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Stipe Pletikosa

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Stipe Pletikosa
Pletikosa with Rostov in 2015
Personal information
Full name Stipe Pletikosa[1]
Date of birth (1979-01-08) 8 January 1979 (age 45)[2]
Place of birth Split, SR Croatia, Yugoslavia
Height 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)[2]
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
 Croatia (technical director)
Youth career
1986–1996 Hajduk Split
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1996–2003 Hajduk Split 141 (4)
2003–2007 Shakhtar Donetsk 32 (0)
2005–2006 → Hajduk Split (loan) 21 (0)
2007–2011 Spartak Moscow 63 (0)
2010–2011 → Tottenham Hotspur (loan) 0 (0)
2011–2015 Rostov 110 (0)
2015–2016 Deportivo La Coruña 2 (0)
Total 369 (4)
International career
1994 Croatia U15 1 (0)
1994–1995 Croatia U16 2 (0)
1994 Croatia U17 2 (0)
1995–1997 Croatia U18 2 (0)
1995–1998 Croatia U19 14 (0)
1999 Croatia U20 5 (0)
1998–2001 Croatia U21 13 (0)
1999–2014 Croatia 114 (0)
Managerial career
2021– Croatia (technical director)
2021-2023 Croatia U21 (technical director)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Stipe Pletikosa (Croatian pronunciation: [stǐːpe plětikosa];[3][4] born 8 January 1979) is a Croatian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. As of 29 July 2021, he works at the Croatian Football Federation as the technical director of the national senior and under-21 teams.[5][6]

Pletikosa began his professional career with Hajduk Split in Croatia, transferred to Shakhtar Donetsk in Ukraine, then joined Spartak Moscow in 2007. After spending one season with Tottenham Hotspur in the English Premier League, he returned to Russia in 2011 with Rostov, then moved to Deportivo de La Coruña of La Liga in 2015, where he retired.

Pletikosa made his international debut for Croatia in 1999, and went on to represent the country in five major tournaments. He is the fourth-most capped player in the history of the Croatia national team after Luka Modrić, Darijo Srna and Ivan Perišić, having made 114 appearances. Pletikosa retired from international football following the 2014 FIFA World Cup.[7]

Club career

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Hajduk Split

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Pletikosa began his career at Croatian club Hajduk Split. He was selected as first-team goalkeeper for the 1998–99 season by manager Ivan Katalinić, replacing the veteran Tonči Gabrić. Hajduk fans nicknamed him "Octopus" ("Hobotnica") for his excellent reflexes and coordination. In 2002, he was named by magazine Večernji list as Croatian Player of the Year, the only goalkeeper other than Zoran Simović to have won the award.

Shakhtar Donetsk

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In 2003, Pletikosa and teammate Darijo Srna transferred to Shakhtar Donetsk for €2 million. Unlike Srna, Pletikosa did not succeed at the club and was subsequently loaned back to Hajduk in 2005. His second spell at Hajduk proved successful and earned him a starting place in Croatia's 2006 World Cup squad. Pletikosa returned to Shakhtar the following season, but found himself second choice to Jan Laštůvka, prompting the goalkeeper to seek a move. Shakhtar accepted a bid of €3 million from Dinamo Zagreb, but Pletikosa rejected the move due to his loyalty to Hajduk, Dinamo's biggest rivals. A loan move to Fulham also fell through as he could not gain a work permit.

Spartak Moscow

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Pletikosa playing for Spartak Moscow in 2008

On 7 March, the Russian football federation's transfer deadline day, Pletikosa signed a three-year, €3 million contract to join Spartak Moscow. He featured regularly for the first-team until 2009, when he was less favoured by manager Valeri Karpin.

On 31 August 2010, Pletikosa signed a season-long loan with Tottenham Hotspur of the English Premier League.[8] He made his Tottenham debut in a 4–1 home defeat against Arsenal in the League Cup on 21 September 2010. It was his only appearance for the club.

In July 2011, Pletikosa began a trial at Scottish Premier League club Celtic, playing in friendly matches away to Cardiff City and at home to Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers.[9] In August 2011, manager Neil Lennon decided not to keep him as a member of the squad.

Rostov

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On 6 August 2011, Pletikosa signed a two-year contract with Russian Premier League club Rostov.[10]

Deportivo La Coruña

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On 20 December 2015, Pletikosa signed a six-month deal with La Liga side Deportivo de La Coruña, mainly as a replacement for the injured Fabricio.[11]

International career

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Pletikosa made his Croatia senior debut as a 20-year-old against Denmark in 1999, winning plaudits for his dog-like reflexes and shot-stopping. But insecurity over the handling of high balls took a heavy toll at the 2000 UEFA European Under-21 Championship in Slovakia, where Croatia finished last in their group.

Pletikosa worked hard to correct the weaknesses in his game. Under former Croatia head coach Mirko Jozić, he became his country's first-choice goalkeeper, playing all three matches at the 2002 FIFA World Cup finals. Pletikosa blossomed, using all of his 1.93-metre frame when dealing with difficult crosses.

Named as Croatia's first-choice goalkeeper at the UEFA Euro 2004 in Portugal, he sustained an injury a few days before the beginning of the tournament and was replaced by reserve goalkeeper Tomislav Butina. Butina retained the position of number one goalkeeper during the qualification rounds for the 2006 World Cup. As a result, Pletikosa appeared in only two qualifying matches. Nevertheless, Pletikosa was chosen over Butina in the finals, since Butina was still recovering from an injury sustained early in the year.

At Euro 2008, Pletikosa was named Man of the Match in Croatia's opening victory against Austria, making many saves to preserve Croatia's 1–0 lead from an early penalty. On 16 June 2008, during the match between Austria and Germany, BBC pundit Alan Hansen stated his belief that Pletikosa had been "the best goalkeeper in the tournament" up to that point, ahead of more well-known contemporaries such as Petr Čech, Gianluigi Buffon and Iker Casillas, although his colleague Alan Shearer said Edwin van der Sar had been equally impressive. However, Buffon, Casillas and Van der Sar were eventually voted to the Team of the Tournament.

On 6 February 2013, Pletikosa played his 100th international match for Croatia, keeping a clean sheet in a 4–0 defeat of South Korea.[12]

In the opening match of the 2014 World Cup, played on 12 June against hosts Brazil, a penalty was given against Croatia with the match tied 1–1. Pletikosa made contact with Neymar's spot kick, but could not prevent it from going in. Croatia eventually lost 3–1.[13] On 17 July 2014, following the World Cup, Pletikosa announced his retirement from the national team.[14]

Pletikosa keeping for Croatia at the 2014 FIFA World Cup

Personal life

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Pletikosa is a practising Roman Catholic who was known to wear a T-shirt with a picture of the Virgin Mary under his uniform for good luck when he played.[15][16]

