Rated as the "best right-back in the world" by Croatia coach Slaven Bilić in the run-up to UEFA EURO 2008, Vedran Ćorluka has not quite lived up to that billing, but the Tottenham Hotspur FC defender remains a key figure for his country. He passed a half-century of caps during UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying.

• Born in present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina of Croatian stock, he joined GNK Dinamo Zagreb's youth academy but spent the 2004/05 season on loan at NK Inter Zaprešić before breaking into the Dinamo first team.

• A Croatian title winner with Dinamo in 2005/06 and 2006/07, he added the Croatian Cup in the second of those seasons before leaving for Manchester City FC in August 2007.

• Made his international debut as a substitute in Bilić's first match as coach − against newly-crowned world champions Italy − and started all of the team's next 17 games, including all 12 UEFA EURO 2008 qualifiers; was also an ever-present with four appearances at the final tournament.

• Enjoyed a consistent first term in the Premier League, where he was used by City manager Sven-Göran Eriksson as a right-back, centre-back and midfielder, but left after just one season for Spurs.

• A League Cup finalist − and penalty shoot-out scorer against winners Manchester United FC − in 2009, he made six UEFA Champions League appearances for Tottenham in their run to the 2010/11 quarter-finals.

• Started every game in Croatia's successful UEFA EURO 2012 qualification bar the last, at home to Turkey, having scored his first competitive international goal to complete a 3-0 away win in the first leg of the play-off.