Stipe Pletikosa facts for kids
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Pletikosa with Rostov in 2015
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Stipe Pletikosa | ||
| Date of birth | 8 January 1979 | ||
| Place of birth | Split, SR Croatia, Yugoslavia | ||
| Height | 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) | ||
| 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 (born on January 8, 1979) is a former professional footballer from Croatia. He was a goalkeeper, known for his quick reflexes. After retiring from playing, he became a technical director for the Croatian national team.
Pletikosa started his football journey with Hajduk Split in Croatia. He then played for Shakhtar Donetsk in Ukraine and Spartak Moscow in Russia. He also had a short time with Tottenham Hotspur in England. Later, he played for Rostov and Deportivo de La Coruña before he stopped playing professionally.
He played for the Croatian national team from 1999 to 2014. He represented his country in five big tournaments. Stipe Pletikosa is one of the players with the most appearances for Croatia, having played 114 matches. He retired from international football after the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Contents
Playing for Clubs
Starting at Hajduk Split
Stipe Pletikosa began his career at Hajduk Split, a club in Croatia. He became the main goalkeeper for the 1998–99 season. Fans of Hajduk Split gave him the nickname "Octopus" because of his amazing reflexes and how well he moved. In 2002, he was named the Croatian Player of the Year. This was a special award for a goalkeeper to win.
Time at Shakhtar Donetsk
In 2003, Pletikosa moved to Shakhtar Donetsk in Ukraine. However, he didn't have as much success there as he hoped. Because of this, he was loaned back to Hajduk Split in 2005. His return to Hajduk was very good. It helped him earn a spot in Croatia's team for the 2006 World Cup.
Pletikosa went back to Shakhtar the next season. But he was not the first-choice goalkeeper anymore. He wanted to move to another club. He even turned down a transfer to Dinamo Zagreb. This was because of his strong loyalty to Hajduk, who are Dinamo's biggest rivals.
Playing for Spartak Moscow
On March 7, 2007, Pletikosa signed a three-year contract with Spartak Moscow in Russia. He played regularly for the team until 2009. After that, he played less often.
In August 2010, Pletikosa joined Tottenham Hotspur in England on a loan. He played his first and only game for Tottenham in a League Cup match against Arsenal in September 2010.
In July 2011, Pletikosa had a trial with Scottish Premier League club Celtic. He played in some friendly matches. However, the manager decided not to keep him in the team.
Moving to Rostov
On August 6, 2011, Pletikosa signed a two-year contract with Rostov, another club in the Russian Premier League. He played for Rostov for several seasons.
Final Club: Deportivo La Coruña
On December 20, 2015, Pletikosa signed a six-month deal with Deportivo de La Coruña in Spain. He joined the team mainly to help out because their main goalkeeper was injured. He played two matches for them before retiring.
Playing for Croatia
Early International Career
Pletikosa made his debut for the Croatian senior team in 1999 when he was 20 years old. He played against Denmark and was praised for his quick reflexes. He worked hard to improve his game. Under coach Mirko Jozić, he became Croatia's main goalkeeper. He played in all three matches at the 2002 FIFA World Cup finals. Pletikosa used his height of 1.93 meters (about 6 feet 4 inches) to handle difficult crosses.
Major Tournaments
Pletikosa was chosen as Croatia's first-choice goalkeeper for UEFA Euro 2004 in Portugal. However, he got injured just before the tournament started. Another goalkeeper, Tomislav Butina, took his place. Butina remained the number one goalkeeper for the 2006 World Cup qualifying games. Even so, Pletikosa was chosen over Butina for the finals because Butina was still recovering from an injury.
At Euro 2008, Pletikosa was named the best player in Croatia's first win against Austria. He made many saves to keep Croatia's 1–0 lead. Many experts thought he was one of the best goalkeepers in the tournament.
On February 6, 2013, Pletikosa played his 100th international match for Croatia. He helped his team win 4–0 against South Korea without letting in any goals.
In the first match of the 2014 World Cup, on June 12, Croatia played against the host country, Brazil. A penalty was given against Croatia when the score was 1–1. Pletikosa touched the ball from the penalty kick, but he couldn't stop it from going in. Croatia lost the match 3–1. After the World Cup, on July 17, 2014, Pletikosa announced he was retiring from the national team.
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Personal Life
Stipe Pletikosa is a Roman Catholic. He was known for wearing a T-shirt with a picture of the Virgin Mary under his uniform for good luck when he played.
Achievements and Awards
Hajduk Split
- Prva HNL: 2000–01
- Croatian Cup: 1999–2000, 2002–03
Shakhtar Donetsk
- Vyshcha Liha: 2004–05
- Ukrainian Super Cup: 2005
Rostov
- Russian Cup: 2013–14
Individual Awards
- Heart of Hajduk Award: 2000, 2002
- Prva HNL Player of the Year: 2001, 2002
- Croatian Footballer of the Year: 2002
See also
In Spanish: Stipe Pletikosa para niños
- List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps
