Meet Your Croat: Stipe Pletikosa

So here we go, I guess I might as well start with the most responsible position on the pitch.
Meet Your Croat, vol. I :

Name: Stipe Pletikosa

Born: 8. 1. 1979. (age 29)

Position: Goalkeeper

Club: Spartak Moscow

National Caps: 67 (0)

Biography:
A product of Hajduk’s youth school, Pletikosa spent the first 7 years (1996-2003) of his professional career in his hometown side, before eventually moving abroad to Shakthar Donetsk in a package that included his national teammate Darijo Srna (fee was apparently around $1.7m). He never really settled in Ukraine, gathering only 22 appearances through seasons 2003-2005, so the obvious choice was a loan back to his hometown club Hajduk Split. After this loan had ended, Pletikosa returned to Shakthar but shortly after made a 3.6m transfer to Spartak Moscow. He has established himself as a regular in his new side, and was actually voted the best goalkeeper and foreign player in the Russian league.

Despite not being influental in Shakthar, Pletikosa had established himself as a first choice NT goalkeeper since his debut against Denmark in 1999. His run in the NT first eleven was brought to a halt when he suffered a ruptured muscle, an injury that sidelined him literally moments before EURO 2004 in Portugal kicked off. Due to some good performances from his NT colleague Butina, Pletikosa had lost his first eleven status up until WC 2006 in Germany, when ironically, Butina had stepped down due to similar injury problems. He’s been our NT first choice goalkeeper ever since.

On the pitch:
With height at 193 cm, he’s a pretty tall fellow. This particularly gives him an edge when coming of his line and collecting high balls. Though at the beginning of his career, this segment was actually one of his weaker sides, and often led him to concede a howler or two every now and then. But there’s much more confidence in his rushing out these days, no doubt about it. I’d have to say his strongest point is his 1 on 1 ability, and the raw reflexes which come to light when dealing with situations like these.

Off the pitch:
A fact: Croatia plays most of it’s home games on Maksimir in Zagreb, and even though Pletikosa is a Hajduk Split (biggest Zagreb rivals) fan from head to toe, not a game goes by that you don’t hear Zagreb fans chanting Pletikosa’s name. Mind you, there’s a rather big rivalry between these two clubs and regions here, so this tells you just what kind of influence Pletikosa possesses. Ambition wise, he has a long lasting dream of making it to the Premiership, and was even close to clinching a loan deal with Fulham back in 2006, but the above mentioned injury prevented him in attaining a work permit at the time.

Summary (or The Good ,The Bad, and The Random)

The Good: Reflexes, height, excellent in 1 on 1 situations, performs under pressure, NT experience.

The Bad: Still somewhat prone to blunders.

The Random:
- nicknamed “Split’s Octopus” in his hometown
- conceded a 50m goal in a U21 game against the Netherlands
- his name spelled in Russian: Стипе Плетикоса
- used to take penalties back in his Hajduk Split days, resulting in 4 goals in 143 appearances
- dreams of playing in the Premiership (let’s hope he raises a few eyebrows this summer)
- his transfer to Shakthar got him under police investigation (shady business by Hajduk officials)
- rejected a possibility of moving to Dinamo Zagreb in 2006 due to his Hajduk Split loyalty
- has the same hairstyle for what seems like decades now
- see him at his best here, and at his worst here

Stay tuned. More Balkan exposure on the way.