Ivan Perišić becomes 11th Croatian to win UEFA Champions League title
- by croatiaweek
- in Sport
Ivan Perišić has become the 11th Croatian footballer to win the UEFA Champions League after Bayern Munich beat Paris Saint-Germain in the final tonight in Portugal.
Perišić came off the bench in the 66th minute in Bayern Munich’s 1-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain at the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon, Portugal.
A headed goal just after halftime by Kingsley Coman was enough to give Bayern Munich their 6th title and a first for Croatian winger Perišić.
Perišić now joins ten other Croatians who have lifted the Champions League in its current format. The other players were Alen Bokšić, Zvonimir Boban, Davor Šuker, Dario Šimić, Igor Bišćan, Mario Mandžukić, Luka Modrić, Ivan Rakitić, Mateo Kovačić, and Dejan Lovren. Robert Prosinečki won the European Cup in 1991.
A Croatian player has won the title now for the last eight years in a row and it was the ninth year in a row a Croatian player was involved.
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 Dejan Lovren won it last year with Liverpool.
Modrić is the Croatian recorded holder with four Champions League titles (2014, 2016, 2017, 2018), whilst Kovačić has won three (2016, 2017, 2018). Dario Šimić won it twice with Milan (2003, 2007).
