Vedran Ćorluka

Vedran Ćorluka

Ćorluka with Lokomotiv Moscow in 2015
Personal information
Full name Vedran Ćorluka[1]
Date of birth (1986-02-05) 5 February 1986
Place of birth Derventa, SFR Yugoslavia
Height 1.92 m (6 ft 3 1⁄2 in)
Playing position Defender
Club information
Current team
 Lokomotiv Moscow
Number 14
Youth career
Dinamo Zagreb
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2003–2007 Dinamo Zagreb 61 (7)
2004–2005 → Inter Zaprešić (loan) 27 (4)
2007–2008 Manchester City 38 (1)
2008–2012 Tottenham Hotspur 81 (1)
2012 → Bayer Leverkusen (loan) 7 (0)
2012– Lokomotiv Moscow 103 (7)
National team‡
2002 Croatia U16 7 (2)
2002–2003 Croatia U17 11 (2)
2003 Croatia U18 3 (0)
2004–2005 Croatia U19 12 (4)
2005–2006 Croatia U21 9 (0)
2006– Croatia 87 (4)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 6 May 2016.
† Appearances (goals)

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 26 March 2016

Vedran Ćorluka (pronounced [ʋědran t͡ɕǒrluka]; born 5 February 1986) is a Croatian footballer who plays for and captains Lokomotiv Moscow and the Croatia national team. He plays as a centre-back, though he has played in other positions across the defensive line, most notably as the right-back.

Ćorluka graduated from the Dinamo Zagreb Youth Academy, before making his professional debut for Dinamo Zagreb in 2003. In 2007, he made a £8 million move to English Premier League club Manchester City, and after a season moved on to Tottenham Hotspur. He spent four seasons there before joining Lokomotiv.

Internationally, Ćorluka represented Croatia at various youth levels before making his first team debut in August 2006, in the friendly match against world champions Italy. Since then, he has represented the country at the European Championships in 2008 and 2012, and at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Club career

Early days

Ćorluka was born in Derventa, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SFR Yugoslavia. His parents, Jozo and Anđa come from Modran, a village near Derventa. Due to the war in Bosnia, in 1992 the family moved to Zagreb, Croatia where his father still works as an engineer besides being Ćorluka's manager. His mother is a judge. Vedran has one brother.[2] He started to play football in Dinamo Zagreb's youth teams when he was eight years old, impressing many scouts from the youth academy.[3] Ćorluka's professional career started in 2003, but during that season he made no appearance for the first team. He was sent on loan to Inter Zaprešić and played one season for them, helping the team place second in the league, before returning to Dinamo Zagreb in 2005. After establishing himself as a key player in Dinamo, he helped them win the Croatian First League title three seasons in a row from 2005–06. He also played a dominant part in his side capturing the Croatian cup in the 2006 season.

Manchester City

After consistently strong performances, Ćorluka was signed by Manchester City on 2 August 2007.[4][5] City did not reveal the fee, but Croatian media reports suggested the deal was worth around £8 million, with the 21-year-old penning a five-year deal.[6]

As usual, he consistently found a starting spot for his side in the Premier League. Despite a nightmare blunder during his side's shocking 6–0 defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, he remained strong during his first season in England as his side finished 9th in the league and gained entry to a UEFA Cup qualifying round via the UEFA fair play ranking. On few rare occasions, he was also used as a defensive midfielder during the season, proving to be a factor for opposing attackers.

He scored his first goal in the 4–2 loss at Aston Villa on the opening weekend of the 2008–09 season.[7] In the UEFA Cup second qualifying round match second leg, Ćorluka scored the decisive spot kick in the dramatic 4–2 penalty shoot-out victory over Danish minnows Midtjylland after the tie had ended 1–1 on aggregate. He played his last match for City against Sunderland on 31 August 2008, throwing his shirt into the crowd at the end of the match.[8]

Tottenham Hotspur

Ćorluka taking a throw-in for Tottenham Hotspur

On 1 September 2008, it was announced that Ćorluka had signed for Tottenham Hotspur for a fee of £5.5 million on a six-year contract, joining his fellow Croatian international and best friend, Luka Modrić at the club.[9] During the game against Stoke City on 19 October, Corluka was severely injured. Kneed under his chin by teammate Heurelho Gomes, he was immediately knocked unconscious. After ten minutes of on field treatment he was rushed to hospital where it was announced no serious damage was evident.[10] In the League Cup final on 1 March 2009, Ćorluka scored his first and Tottenham's only penalty in the shootout loss to Manchester United.[11]

