Igor Tudor hails ‘best friend’ who once played for Spurs against Arsenal
Sat 21 February 2026, 16:20|
Tottenham Hotspur
As he gets set to take charge of the club for the first time against Arsenal this weekend, Igor Tudor has spoken about his close friendship with one of our former players – who also coincidentally made his Spurs bow against the Gunners.
Croatian international goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa spent the 2010/11 season on loan with us from Spartak Moscow, having enjoyed a successful early career with hometown club Hajduk Split and Shakhtar Donetsk.
A talented shot-stopper, he found his opportunities limited here with both Heurelho Gomes and Carlo Cudicini in front of him in the pecking order and ultimately only made a solitary first team appearance in our colours, which came in a League Cup third round tie at home to Arsenal in September, 2010.
Nevertheless, Stipe holds a place in our history – something our new Head Coach Igor takes pride in, as he considers the 47-year-old former shot-stopper his best mate after the pair grew up together in Split.
“Stipe and me, we know each other from when we were seven, eight, maybe nine years old,” our new boss told tottenhamhotspur.com.
“We played all the youth academy at Hajduk Split together and then also in the national team. He’s an amazing guy – he’s now working in the Croatian Football Federation.
“We live in the same city and also we are family friends – our families have a really good relationship. We’ve known each other for over 35 years now – it’s a long time!”
Unfortunately, Stipe’s encounter with the Gunners ended in defeat, but Igor will be keen to rectify that on behalf of his childhood pal and all of his new Spurs family on Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium!
