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. Davor Šuker holds the record for most wins, with six awards won between 1992 and 1998. Šuker is followed by Luka Modrić with four wins in 2007, 2008, 2011 and 2014,[1][2] and by Dado Pršo with three wins from 2003 to 2005.[1] The most recent winner is Ivan Rakitić of Barcelona.[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.[4] As of 2016, only Ivica Olić and Luka Modrić have won both the Hope of the Year and Footballer of the Year awards. The most recent winner is Ante Ćorić of Dinamo Zagreb.[3]
List of winners
Yugoslav Footballer of the Year (1972–90)
† denotes shared wins
| Year | Yugoslav Footballer of the Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player (Wins) | Age | Pos. | Club | |
| 1972 | Bajević, DušanDušan Bajević (1) | 24 | FW |  Velež |
| 1973 | Marić, EnverEnver Marić (1) | 25 | GK | Velež |
| 1974 | Katalinski, JosipJosip Katalinski (1) | 26 | DF | Željezničar |
| 1975 | Buljan, IvanIvan Buljan (1) | 26 | DF | Hajduk Split |
| 1976 | SurjakIvica Šurjak (1) | 23 | MF | Hajduk Split |
| 1977 | Mužinić, DraženDražen Mužinić (1) | 24 | MF | Hajduk Split |
| 1978 | Džoni, VilsonVilson Džoni (1) † | 28 | DF | Dinamo Zagreb |
| Stojković, NenadNenad Stojković (1) † | 22 | DF | Partizan | |
| 1979 | Sušić, SafetSafet Sušić (1) † | 24 | MF | FK Sarajevo |
| Zajec, VelimirVelimir Zajec (1) † | 23 | MF | Dinamo Zagreb | |
| 1980 | Petrović, VladimirVladimir Petrović (1) | 25 | MF | Red Star |
| 1981 | Vujović, ZlatkoZlatko Vujović (1) | 23 | FW | Hajduk Split |
| 1982 | Gudelj, IvanIvan Gudelj (1) | 22 | MF | Hajduk Split |
| 1983 | Simović, ZoranZoran Simović (1) | 29 | GK | Hajduk Split |
| 1984 | Zajec, VelimirVelimir Zajec (2) | 28 | MF |  Panathinaikos |
| 1985 | Slišković, BlažBlaž Slišković (1) | 26 | MF | Hajduk Split |
| 1986 | Tuce, SemirSemir Tuce (1) | 22 | MF | Velež |
| 1987 | Mlinarić, MarkoMarko Mlinarić (1) | 27 | MF | Dinamo Zagreb |
| 1988 | Stojković, DraganDragan Stojković (1) | 23 | MF | Red Star |
| 1989 | Stojković, DraganDragan Stojković (2) | 24 | MF | Red Star |
| 1990 | Prosinečki, RobertRobert Prosinečki (1) | 21 | MF | Red Star |
Croatian Footballer of the Year (1991–present)
| Year | Croatian Footballer of the Year | Hope of the Year | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player (Wins) | Age | Pos. | Club | Player | Age | Pos. | Club | |
| 1991 | Boban, ZvonimirZvonimir Boban (1) | 23 | MF |  Milan | & —
| |||
| 1992 | SukerDavor Šuker (1) | 25 | FW |  Sevilla | & —
| |||
| 1993 | Bokšić, AlenAlen Bokšić (1) | 23 | FW | Lazio | & —
| |||
| 1994 | SukerDavor Šuker (2) | 27 | FW | Sevilla | & —
| |||
| 1995 | SukerDavor Šuker (3) | 28 | FW | Sevilla | SimicDario Šimić | 20 | DF |  Croatia Zagreb |
| 1996 | SukerDavor Šuker (4) | 29 | FW | Real Madrid | Vučko, JuricaJurica Vučko | 20 | FW | Hajduk Split |
| 1997 | Prosinečki, RobertRobert Prosinečki (2) † | 28 | MF | Croatia Zagreb | Marić, SilvioSilvio Marić | 22 | MF | Croatia Zagreb |
| SukerDavor Šuker (5) † | 30 | FW | Real Madrid | |||||
| 1998 | SukerDavor Šuker (6) | 31 | FW | Real Madrid | Vranješ, JuricaJurica Vranješ | 18 | MF | Osijek |
| 1999 | Boban, ZvonimirZvonimir Boban (2) | 31 | MF | Milan | SokotaTomo Šokota | 22 | FW | Croatia Zagreb |
| 2000 | Bjelica, NenadNenad Bjelica (1) | 29 | MF | Osijek | Lovrek, KrunoslavKrunoslav Lovrek | 21 | FW | NK Zagreb |
| 2001 | Tudor, IgorIgor Tudor (1) | 23 | DF | Juventus | Olić, IvicaIvica Olić | 22 | FW | NK Zagreb |
