Croatian Footballer of the Year explained

The Croatian Footballer of the Year (hr|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.

List of winners

Yugoslav Footballer of the Year (1972–90)

† denotes shared wins

Year	Yugoslav Footballer of the Year
	Player (Wins)	Age	Pos.	Club
1972		24	FW	Velež
1973		25	GK	Velež
1974		26	DF	Željezničar
1975		26	DF	Hajduk Split
1976		23	MF	Hajduk Split
1977		24	MF	Hajduk Split
1978	†	28	DF	Dinamo Zagreb
	†	22	DF	Partizan
1979	†	24	MF	FK Sarajevo
	†	23	MF	Dinamo Zagreb
1980		25	MF	Red Star
1981		23	FW	Hajduk Split
1982		22	MF	Hajduk Split
1983		29	GK	Hajduk Split
1984		28	MF	Panathinaikos
1985		26	MF	Hajduk Split
1986		22	MF	Velež
1987		27	MF	Dinamo Zagreb
1988		23	MF	Red Star
1989		24	MF	Red Star
1990		21	MF	Red Star

Croatian Footballer of the Year (1991–present)

Year	Croatian Footballer of the Year				Hope of the Year
	Player (Wins)	Age	Pos.	Club	Player	Age	Pos.	Club
1991		23	MF
1992		25	FW
1993		23	FW
1994		27	FW
1995		28	FW			20	DF	Croatia Zagreb
1996		29	FW			20	FW	Hajduk Split
1997	†	28	MF		align=left rowspan=2		22	MF	align=left rowspan=2	Croatia Zagreb
	†	30	FW	Real Madrid
1998		31	FW			18	MF	Osijek
1999		31	MF			22	FW	Croatia Zagreb
2000		29	MF			21	FW	NK Zagreb
2001		23	DF			22	FW	NK Zagreb
2002		23	GK			18	MF	Dinamo Zagreb
2003		29	FW			20	FW	Osijek
2004		30	FW			19	MF	Inter Zaprešić
2005		31	FW			22	FW	Varteks
2006		23	FW			20	FW	Šibenik
2007		22	MF			19	FW	Hajduk Split
2008		23	MF			21	MF	Zadar
2009		30	FW			20	MF	Dinamo Zagreb
2010		31	FW			18	DF	Dinamo Zagreb
2011		26	MF			17	MF	Dinamo Zagreb
2012		26	FW			21	MF	Hajduk Split
2013		27	FW			20	FW	Fiorentina
2014		29	MF			19	DF	Bayer Leverkusen
2015		27	MF			18	MF	Dinamo Zagreb
2016		31	MF			19	DF	Dinamo Zagreb
2017		32	MF			19	MF	Lokomotiva
2018		33	MF
2019		34	MF
2020		35	MF
2021		36	MF
2022		37	MF
2023		38	MF

Notes on club name changes:

• Dinamo Zagreb changed their name to "HAŠK Građanski" in June 1991 and then again in February 1993 to "Croatia Zagreb". They reverted to "Dinamo Zagreb" in February 2000.
• The NK Varteks changed their 52-year-old name to "NK Varaždin" in June 2010, then folded in 2015. Two newer clubs, both unassociated with the defunct team, use the defunct club's names: NK Varteks (founded 2011) and NK Varaždin (founded 2012 as "Varaždin ŠN", picked up the "NK Varaždin" name when the older club folded).

Multiple winners

Players in bold are still active. Wins in italics denote wins in Yugoslav competition before 1991.

Wins	Player	Winning years	Club(s)
12	Luka Modrić	2007, 2008, 2011, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023	Dinamo Zagreb, Tottenham Hotspur, Real Madrid
6	Davor Šuker	1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998	Sevilla, Real Madrid
3	Dado Pršo	2003, 2004, 2005	Monaco, Rangers
2	Velimir Zajec	1979, 1984	Dinamo Zagreb, Panathinaikos
	Dragan Stojković	1988, 1989	Red Star Belgrade
	Robert Prosinečki	1990, 1997	Red Star Belgrade, Croatia Zagreb
	Zvonimir Boban	1991, 1999	Milan
	Ivica Olić	2009, 2010	Bayern Munich
	Mario Mandžukić	2012, 2013	Bayern Munich

See also

• Sportske novosti Yellow Shirt award, for the HNL footballer of the year, given by the Croatian sport newspaper Sportske novosti, chosen by sport journalists.
• Football Oscar, given by the Croatian union Football syndicate, chosen by players and managers of league clubs.
• Prva HNL Best Player of the Year, given by the Croatian web site Tportal, chosen by captains of league clubs.

External links

• Complete list of winners 1972–2010

Notes and References

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