Croatian Footballer of the Year

The Croatian Footballer of the Year (Croatian: Nogometaš godine) is the most prestigious annual association football award in Croatia. It is awarded by the newspaper Večernji list to the best Croatian football player in the preceding year, regardless of the league they play in, based on a points system which measures their performances for both club and country. The award is usually presented in a ceremony hosted by the Croatian Football Federation.

The award was established in 1972 and, until 1990, the award was given to the best Yugoslav player in the preceding year. Since the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1991, the award is given to the best Croatian player. Luka Modrić holds the record for most wins, with nine awards.[1][2] Davor Šuker is second with six awards.[3][4][5][6] They are followed by Dado Pršo with three wins from 2003 to 2005.[3]

In 1995, a separate award, the Hope of the Year (Croatian: Nada godine), was introduced. It is awarded to the best young Croatian player.[7] As of 2020, only Ivica Olić and Luka Modrić have won both the Hope of the Year and Footballer of the Year awards.

List of winners

Yugoslav Footballer of the Year (1972–90)

† denotes shared wins

Year Yugoslav Footballer of the Year
Player (Wins) Age Pos. Club
1972Dušan Bajević (1)24FW Velež
1973Enver Marić (1)25GK Velež
1974Josip Katalinski (1)26DF Željezničar
1975Ivan Buljan (1)26DF Hajduk Split
1976Ivica Šurjak (1)23MF Hajduk Split
1977Dražen Mužinić (1)24MF Hajduk Split
1978Vilson Džoni (1)28DF Dinamo Zagreb
Nenad Stojković (1)22DF Partizan
1979Safet Sušić (1)24MF FK Sarajevo
Velimir Zajec (1)23MF Dinamo Zagreb
1980Vladimir Petrović (1)25MF Red Star
1981Zlatko Vujović (1)23FW Hajduk Split
1982Ivan Gudelj (1)22MF Hajduk Split
1983Zoran Simović (1)29GK Hajduk Split
1984Velimir Zajec (2)28MF Panathinaikos
1985Blaž Slišković (1)26MF Hajduk Split
1986Semir Tuce (1)22MF Velež
1987Marko Mlinarić (1)27MF Dinamo Zagreb
1988Dragan Stojković (1)23MF Red Star
1989Dragan Stojković (2)24MF Red Star
1990Robert Prosinečki (1)21MF Red Star

Croatian Footballer of the Year (1991–present)

