Ivica Vrdoljak (pronounced [îʋit͡sa ʋr̩dǒʎaːk]; born 19 September 1983) is a Croatian former professional footballer who played mainly as a defensive midfielder.

Club career

Vrdoljak started playing football at his homeclub, Serbian top league club FK Vojvodina, where he played for the youth teams until 1999, when he moved to Zagreb, Croatia, and settled in the youth system of the Croatian top flight side NK Zagreb. After graduating to the senior team he was sent on loans to NK Lučko and the second division team Croatia Sesvete.[1] Vrdoljak had a good season at Croatia Sesvete, scoring four goals and featuring in 22 league matches, and after that he was returned to NK Zagreb. In three seasons at the club he made 81 league appearances and scored three goals. He was then, along with his teammate Mario Mandžukić, transferred to Croatian powerhouse Dinamo Zagreb for a fee of €1 million. Since his arrival, Vrdoljak has established himself as a consistent first-team player. In his debut season for Dinamo he played in twenty-four league matches and bagged three goals. The next season, he was irreplaceable in the midfield and made 29 league appearances by the end of the season and scored three more goals.

While playing for Legia Warsaw, during the qualifiers 2014–15 UEFA Champions League qualifying round, Vrdoljak missed two penalties in a 4–1 win over against Celtic. After being sidelined throughout the 2015–16 season due to a knee injury, he left Legia in the summer of 2016.[2] Shortly after, he joined another Ekstraklasa outfit Wisła Płock, however after failing to make a single appearance, he decided to ultimately retire.[3]

International career

He is also a former Croatia under-21 international and capped seven times at the under-21 level during the 2004–05 season.

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[4]
Club Season League National cup[a] Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Croatia Sesvete (loan) 2003–04 Druga HNL 22 4 3 2 — — 25 6
NK Zagreb 2004–05 Prva HNL 25 1 1 0 — — 26 1
2005–06 Prva HNL 25 0 0 — — 25 0
2006–07 Prva HNL 31 2 4 0 — — 35 2
Total 81 3 5 0 — — 86 3
Dinamo Zagreb 2007–08 Prva HNL 24 3 7 0 2[b] 0 — 33 3
2008–09 Prva HNL 29 3 4 0 12[c] 2 — 45 5
2009–10 Prva HNL 27 0 5 0 12[d] 1 — 44 1
Total 80 6 16 0 26 3 — 122 9
Legia Warsaw 2010–11 Ekstraklasa 26 5 6 3 — — 32 8
2011–12 Ekstraklasa 24 4 6 0 10[e] 0 0 0 40 4
2012–13 Ekstraklasa 20 2 6 0 2[e] 0 1[f] 0 29 2
2013–14 Ekstraklasa 30 5 1 0 10[g] 0 — 41 5
2014–15 Ekstraklasa 28 4 6 2 14[h] 1 1[f] 0 49 7
2015–16 Ekstraklasa 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 128 20 25 5 36 1 2 0 191 26
Wisła Płock 2016–17 Ekstraklasa 0 0 0 0 — — 0 0
Career total 311 33 49 7 62 4 2 0 424 44
  1. ^ Includes Croatian Cup, Polish Cup
  2. ^ One appearance in UEFA Champions League, one appearance in UEFA Cup
  3. ^ Six appearances and one goal in UEFA Champions League, six appearances and one goal in UEFA Cup
  4. ^ Four appearances in UEFA Champions League, eight appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League
  5. ^ a b Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  6. ^ a b Appearance in Polish Super Cup
  7. ^ Six appearances in UEFA Champions League, four appearances in UEFA Europa League
  8. ^ Four appearances in UEFA Champions League, ten appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League

Honours

Dinamo Zagreb
Legia Warsaw

References

  1. ^ "Slobodna Dalmacija". arhiv.slobodnadalmacija.hr. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  2. ^ "Ivica Vrdoljak rozwiązał kontrakt z Legią". 90minut.pl (in Polish). 31 August 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  3. ^ "Ivica Vrdoljak zakończył karierę". 90minut.pl (in Polish). 21 February 2017. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  4. ^ Career statistics at Nogometni Magazin
Allikas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivica_Vrdoljak
No tags for this post.