Player profile
About Ivan Perišić
Ivan Perišić (born 2 February 1989) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Eredivisie club PSV and the Croatia national team. Usually deployed as a left winger, he has also featured as an attacking midfielder, second striker, or left wing-back. Known for his ambidexterity and versatility, he is considered to be one of the greatest Croatian players of all time. A product of the Hajduk Split and Sochaux youth academies, Perišić made a name for himself while playing for Club Brugge, where he was the Belgian Pro League top goalscorer and was named Belgian Footballer of the Year for 2011. This earned him a transfer to Borussia Dortmund, with whom he won the 2011–12 Bundesliga, before signing with VfL Wolfsburg for €8 million in January 2013. He remained there for two and a half seasons, winning the 2015 DFB-Pokal final, before moving to Inter Milan for €16 million. In 2019, he joined Bayern Munich on loan, winning the treble. After returning to Inter Milan, he won the 2020–21 Serie A and the 2021 Supercoppa Italiana. Perišić made his debut for the Croatia national team in 2011, and represented his nation at Euro 2012, 2016 and 2020, as well as the 2014, 2018 and 2022 World Cup, reaching the final of the 2018 tournament and winning a bronze medal at the 2022 World Cup. Instrumental to Croatia's second "golden generation", Perišić is the nation's player with most goal contributions at the major tournaments (18). Perišić has appeared internationally for the Croatia national under-17, under-19 and under-21 teams. He participated in the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification for Croatia, where he scored two goals. On 26 March 2011, at age 22, Perišić made his debut for the senior national team against Georgia. He was a member of Croatia's squad for UEFA Euro 2012, starting in the team's opening two matches against the Republic of Ireland and Italy, and appearing as a substitute in the team's final match, a 1–0 loss to Spain. During the 2014 World Cup qualification, Perišić appeared in 12 matches for Croatia and scored his first international goal in a 1–1 draw with Belgium. On 14 May, Perišić was named in Croatia's 30-man preliminary squad for the 2014 World Cup. On 31 May, he scored a brace in a 2–1 win against Mali in a World Cup warm-up match in Osijek. Perišić was confirmed as a member of Croatia's final 23-man World Cup squad on 2 June. Perišić was in Croatia's starting team for the opening match of the 2014 World Cup, a controversial 3–1 defeat to tournament hosts Brazil at the Arena Corinthians, São Paulo. In the following match, he scored Croatia's second goal as they defeated Cameroon 4–0. On 23 June, he scored a consolation goal in the team's final group match, 3–1 defeat to Mexico which eliminated them from the tournament. Despite Croatia's early elimination, Perišić was ranked as the second-best performing player of the group stage by FIFA. Perišić was Croatia's top goalscorer in Euro 2016 qualifying, scoring six goals in nine matches as Croatia qualified in second place in Group H. In Croatia's second Euro 2016 group match, Perišić scored the opening goal of a 2–2 draw with the Czech Republic. Five days later, he scored the winning goal against Spain, which secured qualification to the knockout stage as group winners for Croatia. Perišić appeared regularly in Croatia's successful 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, as they finished runner-up in Group I which sent them to second round. The team played Greece, winning the first leg 4–1, with Perišić scoring the third goal in 33rd minute. Croatia booked their spot to the World Cup final stages in Russia on 12 November by playing a goalless draw in the returning leg. In May 2018, Perišić was named in Croatia's final squad for the 2018 World Cup. In the third group stage match, Perišić scored in the last minute of the regular time in the 2–1 win over Iceland as Croatia topped Group D on full points. During Croatia's semi-final match against England on 11 July, Perišić scored Croatia's equaliser in the second half of regulation time, and later also set-up Mario Mandžukić's match-winning goal in the second half of extra-time to give Croatia a 2–1 victory, sending the team to the World Cup final for the first time in their history. He was named Man of the Match. In the final against France on 15 July, he scored Croatia's temporary equaliser in the first half, although the match eventually ended in a 4–2 defeat to France. Perišić covered the most ground of any player in the tournament, running a total of 72.5 kilometres. During Euro 2020 qualifying, Perišić scored three times—against Wales at home and Slovakia home and away—as Croatia topped Group E. On 19 November 2019, he captained the national team for the first time ever in a friendly 2–1 victory over Georgia, scoring the winning goal. On 8 September 2020, he captained Croatia once again in a 4–2 Nations League defeat to France at Stade de France. On 1 June 2021, Perišić made this 100th appearance for the national team in a friendly 1–1 draw with Armenia in which he scored Croatia's goal. He was selected in Croatia's final squad for UEFA Euro 2020, where he was the team's most efficient performer, scoring twice (in the 1–1 draw with the Czech Republic and the 3–1 victory over Scotland) and assisting once (in the latter match). However, on 27 June, he tested positive for COVID-19 which ruled him out of the squad for the knockout phase. On 9 November 2022, Perišić was selected in Croatia's final squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. At the tournament, he assisted three times—twice in the 4–1 group stage victory over Canada and once in the 2–1 third place play-off victory over Morocco—and scored once, the equalizer in the 1–1 round of 16 draw with Japan. That way, he extended his record of the Croatia player with the most goal contributions at major tournaments (18), as well as surpassed Davor Šuker as the Croatia player with the most goals scored at major tournaments (10). Despite being born in Split, Perišić grew up in the town of Omiš. As a child, he worked on his father's poultry farm. Perišić married Josipa in 2012, having first met her while they were in high school. The pair have two children: a son, Leonardo, born on 9 October 2012; and a daughter, Manuela, born on 28 July 2014.
