UEFA Champions League: 15 Croatian players involved

Sime Vrsaljko (Photo credit: Антон Зайцев/soccer.ru)

ZAGREB, 19 October 2020 – The UEFA Champions League returns tomorrow when the group stages start. 

The group stages will conclude on 8 and 9 December when the last round will be played. Whilst there are no Croatian clubs this season in the group stages, there will be 15 players taking part in the world’s elite club competition.  

Out of the 15 players, five have already won the UEFA Champions League – Luka Modrić (Real Madrid), Ivan Rakitić (Sevilla), Mateo Kovačić (Chelsea), Ivan Perišić (Inter) and Dejan Lovren (Zenit). 

Croatia has had a representative in the UEFA Champions League final for the past 9 years in a row. Last season, Perišić helped Bayern Munich beat Lyon to become the 11th Croatian to win the UEFA Champions League title. 

Croatians in the 2020/21 Champions League 

Luka Modrić (Real Madrid), Ivan Rakitić (Sevilla), Mateo Kovačić (Chelsea), Ivan Perišić (Inter), Dejan Lovren (Zenit), Marcelo Brozović (Inter), Vedran Ćorluka (Lokomotiv), Šime Vrsaljko (Atletico Madrid), Ivo Grbić (Atletico Madrid), Mario Pašalić (Atalanta), Duje Ćaleta-Car (Marseille), Dominik Kotarski (Ajax), Roko Baturina (Ferencvaroš), Luka Sučić (RB Salzburg) and Matej Mitrović (Club Brugge).

As well as players, Croatia has two assistant coaches involved in the group stages, Igor Tudor at Juventus and Ognjen Vukojević at Dinamo Kyiv and Dario Srna is the sports director at Shakhtar Donetsk.