNL | 30 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 33 | 24 | 44 | 4th | SF | Europa League | QR2 | Dino Kresinger | 11 | 
| 2011–12 | 1. HNL | 30 | 13 | 6 | 11 | 35 | 35 | 45 | 5th | SF | Mladen Bartolović | 8 | ||
| 2012–13 | 1. HNL | 33 | 9 | 5 | 19 | 29 | 44 | 32 | 11th ↓ | SF | Tomislav Mazalović | 7 | ||
| 2013–14 | 2. HNL | 33 | 18 | 5 | 10 | 41 | 39 | 59 | 2nd | R2 | Hrvoje Tokić | 16 | ||
| 2014–15 | 2. HNL | 30 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 36 | 44 | 38 | 6th | R2 | Jakov Puljić | 16 | ||
| 2015–16 | 2. HNL | 33 | 20 | 10 | 3 | 54 | 20 | 70 | 1st ↑ | R2 | Frane Vitaić | 15 | ||
| 2016–17 | 1. HNL | 36 | 4 | 9 | 23 | 26 | 79 | 21 | 9th | R2 | Frane Vitaić | 7 | ||
| 2017–18 | 1. HNL | 36 | 6 | 8 | 22 | 36 | 75 | 26 | 10th ↓↓ | R2 | Ivan Galić | 7 | ||
| 2018–19 | 3. HNL | 30 | 21 | 5 | 4 | 67 | 24 | 68 | 1st ↑ | R1 | Dominik Dogan | 16 | ||
| 2019–20 | 2. HNL | 19 | 2 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 34 | 13 | 16th | R1 | Mate Bajić | 5 | ||
| 2020–21 | 2. HNL | 34 | 15 | 6 | 13 | 50 | 43 | 51 | 4th | R1 | Gerald Diyoke, Filip Jazvić | 7 | ||
| 2021–22 | 2. HNL | 30 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 44 | 42 | 41 | 6th | R1 | Domagoj Pušić, Filip Jazvić | 8 | ||
| 2022–23 | 1. NL | 33 | 13 | 15 | 5 | 37 | 26 | 54 | 3rd | R1 | Ivan Mihaljević | 7 | ||
European record
    
    Summary
    
| Competition | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Last season played | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UEFA Europa League | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2010–11 | 
| UEFA Intertoto Cup | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 13 | 16 | 2003 | 
| Total | 12 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 13 | 17 | 
Source:,[8] Last updated on 10 September 2010
Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against. Defunct competitions indicated in italics.
By season
    
| Season | Competition | Round | Opponent | Home | Away | Agg. | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000–01 | Intertoto Cup | R1 | .svg.png.webp) FK Obilić | 3–1 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 
| R2 |  FC Tatabánya | 0–0 | 2–3 | 2–3 | ||
| 2003–04 | Intertoto Cup | R2 |  FC Shakhtyor | 4–2 | 1–1 | 5–3 | 
| R3 |  Tampere United | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | ||
| SF |  VfL Wolfsburg | 1–4 | 0–4 | 1–8 | ||
| 2010–11 | Europa League | QR2 | .svg.png.webp) Cliftonville | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 
All-time total in the Prva HNL
    
| Points | Games | Wins | Draws | Losses | GF | GA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HNK Cibalia | 515 | 438 | 129 | 128 | 181 | 470 | 587 | 
Historical list of coaches
    
