'I've known them since I was a kid' - Ivan Perisic and the Croatia connection at Spurs
Ivan Perisic is well aware that he’s extending a recent rich tradition of Croatian players at Spurs.
Luka Modric, Vedran Corluka and Niko Kranjcar all played a big part as we qualified for the Champions League for the first time by finishing fourth in the Premier League in 2009/10. Indeed, they made 78 appearances between them in that vital campaign - Vedran with 29, Luka with 25 and Niko 24.
They were then joined by goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa, who played once in the League Cup in 2010/11 after signing on loan from Spartak Moscow.
As we all know, Luka joined Real Madrid in 2012, won his fifth Champions League title in May and broke the duopoly of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo winning the Ballon d’or in 2018. Luka played 160 times for us between 2008-2012.
Vedran played 109 times for us between 2008-2011 and went on to play 242 times for Lokomotiv Moscow, winning the Russian title in 2017/18. He is now part of Zlatko Dalic’s coaching staff with the Croatia national team.
Niko made 71 appearances for us between 2009-2012 and went on to play for Dynamo Kiev, QPR, New York Cosmos and finally Rangers before retiring in 2018. He’s now a coach in Croatia’s Under-19 set-up. Stipe played for Rostov and Deportivo La Coruna until retiring in 2016. Luka, Vedran and Stipe all have over 100 caps for Croatia - Ivan has 113.
Speaking to us after signing last week, Ivan explained: “I know Tottenham from 2008, 2009, 2010, I followed (the team) because a lot of Croatian players played here. Since then, I know something about the club.
“I’ve known them (Luka, Vedran, Stipe, Niko) since I was a kid. Then later, I played with them in the national team. ‘Charlie’ (Vedran’s nickname) is also my national team coach now. Luka just won his fifth Champions League with Real Madrid. Niko is also a coach in the national team and Stipe is doing some jobs around the national team. I have a lot of contact with them and now I’m going to ask them more about the Club, the city and I’m sure they’ll help me.”
It's World Cup year, with Croatia qualifying for their fifth finals appearance in the last six tournaments for the first winter World Cup in Qatar in November “It’s going to be a little different because it’s in November until December,” added Ivan. “It’s going to be interesting. I hope, like all team-mates, that everyone will stay healthy, this is important if you want to achieve something, and that we can be together without injuries. Then, we can do a great job.”