Josip Šimunić

Šimunić was born in Canberra, Australia, to Bosnian Croat immigrants from Otigošće near Fojnica. He received early football training at Croatia Deakin in his hometown of Canberra before attending the Australian Institute of Sport program. 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. Šimunić scored his first goals the following term, three in 14 outings, before moving to Europe to join Hamburger SV in 1997.

Hertha BSC

Šimunić moved to Hertha BSC in 2000 after having fallen out with Hamburg coach Frank Pagelsdorf. He later became an integral member of a team that enjoyed occasional forays in the UEFA Cup. At the end of the 2008–09 season, Šimunić was named the best centre-back in the Bundesliga by Kicker. Hertha finished in fourth place that season, with a defence that conceded only 41 goals, tied for third in the league with VfL Wolfsburg.

1899 Hoffenheim

After nine years with Hertha, Šimunić left the club on 30 June 2009 to sign with TSG Hoffenheim on a contract which was to run until 30 June 2012.

Dinamo Zagreb

On 31 August 2011, Dinamo Zagreb confirmed the signing of Šimunić on a free transfer on a contract until 30 June 2013. He was signed by the club in order to re-enforce the team for UEFA Champions League matches. Šimunić made his official debut in Croatian biggest derby match between rivals Dinamo Zagreb and…

Šimunić was educated at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS). He was eligible to play for Australia but opted to play for Croatia. After obtaining dual citizenship in October 2001, he made his international debut in Croatia's friendly match against South Korea on 10 November 2001. He 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. Šimunić 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. Having picked up his first booking in the 61st minute, he was given a second yellow card by English referee Graham Poll for his tackle in the 90th minute. Poll committed a rarely seen blunder and forgot to dismiss Šimunić from the pitch. Three minutes later, at the very conclusion of the match, 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 referee pool for the knockout stages of the tournament. Shortly after the World Cup, Poll retired from refereeing international games, citing this game as a direct cause. Upon the release of his…

On 22 September 2015, Šimunić was appointed an assistant manager of the Croatia national team under the coaching staff of Ante Čačić, who was sacked in October 2017. On 10 May 2019, he became the new manager of the Croatia under-19 team. He left this position on 20 April 2023. On 21 April 2023 he was announced as president of NK Rudeš.

Šimunić is married to Christina Koloper, a Croatian Canadian. On 5 September 2014, Koloper gave birth to the couple's first child. The child died in 2018. On 24 August 2015, President and Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović was presented with a petition for the introduction of Za dom spremni to the official use in the Croatian Armed Forces. One of the petition signatories was Šimunić, alongside prominent Croatian right-wing figures such as Josip Pečarić, Valentin Pozaić, Vlado Košić, Mirko Valentić, Zvonimir Šeparović, Nikola Štedul etc. President Grabar-Kitarović immediately rejected the petition, calling it "frivolous, unacceptable and provocative". Šimunić donated for the production of the 2016 Croatian Holocaust denial documentary Jasenovac – istina, which contends that the extent of The Holocaust in the Independent State of Croatia, an Axis puppet state, and the World War II-era genocide of the country's Serb population was exaggerated through post-war communist propaganda.