NK Orijent

NK Orijent was a football club from Sušak, the north-east part of the city of Rijeka, Croatia. The club was liquidated in June 2014 and shortly thereafter re-established as HNK Orijent 1919. With a new identity, the club gained admittance to the fifth tier of the Croatian league system.

History

NK Orijent was founded in 1919 in Sušak, at that time predominantly Croatian, eastern part of the current city of Rijeka, as opposed to Fiume, western part of the city of Rijeka with a notable Italian population.

According to the legend, during his time on journey to the United States, one of the club's founders saw a ship named Orient in the New York Harbor. After he came back, he suggested the new club to be named Orient, a suggestion which was later accepted. As regimes changed, Orijent was often forced to change its name. At various stages of its history the club was known as Jedinstvo, Primorac, Primorje and Budućnost. Finally, from 1953 onwards, the club carries the original name: Orijent.