Former Spezia and current Osijek head coach Nenad Bjelica believes that Inter’s Ivan Perisic has been the outstanding Croatian footballer in 2021.
Speaking to Croatian newspaper Vecernji List in an interview published in today’s print edition, he named the Nerazzurri wing-back as the best from the country this year, while also naming midfielder Marcelo Brozovic as close to the top.
Perisic has enjoyed a resurgence over the past year and a half, coming back from a loan spell at Bayern Munich where he proved an effective performer but was not a regular in the team and shining.
The Croat proved himself under Antonio Conte as he transitioned to the wing-back role, and became a key player in the Scudetto win.
Then, over the summer, the 32-year-old proved key for his country as he was one of their outstanding performers in the group stage even though he was unfortunate to miss their round of sixteen exit to Spain through a positive COVID test.
This season, Perisic has been back to his best, even surpassing his form from last campaign and showing some of his best in a Nerazzurri shirt.
“Perisic is in first place for me because he played a great season with Inter, who became Italian champions after many years,” Bjelica said, “and I believe that he is also the main responsible for the success of the Croatian national team and for qualifying for the Watar World Cup.”
“He was also in the best form at the European Championships,” he added.
“On the podium I put Mateo Kovacic and Marcelo Brozovic,” he went on, naming a current and former Inter midfielder, “for reasons similar to Perisic.”
