Croatian Football Clubs – Conveyor Belts of Talent

The youth academies of Croatia’s top football clubs are renowned for being conveyor belts for football talent, with Croatian footballers currently plying their trade in most of Europe’s top divisions – Luka Modrić and Ivan Rakitić in Spain, Mario Madžukić and Ivica Olić in Germany, Mateo Kovačić in Italy and Dejan Lovren in England – now, thanks to research by CIES Football Observatory using UEFA criteria, one Croatian club in particular can boast it is the 4th best in Europe at producing quality players…

Hajduk Split have been ranked 4th in Europe for producing the most ‘products’ playing in 31 ‘main’ top divisions across Europe. CIES have calculated which clubs in Europe produce most players for the 31 top divisions combined, made up of 472 clubs and  11,653 players, and sees Hajduk Split tie in 4th spot with Sporting from Portugal, just one spot below Barcelona. Ajax were number one, with Hajduk Split ranked ahead some big names in European football such as Real Madrid, Manchester United and Arsenal.

Croatia’s Dinamo Zagreb were in 9th spot, and NK Osijek in 14th, making  Croatia the only nation with  3 clubs in the top 15. (source: CIES)