Split at Stadion Poljud. During his first season with the club he made only 11 domestic league appearances, as he struggled to find his regular spot in the starting lineup due to injuries and tough competition in the team's defensive lineup that included Tonel, Leandro Cufré, Igor Bišćan and Domagoj Vida. He made his UEFA Champions League debut against Lyon at Stade de Gerland. At the end of the season he won his first double with the club, as Dinamo won both the Prva HNL and the Croatian Cup. In the beginning of his second season with the club he established himself as the first choice centre-half and regular starter. He played fully 90 minutes in each of six Dinamo's group stage matches in 2012–13 UEFA Champions League. On 14 December 2014, Šimunić officially retired from professional football. International career Šimunić was educated at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS). He was eligible to play for Australia but opted to play for Croatia, even though his parents were from Bosnia and Herzegovina and not Croatia, albeit of Croatian ethnicity. 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. He played all three of Croatia's matches in South Korea and Japan. He also played at the 2004 Euros, the 2006 World Cup and the 2008 Euros, performing well in the latter tournament. In a well-publicised incident, Šimunić was sent off in Croatia's final 2006 World Cup match against Australia. Šimunić having picked up a booking in the 61st minute, English referee Graham Poll took out a yellow card for his tackle in the 90th minute, but did not actually send him off. At the conclusion of the game three minutes later, however, Šimunić remonstrated with Poll and received a "third" yellow card, this time followed by a red card. FIFA initially noted all three bookings in its match report, before later removing the 90th minute (second) booking. This prompted the removal of Poll from the knockout stages referee pool. Shortly after the World Cup, Poll retired from refereeing international games, citing this game as a direct cause. Upon the release of his autobiography in 2007,