Croatia to have player in Champions League final for 9th year in a row
- by croatiaweek
- in Sport
Croatia will have a player in the UEFA Champions League final for the 9th year in a row after Ivan Perišić helped Bayern Munich beat Lyon tonight in Portugal.
Perišić started the match and laid on the second goal for Serge Gnabry in Bayern Munich’s 3-0 victory over Lyon. Perišić had a great chance to get on the scoresheet himself but could not beat the Lyon keeper in a one-on-one situation.
Bayern Munich will now meet French club PSG in the Champions League final on Sunday 23 August 2020 and it will be the 9th year in a row a Croatian has been in the final.
Perišić is also the third Croatian to play in the Champions League final for Bayern Munich since 2012 after Ivica Olić and Mario Mandžukić.
These are the other Croatian players who featured in the last eight finals.
- 2012 – Ivica Olić (Bayern Munich)
- 2013 – Mario Mandžukić (Bayern Munich)
- 2014 – Luka Modrić (Real Madrid)
- 2015 – Ivan Rakitić (Barcelona)
- 2016 – Luka Modrić, Mateo Kovačić (Real Madrid)
- 2017 – Luka Modrić, Mateo Kovačić (Real Madrid), Mario Mandžukić (Juventus)
- 2018 – Luka Modrić, Mateo Kovačić (Real Madrid), Dejan Lovren (Liverpool)
- 2019 – Dejan Lovren (Liverpool)
- 2020 – Ivan Perišić (Bayern Munich)
A Croatian player has won the title for the last seven years in a row.
Mario Mandžukic scored in the final against Borussia Dortmund to help Bayern Munich secure the title back in 2013. The following season Luka Modrić won his first Champions League with Real Madrid, followed by Ivan Rakitić with Barcelona the next season. In 2016, 2017, and 2018, Modrić and Kovačić claimed the trophy with Real Madrid and last season Dejan Lovren won it with Liverpool.
