Ivica Vrdoljak

Ivica Vrdoljak (; 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. 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. Shortly after, he joined another Ekstraklasa outfit Wisła Płock, however after failing to make a single appearance, he decided to ultimately retire.

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

Honours Dinamo Zagreb Croatian First League: 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10 Croatian Cup: 2007–08, 2008–09 Legia Warsaw Ekstraklasa: 2012–13, 2013–14 Polish Cup: 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13