Luka Modrić holds the record for most wins with nine awards
Davor Šuker won the title six times
Ivica Olić, along with Luka Modrić, is the only player to win both the Croatian Footballer of the Year and the Hope of the Year awards
Year Croatian Footballer of the Year Hope of the Year
Player (Wins) Age Pos. Club Player Age Pos. Club
1991Zvonimir Boban (1)23MF Milan
1992Davor Šuker (1)25FW Sevilla
1993Alen Bokšić (1)23FW Lazio
1994Davor Šuker (2)27FW Sevilla
1995Davor Šuker (3)28FW SevillaDario Šimić20DF Croatia Zagreb
1996Davor Šuker (4)29FW Real MadridJurica Vučko20FW Hajduk Split
1997Robert Prosinečki (2)28MF Croatia ZagrebSilvio Marić22MF Croatia Zagreb
Davor Šuker (5)30FW Real Madrid
1998Davor Šuker (6)31FW Real MadridJurica Vranješ18MF Osijek
1999Zvonimir Boban (2)31MF MilanTomo Šokota22FW Croatia Zagreb
2000Nenad Bjelica (1)29MF OsijekKrunoslav Lovrek21FW NK Zagreb
2001Igor Tudor (1)23DF JuventusIvica Olić22FW NK Zagreb
2002Stipe Pletikosa (1)23GK Hajduk SplitNiko Kranjčar18MF Dinamo Zagreb
2003Dado Pršo (1)29FW MonacoGoran Ljubojević20FW Osijek
2004Dado Pršo (2)30FW RangersLuka Modrić19MF Inter Zaprešić
2005Dado Pršo (3)31FW RangersLeon Benko22FW Varteks
2006Eduardo (1)23FW Dinamo ZagrebAnte Rukavina20FW Šibenik
2007Luka Modrić (1)22MF Dinamo ZagrebNikola Kalinić19FW Hajduk Split
2008Luka Modrić (2)23MF Tottenham HotspurMarin Tomasov21MF Zadar
2009Ivica Olić (1)30FW Bayern MunichMilan Badelj20MF Dinamo Zagreb
2010Ivica Olić (2)31FW Bayern MunichŠime Vrsaljko18DF Dinamo Zagreb
2011Luka Modrić (3)26MF Tottenham HotspurMateo Kovačić17MF Dinamo Zagreb
2012Mario Mandžukić (1)26FW Bayern MunichFranko Andrijašević21MF Hajduk Split
2013Mario Mandžukić (2)27FW Bayern MunichAnte Rebić20FW Fiorentina
2014Luka Modrić (4)29MF Real MadridTin Jedvaj19DF Bayer Leverkusen
2015Ivan Rakitić (1)27MF BarcelonaAnte Ćorić18MF Dinamo Zagreb
2016Luka Modrić (5)31MF Real MadridFilip Benković19DF Dinamo Zagreb
2017Luka Modrić (6)32MF Real MadridLovro Majer19MF Lokomotiva
2018Luka Modrić (7)33MF Real Madrid
2019Luka Modrić (8)34MF Real Madrid
2020Luka Modrić (9)35MF Real Madrid

Notes on club name changes:

  • Dinamo Zagreb changed their name to "HAŠK Građanski" in June 1991 and then again in February 1993 to "Croatia Zagreb". They reverted to "Dinamo Zagreb" in February 2000.
  • The NK Varteks changed their 52-year-old name to "NK Varaždin" in June 2010, then folded in 2015. Two newer clubs, both unassociated with the defunct team, use the defunct club's names: NK Varteks (founded 2011) and NK Varaždin (founded 2012 as "Varaždin ŠN", picked up the "NK Varaždin" name when the older club folded).

Multiple winners

Players in bold are still active. Wins in italics denote wins in Yugoslav competition before 1991.

Wins Player Winning years Clubs
9 Luka Modrić 2007, 2008, 2011, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 Dinamo Zagreb, Tottenham Hotspur, Real Madrid
6 Davor Šuker 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998 Sevilla, Real Madrid
3 Dado Pršo 2003, 2004, 2005 AS Monaco, Rangers
2 Velimir Zajec 1979, 1984 Dinamo Zagreb, Panathinaikos
Dragan Stojković 1988, 1989 Red Star Belgrade
Robert Prosinečki 1990, 1997 Red Star Belgrade, Croatia Zagreb
Zvonimir Boban 1991, 1999 Milan
Ivica Olić 2009, 2010 Bayern Munich
Mario Mandžukić 2012, 2013 Bayern Munich

See also

References

  1. "Za njega ništa nije nemoguće, nadmašio je čak i Šukera!". vecernji.hr (in Croatian). 24 December 2018. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  2. "Modrića nisu uljuljale silne nagrade, samo su ga motivirale da opet bude - najbolji!". vecernji.hr (in Croatian). 29 December 2019. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  3. Puric, Bojan (2 January 2005). ""Vecernji list" Player of the Year". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  4. "VL Player of the Year 2014". Vecernji List. 27 December 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  5. "Luka Modrić dobio još jednu renomiranu nagradu: 'O ovome sam maštao!'". Vecernji List. 10 January 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  6. "Modric equals Suker with Croatian Footballer of the Year award – FourFourTwo". 1 January 2018. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  7. Flak, Igor; Jurišić, Predrag (31 December 2010). "U Bayernu će se još jednom klanjati Ivici Oliću" (in Croatian). Večernji list. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
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