.svg.png.webp) Bane Sekulić[1] Bane Sekulić[1]
 Károly Nemes[1] Károly Nemes[1]
 Rajmond Breznik[1] Rajmond Breznik[1]
.svg.png.webp) Dražan Jerković (1975–76) Dražan Jerković (1975–76)
.svg.png.webp) Otto Barić (1976–79) Otto Barić (1976–79)
.svg.png.webp) Ivan Marković Ivan Marković
.svg.png.webp) Tonko Vukušić (19xx-84) Tonko Vukušić (19xx-84)
.svg.png.webp) Nedeljko Gugolj (1984–8X) Nedeljko Gugolj (1984–8X)
.svg.png.webp) Martin Novoselac (1986–88) Martin Novoselac (1986–88)
.svg.png.webp) Ivo Šušak (1988–89) Ivo Šušak (1988–89)
.svg.png.webp) Stipe Kedžo (1989–90) Stipe Kedžo (1989–90)
 Tonko Vukušić (1990-9x) Tonko Vukušić (1990-9x)
 Mile Petković (1992) Mile Petković (1992)
 Stanko Mršić (1993–95) Stanko Mršić (1993–95)
 Davor Čop (interim) (1994) Davor Čop (interim) (1994)
 Tomislav Radić (1995–96) Tomislav Radić (1995–96)
 Davor Čop (interim) (1995) Davor Čop (interim) (1995)
 Mile Petković (1996–97) Mile Petković (1996–97)
 Tomislav Radić (1997) Tomislav Radić (1997)
 Tonko Vukušić (1997–98) Tonko Vukušić (1997–98)
 Krasnodar Rora (1998) Krasnodar Rora (1998)
 Mijo Ručević (1998–99) Mijo Ručević (1998–99)
 Srećko Lušić (1999–2000) Srećko Lušić (1999–2000)
 Davor Čop (2000–01) Davor Čop (2000–01)
 Mile Petković (2001–03) Mile Petković (2001–03)
 Bruno Buhač (interim) (2003) Bruno Buhač (interim) (2003)
 Srećko Lušić (2003) Srećko Lušić (2003)
 Vjeran Simunić (2003–04) Vjeran Simunić (2003–04)
 Davor Mladina (2004–05) Davor Mladina (2004–05)
 Branko Karačić (2005–06) Branko Karačić (2005–06)
 Igor Štimac (2006) Igor Štimac (2006)
 Ivica Matković (2006) Ivica Matković (2006)
 Mile Petković (2006–07) Mile Petković (2006–07)
 Srećko Lušić (2007–08) Srećko Lušić (2007–08)
 Stanko Mršić (2008–11) Stanko Mršić (2008–11)
 Siniša Jalić (interim) (2011) Siniša Jalić (interim) (2011)
 Samir Toplak (2011–12) Samir Toplak (2011–12)
 Miroslav Bojko (interim) (2012) Miroslav Bojko (interim) (2012)
 Željko Kopić (2012) Željko Kopić (2012)
 Miroslav Bojko (2012–13) Miroslav Bojko (2012–13)
 Damir Petravić (2013–14) Damir Petravić (2013–14)
 Stanko Mršić (2014) Stanko Mršić (2014)
 Zoran Tomić (2014) Zoran Tomić (2014)
 Siniša Sesar (2014–15) Siniša Sesar (2014–15)
 Bruno Buhač (interim) (2015) Bruno Buhač (interim) (2015)
 Damir Milinović (2015) Damir Milinović (2015)
 Miroslav Bojko (2015–16) Miroslav Bojko (2015–16)
 Siniša Sesar (interim) (2016) Siniša Sesar (interim) (2016)
 Stanko Mršić (2016) Stanko Mršić (2016)
 Siniša Sesar (interim) (2016–17) Siniša Sesar (interim) (2016–17)
 Peter Pacult (2017) Peter Pacult (2017)
 Mladen Bartolović (2017–18) Mladen Bartolović (2017–18)
 Davor Rupnik (2018) Davor Rupnik (2018)
 Petar Tomić (2018–19) Petar Tomić (2018–19)
 Davor Mladina (2019–20) Davor Mladina (2019–20)
 Petar Tomić (2020 –20 Sep 21) Petar Tomić (2020 –20 Sep 21)
 Darko Jozinović (21 Sep 2021 -19 Apr 22)[10] Darko Jozinović (21 Sep 2021 -19 Apr 22)[10]
 Ivan Karaula (19 Apr 2022 -)[11] Ivan Karaula (19 Apr 2022 -)[11]
Sources
    
- Nogomet 85, Slaven Zambata
- Nogomet 86, Slaven Zambata
- Nogometno YU prvenstvo 85
- Nogometni godišnjak Hrvatska 92
- Arena – "Hrvatska na Europskom prvenstvu" 1996.
- YU fudbal 87–88 VIII/88
- Nogomet – Croatian football news; number 17, May 1999, p58
References
    
- "FK Bačka Mol", page 92 (in Serbian)
- "2. HNL: Mirko Filipović zaigrao za Cibaliju". hrsport.net. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
- "NIJE KRAJ! HNS još može spasiti Cibaliju od stečaja".
- "CIBALIA IZBAČENA U TREĆU LIGU Druga HNL srezana na 14 klubova, premalo ih je dobilo licence".
- "Cibalia, Dubrava i Orijent slave: Ovako će izgledati 2. HNL sljedeće sezone". index.hr. 21 May 2019.
- "To My Kibice Plus" nr 36 (June 2012)
- "Uoči slavonskog derbija potukli se pripadnici Kohorte i Ultrasa". Jutarnji list (in Croatian). 2010-11-20. Retrieved 2012-10-25.
- uefa.com
- "Cibalia profile". UEFA.com. Retrieved 10 September 2010.
- Darko Jozinović novi je trener Cibalije - Novosti (in Croatian)
- Darko Jozinović napustio klupu Cibalije! - VKTV (in Croatian)
External links
    
- Official website  (in Croatian) (in Croatian)
- Cibalia profile at UEFA.com
- Cibalia profile at Sportnet.hr (in Croatian)








