Ivica Vrdoljak


Ivica Vrdoljak is a Croatian professional retired footballer.

Club career

Vrdoljak started playing football at his home—club; Vojvodian 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.
During the qualifiers UEFA Champions League 2014-2015 Vrdoljak missed two penalties against Celtic FC. However, Legia won this match 4–1. He retired in 2016 following a knee injury. He briefly returned to football, signing a contract with 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.

Honours

;Dinamo Zagreb
;Legia Warsaw