| 2002 | Pletikosa, StipeStipe Pletikosa (1) | 23 | GK | Hajduk Split | Kranjčar, NikoNiko Kranjčar | 18 | MF | Dinamo Zagreb |
| 2003 | Pršo, DadoDado Pršo (1) | 29 | FW |  Monaco | Ljubojević, GoranGoran Ljubojević | 20 | FW | Osijek |
| 2004 | Pršo, DadoDado Pršo (2) | 30 | FW |  Rangers | Modrić, LukaLuka Modrić | 19 | MF | Inter Zaprešić |
| 2005 | Pršo, DadoDado Pršo (3) | 31 | FW | Rangers | Benko, LeonLeon Benko | 22 | FW | Varteks |
| 2006 | Eduardo (1) | 23 | FW | Dinamo Zagreb | Rukavina, AnteAnte Rukavina | 20 | FW | Šibenik |
| 2007 | Modrić, LukaLuka Modrić (1) | 22 | MF | Dinamo Zagreb | Kalinić, NikolaNikola Kalinić | 19 | FW | Hajduk Split |
| 2008 | Modrić, LukaLuka Modrić (2) | 23 | MF |  Tottenham Hotspur | Tomasov, MarinMarin Tomasov | 21 | MF | Zadar |
| 2009 | Olić, IvicaIvica Olić (1) | 30 | FW |  Bayern Munich | Badelj, MilanMilan Badelj | 20 | MF | Dinamo Zagreb |
| 2010 | Olić, IvicaIvica Olić (2) | 31 | FW | Bayern Munich | Vrsaljko, ŠimeŠime Vrsaljko | 18 | DF | Dinamo Zagreb |
| 2011 | Modrić, LukaLuka Modrić (3) | 26 | MF | Tottenham Hotspur | Kovačić, MateoMateo Kovačić | 17 | MF | Dinamo Zagreb |
| 2012 | Mandžukić, MarioMario Mandžukić (1) | 26 | FW | Bayern Munich | Andrijašević, FrankoFranko Andrijašević | 21 | MF | Hajduk Split |
| 2013 | Mandžukić, MarioMario Mandžukić (2) | 27 | FW | Bayern Munich | Rebić, AnteAnte Rebić | 20 | FW | Fiorentina |
| 2014 | Modrić, LukaLuka Modrić (4) | 29 | MF | Real Madrid | Jedvaj, TinTin Jedvaj | 19 | DF | Bayer Leverkusen |
| 2015 | Rakitić, IvanIvan Rakitić (1) | 27 | MF | Barcelona | Ćorić, AnteAnte Ćorić | 18 | MF | Dinamo Zagreb |
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.
- Present-day NK Varaždin was called "Varteks" from 1958 until June 2010.
Multiple winners
Players in bold are still active. Wins marked with asterisk (*) denote wins in Yugoslav competition before 1991.
| Wins | Player | Winning years | Clubs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | Davor Šuker | 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998 | Sevilla, Real Madrid |
| 4 | Luka Modrić | 2007, 2008, 2011, 2014 | Dinamo Zagreb, Tottenham Hotspur, Real Madrid |
| 3 | Dado Pršo | 2003, 2004, 2005 | AS Monaco, Rangers |
| 2 | Velimir Zajec | 1979*, 1984* | Dinamo Zagreb, Panathinaikos |
| 2 | Dragan Stojković | 1988*, 1989* | Red Star |
| 2 | Robert Prosinečki | 1990*, 1997 | Red Star, Dinamo Zagreb |
| 2 | Zvonimir Boban | 1991, 1999 | Milan |
| 2 | Ivica Olić | 2009, 2010 | Bayern Munich |
| 2 | Mario Mandžukić | 2012, 2013 | Bayern Munich |
See also
- Sportske novosti Yellow Shirt award, for the HNL footballer of the year, given by the Croatian sport newspaper Sportske novosti, chosen by sport journalists.
- Football Oscar, given by the Croatian union Football syndicate, chosen by players and managers of league clubs.
- Prva HNL Best Player of the Year, given by the Croatian web site Tportal, chosen by captains of league clubs.
References
- 1 2 Puric, Bojan (2 January 2005). ""Vecernji list" Player of the Year". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
- ↑ "VL Player of the Year 2014". Vecernji List. 27 December 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
- 1 2 "INDIVIDUAL AWARDS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS: VL Footballer of the Year". Croatian Football Federation. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
- ↑ Flak, Igor; Jurišić, Predrag (31 December 2010). "U Bayernu će se još jednom klanjati Ivici Oliću" (in Croatian). Večernji list. Retrieved 4 May 2011.