Croatian Footballer of the Year

The Croatian Footballer of the Year (Croatian: Nogometaš godine) is the most prestigious annual association football award in Croatia. It is awarded by the newspaper Večernji list to the best Croatian football player in the preceding year, regardless of the league they play in, based on a points system which measures their performances for both club and country. The award is usually presented in a ceremony hosted by the Croatian Football Federation.

The award was established in 1972 and, until 1990, the award was given to the best Yugoslav player in the preceding year. Since the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1991, the award is given to the best Croatian player. Luka Modrić holds the record for most wins, with twelve awards.[1][2][3][4][5] Davor Šuker is second with six awards.[6][7][8][9] They are followed by Dado Pršo with three wins from 2003 to 2005.[6]

In 1995, a separate award, the Hope of the Year (Croatian: Nada godine), was introduced. It is awarded to the best young Croatian player.[10] As of 2020, only Ivica Olić and Luka Modrić have won both the Hope of the Year and Footballer of the Year awards.

  1. ^ "Za njega ništa nije nemoguće, nadmašio je čak i Šukera!". vecernji.hr (in Croatian). 24 December 2018. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  2. ^ "Modrića nisu uljuljale silne nagrade, samo su ga motivirale da opet bude - najbolji!". vecernji.hr (in Croatian). 29 December 2019. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  3. ^ "Čast je imati takvog kapetana: Modrić postao prvi nogometaš kojem je ovo uspjelo!". vecernji.hr (in Croatian). 8 January 2020. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  4. ^ "Modrić već 11. put slavi prestižnu nagradu, trofej osvojio ispred Gvardiola". www.vecernji.hr (in Croatian). 14 January 2023. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  5. ^ "Večernji je 52. put odabrao 'Nogometaša godine': Luka Modrić osvojio dvanaestog popularnog Sikiricu!". www.vecernji.hr (in Croatian). 14 January 2024. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  6. ^ a b Puric, Bojan (2 January 2005). ""Vecernji list" Player of the Year". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  7. ^ "VL Player of the Year 2014". Vecernji List. 27 December 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  8. ^ "Luka Modrić dobio još jednu renomiranu nagradu: 'O ovome sam maštao!'". Vecernji List. 10 January 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  9. ^ "Modric equals Suker with Croatian Footballer of the Year award – FourFourTwo". 1 January 2018. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  10. ^ Flak, Igor; Jurišić, Predrag (31 December 2010). "U Bayernu će se još jednom klanjati Ivici Oliću" (in Croatian). Večernji list. Retrieved 4 May 2011.