# Ivica Vrdoljak

Ivica Vrdoljak (pronounced; born 19 September 1983) is a Croatian former professional footballer who played mainly as a defensive midfielder.

## Club career

Vrdoljak started playing football at his homeclub, Serbian top league club FK Vojvodina, where he played for the youth teams until 1999, when he moved to Zagreb, Croatia, and settled in the youth system of the Croatian top flight side NK Zagreb. After graduating to the senior team he was sent on loans to NK Lučko and the second division team Croatia Sesvete. Vrdoljak had a good season at Croatia Sesvete, scoring four goals and featuring in 22 league matches, and after that he was returned to NK Zagreb. In three seasons at the club he made 81 league appearances and scored three goals. He was then, along with his teammate Mario Mandžukić, transferred to Croatian powerhouse Dinamo Zagreb for a fee of €1 million. Since his arrival, Vrdoljak has established himself as a consistent first-team player. In his debut season for Dinamo he played in twenty-four league matches and bagged three goals. The next season, he was irreplaceable in the midfield and made 29 league appearances by the end of the season and scored three more goals.
While playing for Legia Warsaw, during the qualifiers 2014–15 UEFA Champions League qualifying round, Vrdoljak missed two penalties in a 4–1 win over against Celtic. After being sidelined throughout the 2015–16 season due to a knee injury, he left Legia in the summer of 2016. Shortly after, he joined another Ekstraklasa outfit Wisła Płock, however after failing to make a single appearance, he decided to ultimately retire.

## International career

He is also a former Croatia under-21 international and capped seven times at the under-21 level during the 2004–05 season.

## Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | National cup | National cup | Continental | Continental | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Croatia Sesvete (loan) | 2003–04 | Druga HNL | 22 | 4 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 25 | 6 |
| NK Zagreb | 2004–05 | Prva HNL | 25 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 26 | 1 |
| NK Zagreb | 2005–06 | Prva HNL | 25 | 0 | | 0 | — | — | — | — | 25 | 0 |
| NK Zagreb | 2006–07 | Prva HNL | 31 | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 35 | 2 |
| NK Zagreb | Total | Total | 81 | 3 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 86 | 3 |
| Dinamo Zagreb | 2007–08 | Prva HNL | 24 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 3 |
| Dinamo Zagreb | 2008–09 | Prva HNL | 29 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 2 | — | — | 45 | 5 |
| Dinamo Zagreb | 2009–10 | Prva HNL | 27 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 12 | 1 | — | — | 44 | 1 |
| Dinamo Zagreb | Total | Total | 80 | 6 | 16 | 0 | 26 | 3 | — | — | 122 | 9 |
| Legia Warsaw | 2010–11 | Ekstraklasa | 26 | 5 | 6 | 3 | — | — | — | — | 32 | 8 |
| Legia Warsaw | 2011–12 | Ekstraklasa | 24 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 4 |
| Legia Warsaw | 2012–13 | Ekstraklasa | 20 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 2 |
| Legia Warsaw | 2013–14 | Ekstraklasa | 30 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | — | — | 41 | 5 |
| Legia Warsaw | 2014–15 | Ekstraklasa | 28 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 49 | 7 |
| Legia Warsaw | 2015–16 | Ekstraklasa | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Legia Warsaw | Total | Total | 128 | 20 | 25 | 5 | 36 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 191 | 26 |
| Wisła Płock | 2016–17 | Ekstraklasa | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 311 | 33 | 49 | 7 | 62 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 424 | 44 |
* ↑ Includes Croatian Cup, Polish Cup
* ↑ One appearance in UEFA Champions League, one appearance in UEFA Cup
* ↑ Six appearances and one goal in UEFA Champions League, six appearances and one goal in UEFA Cup
* ↑ Four appearances in UEFA Champions League, eight appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League
* 1 2 Appearances in UEFA Europa League
* 1 2 Appearance in Polish Super Cup
* ↑ Six appearances in UEFA Champions League, four appearances in UEFA Europa League
* ↑ Four appearances in UEFA Champions League, ten appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League

## Honours
### Dinamo Zagreb

* Croatian First League: 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10
* Croatian Cup: 2007–08, 2008–09

### Legia Warsaw

* Ekstraklasa: 2012–13, 2013–14
* Polish Cup: 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13