Career statistics

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Club

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Source:[17][18]
Club Season League National cup Continental Other[a] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Hajduk Split 1996–97 Prva HNL 1 0 0 0 — 1 0
1997–98 Prva HNL 1 0 0 0 — 1 0
1998–99 Prva HNL 19 0 0 0 — 19 0
1999–2000 Prva HNL 32 0 3 0 — 35 0
2000–01 Prva HNL 31 1 2 0 — 33 1
2001–02 Prva HNL 27 0 6 0 — 33 0
2002–03 Prva HNL 30 3 4 2 — 34 5
Total 162 4 15 2 — 177 6
Shakhtar Donetsk 2003–04 Vyshcha Liha 23 0 6 0 0 0 29 0
2004–05 Vyshcha Liha 6 0 0 0 0 0 6 0
2006–07 Vyshcha Liha 3 0 1 0 0 0 4 0
Total 32 0 7 0 0 0 39 0
Hajduk Split (loan) 2005–06 Prva HNL 21 0 — — 21 0
Spartak Moscow 2007 Russian Premier League 29 0 4 0 2 0 — 35 0
2008 Russian Premier League 30 0 0 0 8 0 — 38 0
2009 Russian Premier League 4 0 2 0 — — 6 0
2010 Russian Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
Total 63 0 6 0 10 0 0 0 79 0
Tottenham Hotspur (loan) 2010–11 Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
Rostov 2011–12 Russian Premier League 23 0 0 0 — 2 0 25 0
2012–13 Russian Premier League 30 0 3 0 — 2 0 35 0
2013–14 Russian Premier League 27 0 3 0 — — 30 0
2014–15 Russian Premier League 30 0 0 0 2 0 3 0 35 0
Total 110 0 6 0 2 0 7 0 125 0
Deportivo La Coruña 2015–16 La Liga 2 0 — — — 2 0
Career total 369 4 12 0 34 2 8 0 422 6
  1. ^ Includes Football League Cup, Russian Relegation Play-offs, and Russian Super Cup

International

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Source:[19]
Croatia
Year Apps Goals
1999 3 0
2000 5 0
2001 7 0
2002 10 0
2003 12 0
2004 5 0
2005 4 0
2006 11 0
2007 8 0
2008 12 0
2009 2 0
2010 2 0
2011 8 0
2012 10 0
2013 10 0
2014 5 0
Total 114 0

Honours

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Hajduk Split

Shakhtar Donetsk

Rostov

Individual

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil: List of Players: Croatia" (PDF). FIFA. 14 July 2014. p. 12. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 February 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Stipe Pletikosa: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  3. ^ "Stjȅpān". Hrvatski jezični portal (in Serbo-Croatian). Retrieved 17 March 2018. Stípe
  4. ^ "plȅsti". Hrvatski jezični portal (in Serbo-Croatian). Retrieved 17 March 2018. Plètikosa
  5. ^ Juranović, Tomislav (29 July 2021). "Kustić preuzeo Šukerovu fotelju i na startu poslao jasnu poruku: 'Zdravko Mamić nema nikakav utjecaj!'". Sportske novosti (in Croatian). Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  6. ^ "Marijan Kustić održao sastanak s Pletikosom, Dalićem i njegovim pomoćnicima". Hrvatski nogometni savez. 4 August 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  7. ^ "Pletikosa calls time on Croatia career". FIFA. 19 July 2014. Archived from the original on 16 December 2014.
  8. ^ "Tottenham Hotspur complete Stipe Pletikosa loan deal". BBC Sport. 31 August 2010. Retrieved 31 August 2010.
  9. ^ "O'Hara helps Wolves to win". Fox Sports. 27 July 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  10. ^ "Pletikosa joins Rostov". FIFA.com. 6 August 2011. Archived from the original on 15 October 2013. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  11. ^ "El meta croata Pletikosa firma hasta junio" [Croatian goalkeeper Pletikosa signs until June] (in Spanish). Marca. 20 December 2015. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  12. ^ "Srna strikes as Croatia beat South Korea". GOLTV. 6 February 2014. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  13. ^ "Brazil 3-1 Croatia". BBC Sport. 12 June 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  14. ^ "Stipe Pletikosa odlučio završiti reprezentativnu karijeru" (in Croatian). Večernji list. 17 July 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  15. ^ "Stipe Pletikosa: "U Međugorju je počeo moj put k vjeri"". medugorju-info.com (in Croatian). 12 November 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2016.[permanent dead link‍]
  16. ^ "World Cup 2014: Croatia – the secrets behind the players". The Guardian. 31 May 2014. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  17. ^ "S.Pletikosa Stats". Soccerway. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  18. ^ "Плетикоса Стипе". premierliga.ru/ (in Russian). Russian Premier League. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  19. ^ "Stipe Pletikosa – Century of International Appearances". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
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