Stipe Pletikosa

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Personal information
Stipe Pletikosa
Full name	Stipe Pletikosa
Date of birth	January 8, 1979
Place of birth	Split, Croatia
Height	193 cm
Position	Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club	Shakhtar Donetsk
Youth clubs
1986-1996	Hajduk Split
Professional clubs*
Years	Club	Apps (goals)
1996-2003 2003-2005 2005-2006 2006-present	Hajduk Split Shakhtar Donetsk Hajduk Split (loan) Shakhtar Donetsk	143 (4) 28 (0) 22 (0) 3 (0)
National team**
1999-	Croatia	53 (0)
* Professional club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 31 October 2006. ** National team caps and goals correct as of 22 June 2006.

Stipe Pletikosa [ˈstiːpɛ ˈplɛtikɔsa] (born January 8, 1979 in Split, Croatia) is a Croatian football goalkeeper who is a member of Shakhtar Donetsk.

Pletikosa made his Croatia debut as a 20-year-old against Denmark in 1999, winning plaudits for his cat-like reflexes and shot-stopping. But insecurity over the handling of high balls took a heavy toll at the 2000 European under-21 championship in Slovakia, where Croatia finished last in their group after Pletikosa conceded some soft goals.

Pletikosa worked hard on improving the weaknesses in his game and under former Croatia coach Mirko Jozić, became his country's first-choice goalkeeper, playing in all three matches at the 2002 FIFA World Cup finals. The once nervous though talented Pletikosa has blossomed, making full use of every centimetre of his 1.93-metre frame and possessing a far greater assurance when dealing with difficult high balls.

He was also supposed to be Croatia's first goalkeeper at the Euro 2004 in Portugal, but sustained an injury a few days before the beginning of the tournament and the position of the team's first goalkeeper was taken by Tomislav Butina, who was up to that time his first reserve. Butina retained the position in the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying, so Pletikosa appeared in only two qualifying matches. Nevertheless, when the finals tournament started, Pletikosa was chosen over Butina who had still been recovering from an injury sustained early in the year.

[edit] External links

Profile on JadranSport.org (English)

	Croatia squad - 2002 FIFA World Cup
1 Pletikosa \| 2 Šerić \| 3 Šimunić \| 4 Tomas \| 5 Rapaić \| 6 Živković \| 7 Vugrinec \| 8 Prosinečki \| 9 Šuker \| 10 N. Kovač \| 11 Bokšić \| 12 Butina \| 13 Stanić \| 14 Soldo \| 15 Šarić \| 16 Vranješ \| 17 Jarni \| 18 Olić \| 19 Vlaović \| 20 Šimić \| 21 R. Kovač \| 22 Balaban \| 23 Vasilj \| Coach: Jozić

	Croatia squad - 2006 FIFA World Cup
1 Pletikosa \| 2 Srna \| 3 Šimunić \| 4 R. Kovač \| 5 Tudor \| 6 Vranješ \| 7 Šimić \| 8 Babić \| 9 Pršo \| 10 N. Kovač \| 11 Tokić \| 12 Didulica \| 13 Tomas \| 14 Modrić \| 15 I. Leko \| 16 J. Leko \| 17 Klasnić \| 18 Olić \| 19 N. Kranjčar \| 20 Šerić \| 21 Balaban \| 22 Bošnjak \| 23 Butina \| Coach: Z. Kranjčar