Stipe Pletikosa is a Croatian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
19 Facts About Stipe Pletikosa
2.
Stipe Pletikosa made his international debut for Croatia in 1999, and went on to represent the country in five major tournaments.
3.
Stipe Pletikosa is the fourth-most capped player in the history of the Croatia national team after Luka Modric, Darijo Srna and Ivan Perisic, having made 114 appearances.
4.
Stipe Pletikosa retired from international football following the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
5.
Unlike Srna, Stipe Pletikosa did not succeed at the club and was loaned back to Hajduk in 2005.
6.
Stipe Pletikosa's second spell at Hajduk proved successful and earned him a starting place in Croatia's 2006 World Cup squad.
7.
Stipe Pletikosa featured regularly for the first-team until 2009, when he was less favoured by manager Valeri Karpin.
8.
On 31 August 2010, Stipe Pletikosa signed a season-long loan with Tottenham Hotspur of the English Premier League.
9.
In July 2011, Stipe Pletikosa began a trial at Scottish Premier League club Celtic, playing in friendly matches away to Cardiff City and at home to Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers.
10.
On 6 August 2011, Stipe Pletikosa signed a two-year contract with Russian Premier League club Rostov.
11.
On 20 December 2015, Stipe Pletikosa signed a six-month deal with La Liga side Deportivo de La Coruna, mainly as a replacement for the injured Fabricio.
12.
Stipe Pletikosa made his Croatia senior debut as a 20-year-old against Denmark in 1999, winning plaudits for his dog-like reflexes and shot-stopping.
13.
Stipe Pletikosa worked hard to correct the weaknesses in his game.
14.
Stipe Pletikosa blossomed, using all of his 1.93-metre frame when dealing with difficult crosses.
15.
Nevertheless, Stipe Pletikosa was chosen over Butina in the finals, since Butina was still recovering from an injury sustained early in the year.
16.
On 16 June 2008, during the match between Austria and Germany, BBC pundit Alan Hansen stated his belief that Stipe Pletikosa had been "the best goalkeeper in the tournament" up to that point, ahead of more well-known contemporaries such as Petr Cech, Gianluigi Buffon and Iker Casillas, although his colleague Alan Shearer said Edwin van der Sar had been equally impressive.
17.
Stipe Pletikosa made contact with Neymar's spot kick, but could not prevent it from going in.
18.
On 17 July 2014, following the World Cup, Stipe Pletikosa announced his retirement from the national team.
19.
Stipe Pletikosa is a practising Roman Catholic who was known to wear a T-shirt with a picture of the Virgin Mary under his uniform for good luck when he played.