Nikola Jerkan (born 8 December 1964) is a

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

n former footballer who played as a defender. Jerkan was born in

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, entertai ...

and started playing football professionally for NK Zagreb.

Playing career

Club

He started his career in youth ranks of Junak Sinj. In 1982 he moved to NK Zagreb where he played until 1986. Then, he moved to

Dinamo Vinkovci Hrvatski nogometni klub Cibalia, commonly known as Cibalia Vinkovci or simply Cibalia, is a Croatian football club from the town of Vinkovci in eastern Croatia. Cibalia currently play in the Prva NL, Croatia's second tier league. Their stadium ...

where he would spend two years before moving to Hajduk Split in 1988. Immediately he started playing for the first team and played two seasons before he moved to Real Oviedo in Spain in 1990. In 1991, in his second season there, he was selected for the best defender of

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...

. Jerkan joined

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

in the summer of 1996 for a fee of £1million. Jerkan's time at Nottingham Forest was disappointing. He struggled to hold down a first-team place and after the departures of Frank Clark and Stuart Pearce, never hit it off with new manager

Dave Bassett David Thomas Bassett (born 4 September 1944 in Stanmore) is an English football manager and a former player. During his career he has managed Wimbledon, Watford, Sheffield United, Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest, Barnsley, Leicester City a ...

. He went on a year-long loan to

Rapid Vienna Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. Rapids are hydrological features between a ''run'' (a smoothly flowing part of a stream) and a ''cascade'' ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

at the start of the 1997-98 season and was never seen in the English game again. He spent the 1998/99 season at the

City Ground The City Ground is a football stadium in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England, on the banks of the River Trent. It has been home to Nottingham Forest Football Club since 1898 and has a capacity of 30,445. The stadium was a venue when En ...

but played no games. In 1999, he moved Charleroi where he played during the next two seasons, and then retired. He then moved to live in Oviedo.

International

Jerkan made his debut for

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

in a July 1992

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

away against Australia and attained 31 caps, scoring one goal (against Lithuania in Zagreb during the qualifications for

Euro 96 The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in England from 8 to 30 ...

). He played three games at the

and was at that point established in the centre of the Croatian defence. His final international was a June 1997 Kirin Cup match against

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

Managerial career

Jerkan managed Real Avilés B for two seasons, securing the club's first ever promotion to the

Tercera División Tercera División ( en, Third Division) was the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system. Founded in 1929, it was below the ''Primera División'' (also known as La Liga), the '' Segunda División'', and the semi-professional '' Segunda ...

(fourth tier). He also was assistant manager to

Zlatko Dalić Zlatko Dalić (; born 26 October 1966) is a Croatian professional football manager and former player. He is the manager of the Croatia national team since 2017 and led them to a runners-up finish at the 2018 FIFA World Cup and third place at the ...

for Croatia at

UEFA Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2020) or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...

Honours

Orders

Order of Danica Hrvatska with face of Franjo Bučar - 1995

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jerkan, Nikola 1964 births Living people Footballers from Split, Croatia Association football central defenders Yugoslav footballers Croatian footballers Croatia international footballers UEFA Euro 1996 players NK Zagreb players HNK Cibalia players HNK Hajduk Split players Real Oviedo players Nottingham Forest F.C. players SK Rapid Wien players R. Charleroi S.C. players Yugoslav First League players La Liga players Premier League players Austrian Football Bundesliga players Belgian Pro League players Yugoslav expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Spain Yugoslav expatriate sportspeople in Spain Croatian expatriate footballers Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate footballers in England Croatian expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate footballers in Austria Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Austria Expatriate footballers in Belgium Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium