Anas Sharbini

Football player infobox


playername = Anas Sharbini
fullname = Anas Sharbini
height = height|m=1.80
nickname =
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1987|2|21
cityofbirth = Rijeka, SR Croatia
countryofbirth = SFR Yugoslavia
currentclub = NK Rijeka
clubnumber = 10
position = Midfielder
youthyears =
youthclubs = NK Rječina
NK Rijeka
years = 2005-
clubs = NK Rijeka
caps(goals) = 49 (16)
nationalyears =
nationalteam =
nationalcaps(goals) =
pcupdate = September 1, 2008
ntupdate =

Anas Sharbini (born February 21, 1987) is a Croatian football midfielder, currently playing for HNK Rijeka in the Croatian first division. As a highly rated youngster, he has also been called up as a reserve for the Croatian national football team at Euro 2008, however he is yet to make a cap for the senior squad.

Family and Background

He is the brother of striker Ahmad Sharbini of NK Rijeka. His father, Jamal Sharbini, was born in Damascus, Syria. Jamal came to Rijeka in the early 1980s as an economics student. His mother, Ranka, is Croatian, born in Grobnik, near Rijeka. Despite his father's heritage, Anas has stayed playing in Croatia for all of his career, and opted to play for Croatian national team.

Club career

Anas rose through the ranks of HNK Rijeka, starting his professional career with the club in 2005. In the 2006/07 season, he finished the league as one of the top scorers [http://www.soccerboards.com/scorers_detail.php?s=11] . Despite his young age, he was chosen to captain the side in the 2007-2008 season.

He has often been highly praised as an emerging talent in the Prva HNL. He has made a popular name for himself by scoring many late equalizers for his side, saving them from losses many times. Behind the likes of such players like Luka Modrić, Nikola Kalinić and Mario Mandžukić, he is considered one of the best young players in Croatia.

International career

Sharbini has won around 30 caps in various youth levels of Croatia and made his biggest impact with the Croatian national under-21 team. Due to his fine form in the 2007/2008 season, national coach Slaven Bilic called him up to represent Croatia in their Euro 2008 campaign, as a reserve in case of injuries.

References