Ćorluka scored his first Premier League goal for Tottenham during a 2–2 draw against Bolton Wanderers on 3 October 2009. On 2 February 2011, Corluka started and played the full 90 minutes at right-back ahead of the injured Alan Hutton, in the 1–0 victory over Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park.[12]

Bayer Leverkusen loan

In the January 2012 transfer window, Ćorluka signed on loan for Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen for the remainder of the 2011–12 season on 31 January with the option to buy out his contract in the summer transfer window.[13]

Ćorluka made his debut for the club in a 2–2 home draw against Stuttgart at the BayArena on 4 February, playing the full 90 minutes.[14] In his only Champions League appearance for the club, Ćorluka provided the cross for Michal Kadlec's leveler in the 52nd minute before being substituted in the 90' by Danny da Costa, losing 3–1 to Barcelona.[15] On 25 February, the defender provided an assist for the first of Lars Bender's brace in the 2–0 win over Köln.[16] The Croatian's last appearance for the club came in a 4–1 thrashing of 1. FC Nürnberg on 5 May,[17] a game in which Leverkusen striker Kießling scored a hat-trick.[18][19]

Despite Leverkusen having an option to buy his contract off at the end of season, they decided not to pursue the option with financial difficulties being cited as the main obstacle.

Lokomotiv Moscow

On 27 June 2012, Lokomotiv Moscow announced the signing of Ćorluka from Tottenham Hotspur for £5.5million. The signing came in light of recent naming of Slaven Bilić, an ex-Croatia manager, as the manager of Lokomotiv. Ćorluka signed a three-year contract following the successful completion of his medical examination.[20] He scored on his debut against newly promoted Mordovia Saransk in a 3–2 victory. In September 2012,[21] March 2014,[22] and December 2014[23] Ćorluka won the monthly poll among Loko supporters in the social networks and was named the best club player of the month. In June 2015, after Ćorluka helped Lokomotiv to win Russian Cup, fans named him team's Player of the Year.[24]

International career

Playing for Croatia

He started to play for the Croatian under-21 team and eventually progressed to his country's senior national team, for which he soon made his debut in the friendly match against world champions Italy on 16 August 2006 in Livorno, Italy. Croatia won the match 2–0 and Ćorluka, aged 20 during his debut, entered the game in the second half and satisfied critics with his very good, solid performance against experienced Serie A forwards.

During Croatia's UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying campaign, he became one of the key players under current head coach Slaven Bilić. Croatia finished first in Group E, notably ahead of Russia and favourites England, who eventually failed to qualify from the group.

Ćorluka was in the final match of the tournament where Croatia's exit came against Turkey in the extra time and penalty shootout.[25] Turkey winger Arda Turan revealed in an interview with UEFA that Ćorluka is the most difficult right-back he has ever played against, whom he came up against during this match.[26]

The defender was included for the preliminary squad for the European Championships in Poland and Ukraine after impressive performances in his loan spell at Bayer Leverkusen.[27]

Career statistics

Club

As of 16 April 2016[28][29]
Club League Season League Cup League Cup Europe Other Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Inter Zaprešić (loan) Prva HNL 2004–05 27400000000274
Club Total 27400000000274
Dinamo Zagreb Prva HNL 2005–06 31321000000334
2006–07 30480006010454
2007–08 000000100010
Club Total 617101007010798
Manchester City Premier League 2007–08 35030300000410
2008–09 310000300061
Club Total 38130303000471
Tottenham Hotspur Premier League 2008–09 34020500000410
2009–10 29150200000361
2010–11 15010008000240
2011–12 300010400080
Club Total 8118080120001091
Bayer Leverkusen (loan) Bundesliga 2011–12 700000100080
Club Total 700000100080
Lokomotiv Moscow Russian Premier League 2012–13 27110000000281
2013–14 28100000000281
2014–15 26240002000322
2015–16 19300004010243
Club Total 1007500060101127
Career Total 314202611102902038221

International

As of 13 October 2015[30]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Croatia 200650
2007110
2008130
200971
201060
2011101
201282
2013100
2014100
201550
Total854

