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.