Josip "Joe" Šimunić (Croatian pronunciation: [jǒsip ʃǐmunitɕ];[2][3] born 18 February 1978) is a retired footballer and current president of NK Rudeš.
[4] He received early football training at Croatia Deakin in his hometown of Canberra before attending the Australian Institute of Sport program.
[5] The defender broke into the Melbourne Knights first team as a teenager in the 1995–96 season and ended it with a championship medal and 1996 NSL Youth Player of the Year award.
[1] Šimunić moved to Hertha BSC in 2000 after having fallen out with Hamburg coach Frank Pagelsdorf and has since become an integral member of a team which has enjoyed occasional forays in the UEFA Cup.
[6] Hertha finished in fourth place that season, with a defence that conceded only 41 goals, tied for third in the league with VfL Wolfsburg.
On 31 August 2011, the board of Dinamo Zagreb confirmed signing of Šimunić on a free transfer in a contract that expires on 30 June 2013.
He made his official debut in Croatian biggest derby match, between eternal rivals Dinamo Zagreb and Hajduk Split at Stadion Poljud.
After obtaining dual citizenship in October 2001, he made his international debut in Croatia's friendly match against South Korea on 10 November 2001.
Šimunić did not play in any of Croatia's qualifiers for the 2002 World Cup, but was given a place in the squad for the finals after an injury forced Igor Tudor out.
"[12] For this incident, Šimunić was fined 25,000 kunas (around €3,270) by the State's Attorney Office of Croatia for inciting racial hatred and harassment of other participants of a public gathering.
[15] Šimunić's behaviour was denounced by the Croatian Minister of Science, Education and Sports Željko Jovanović, the Association of Anti-Fascist Fighters of Croatia (SABH) and various foreign and domestic media.
Jovanović called it expected and deserving, sending a strong message that Croatians do not want to be perceived by Europe as "backward rightists" and as a country where minority rights are being violated to promote and glorify fascism.
[19] On 9 April 2014, Šimunić and his lawyers filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and requested that the sanctions be cancelled or, alternatively, be stayed for a probation period of one year.
[22] On 22 September 2015, Šimunić was appointed an assistant manager of the Croatia national football team under the coaching staff of Ante Čačić, who was sacked in October 2017.
One of the petition signatories was Šimunić, alongside other prominent Croatian right-wing figures such as Josip Pečarić, Valentin Pozaić, Vlado Košić, Mirko Valentić, Zvonimir Šeparović, Nikola Štedul etc.