International goals

Scores and results list Croatia's goal tally first.[30]
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 8 October 2009 Stadion Kantrida, Rijeka, Croatia  Qatar 1–0 3–2 Friendly
2. 11 November 2011 Türk Telekom Arena, Istanbul, Turkey  Turkey 3–0 3–0 UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
3. 25 May 2012 Stadion Aldo Drosina, Pula, Croatia  Estonia 1–0 3–1 Friendly
4. 12 October 2012 Philip II Arena, Skopje, Macedonia  Macedonia 1–1 2–1 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Club

Dinamo Zagreb[28]
Lokomotiv Moscow

References

  1. ↑ "Statistics" (PDF). Premier League. Retrieved 22 March 2010.
  2. ↑ "ĆORLUKA (Vedran Ćorluka) – Manchester City and Croatia". footballdatabase.com. Archived from the original on 12 September 2008. Retrieved 20 September 2009.
  3. ↑ "Vedran Corluka – Manchester City's New Croatian International". Soccerphile (Soccerphile.com). Retrieved 20 September 2009.
  4. ↑ "Elano heads Man City triple swoop". British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC Sport). 2 August 2007. Retrieved 2 August 2007.
  5. ↑ Oscroft, Tim (2 August 2007). "Sven welcomes Corluka". Manchester City F.C. (mcfc.co.uk). Retrieved 6 October 2009.
  6. ↑ Bailey, Graeme (2 August 2007). "City land Croatian stopper". Sky Sports. Retrieved 21 September 2009.
  7. ↑ Bevan, Chris (17 August 2008). "Aston Villa 4–2 Man City". British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC Sport). Retrieved 6 October 2009.
  8. ↑ Stevenson, Jonathan (1 September 2008). "Transfer deadline day". British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC Sport). Retrieved 1 September 2008.
  9. ↑ "Spurs sign Corluka from Man City". British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC Sport). 1 September 2008. Retrieved 21 September 2009.
  10. ↑ Hughes, Ian (19 October 2008). "Stoke 2–1 Tottenham". British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC Sport). Retrieved 21 September 2009.
  11. ↑ "FT: Man United 0 Tottenham 0 (MU win 4–1 on penalties)". Sky Sports (skysports.com). 1 March 2009. Retrieved 6 October 2009.
  12. ↑ Lyon, Sam (3 October 2009). "Bolton 2–2 Tottenham". British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC Sport). Retrieved 6 October 2009.
  13. ↑ "Vedran Corluka leaves Tottenham to join Bayer Leverkusen on loan". British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC Sport). 31 January 2012. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
  14. ↑ "Bayer Leverkusen 2-2 VfB Stuttgart". ESPN Soccernet. 4 February 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
  15. ↑ Ornstein, David (14 February 2012). "Bayer Leverkusen 1-3 Barcelona". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
  16. ↑ "Rhine revenge for Leverkusen". bundesliga.de. 25 February 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
  17. ↑ "Nurnberg 1-4 Bayer Leverkusen". ESPN Soccernet. 5 May 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
  18. ↑ "Bayer 04 Leverkusen 4 vs 1 FC Augsburg". goal.com. 18 February 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
  19. ↑ "Augsburg : Leverkusen 1:4 (1:2)". bundesliga.de. 9 September 2011. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
  20. ↑ Ведран Чорлука подписал контракт с "Локомотивом" (in Russian). fclm.ru. 27 June 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
  21. ↑ Ведран Чорлука – игрок сентября! (in Russian). FC Lokomotiv Moscow. 8 October 2012.
  22. ↑ Ведран Чорлука – игрок марта! (in Russian). FC Lokomotiv Moscow. 7 April 2014.
  23. ↑ Ведран Чорлука – игрок декабря! (in Russian). FC Lokomotiv Moscow. 15 December 2014.
  24. ↑ Ведран Чорлука – лучший игрок «Локомотива» в сезоне! (in Russian). FC Lokomotiv Moscow. 8 June 2015.
  25. ↑ Kay, Oliver (20 June 2008). "Slaven Bilic left dazed by reversal of fortune". Vienna: The Times Online. Retrieved 21 September 2009.
  26. ↑ "Arda stronger and wiser". UEFA. 4 March 2010. Retrieved 4 March 2010.
  27. ↑ "Bilic drops Petri and Klasnic from Croatia squad as he reveals he will step down as manager after Euro 2012". rte.ie. 11 May 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
  28. 1 2 "V. Ćorluka". Soccerway. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  29. ↑ "Vedran Corluka" (in German). kicker.de. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  30. 1 2 "Vedran Ćorluka profile". eu-football.info. Retrieved 26 May 2015.

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