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India's star defender Sandesh Jhingan is on the verge of doing something that very few Indian footballers have done. He is about to leave the Indian Super League (ISL) to go and play for a club in Europe. The destination in question is HNK Šibenik, who play in the Croatian first division.
Jhingan has long eyed a move abroad - the rumors were rife even when he left Kerala Blasters for ATK Mohun Bagan (ATKMB) in 2020. Although he has a five-year contract with ATKMB, a clause in his contract that allows him to leave when a European club comes calling will facilitate the move. The 28-year-old is said to have been the subject of interest from Greek and Austrian clubs as well.
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Incidentally, Croatia also happens to be the home country of national team manager Igor Stimac.
About Sandesh Jhingan's new club
HNK Šibenik, which stands for Hrvatski nogometni klub Šibenik (which in English translates to Croatian Football Club Šibenik) is based in the beautiful port city of the same name in southern Croatia. The club is also known as Narančasti or the Oranges because of the color of the club's kit, which happens to match the city's colors as well.
The club was formed in 1932 under the name Radničko sportsko društvo Šibenik or Workers' Sport Association Šibenik because it was formed by the port workers in the city. Their stadium is known as Stadion Šubićevac and has a seating capacity for 3412. They finished sixth in the league last season.
Although they are currently in the first division after being promoted in 2020, HNK Šibenik tend to yo-yo between divisions. Since 2010-11, they have spent three years in the first division, six years in the second, which they won in 2019-20, and two years in the regional third division, which they won in 2014-15.
In 2010-11, the Oranges made their only foray into continental competitions, playing the Europa League qualifying rounds. They beat Sliema Wanderers 3-0 on aggregate in the first qualifying round, scoring all three goals in the second leg away after a goalless draw at home.
However, their journey ended in the second qualifying round, falling to Cypriot club Anorthosis Famagusta 2-3 on aggregate after extra time. Among the players to have played for the club, fans may be familiar with Nikola Kalinic. The Croatian has since played for AC Milan, Atletico Madrid and AS Roma. He was also part of the Croatian national team that finished second in the 2018 World Cup.
About the Croatian First Football League
The Croatian First Football League, also known as Prva HNL or 1. HNL or, for sponsorship reasons, the Hrvatski Telekom Prva liga, is the top Croatian professional football league competition. It kicked off in 1992, following the collapse of Yugoslavia.
As per current rules, the winner of the competition qualifies for the Champions League's first qualifying round. Meanwhile, second-, third- and fourth-place finishers qualify for the Europa League's first qualifying round. Each season starts in late July or early August and ends in May, with a two-month break between December and February. Currently, there are ten teams participating in the league, who play each other four times per season.
The most famous and successful club is Dinamo Zagreb, who've won the first division 22 times. A large majority of Croatia's greatest players, including Luka Modric and Davor Suker, have played for Dinamo Zagreb.
Currently, the most famous player in the league is Dinamo's Mislav Orsic, who scored a Europa League hat-trick to knock out Tottenham Hotspur from the competition last season. He also scored for Croatia at Euro 2020, finding the back of the net against Spain. The league is currently 18th in the UEFA country coefficients.
HNK Šibenik's manager and squad
Mario Rosas is HNK Šibenik's current manager. As a player, he made a lone appearance for FC Barcelona, having come through their youth academy La Masia. Rosas spent most of his career in Spain's second division and this is only the second managerial role for the 41-year-old.
Šibenik play a 4-2-3-1 formation. Their best player is striker Deni Juric, who scored 11 league goals last season and is on loan from Dinamo Zagreb. Given the quality of the squad, Jhingan can be expected to be a starter. Whether this is a good move for him, only time will tell. What can be guaranteed is that he will gain experience and improve his game by playing against higher-quality opponents. If he does well, he might even get a chance at making an even better move.
