Stipe Pletikosa (; born 8 January 1979) is a Croatian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. As of 29 July 2021, he works at the Croatian Football Federation as the technical director of the national senior and under-21 teams. Pletikosa began his professional career with Hajduk Split in Croatia, transferred to Shakhtar Donetsk in Ukraine, then joined Spartak Moscow in 2007. After spending one season with Tottenham Hotspur in the English Premier League, he returned to Russia in 2011 with Rostov, then moved to Deportivo de La Coruña of La Liga in 2015, where he retired. Pletikosa made his international debut for Croatia in 1999, and went on to represent the country in five major tournaments. He is the fourth-most capped player in the history of the Croatian national team after Luka Modrić, Darijo Srna and Ivan Perišić, having made 114 appearances. Pletikosa retired from international football following the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Club career Hajduk Split Pletikosa began his career at Croatian club Hajduk Split. He was selected as first-team goalkeeper for the 1998–99 season by manager Ivan Katalinić, replacing the veteran Tonči Gabrić. Hajduk fans nicknamed him "Octopus" ("Hobotnica") for his excellent reflexes and coordination. In 2002, he was named by magazine Večernji list as Croatian Player of the Year, the only goalkeeper other than Zoran Simović to have won the award. Shakhtar Donetsk In 2003, Pletikosa and teammate Darijo Srna transferred to Shakhtar Donetsk for €2 million. Unlike Srna, Pletikosa did not succeed at the club and was subsequently loaned back to Hajduk in 2005. His second spell at Hajduk proved successful and earned him a starting place in Croatia's 2006 World Cup squad. Pletikosa returned to Shakhtar the following season, but found himself second choice to Jan Laštůvka, prompting the goalkeeper to seek a move. Shakhtar accepted a bid of €3 million from Dinamo Zagreb, but Pletikosa rejected the move due to his loyalty to Hajduk, Dinamo's biggest rivals. A loan move to Fulham also fell through as he could not gain a work permit. Spartak Moscow On 7 March, the Russian football federation's transfer deadline day, Pletikosa signed a three-year, €3 million contract to join Spartak Moscow. He featured regularly for the first-team until 2009, when he was less favoured by manager Valeri Karpin. On 31 August 2010, Pletikosa signed a season-long loan with Tottenham Hotspur of the English Premier League. He made