Nikola Matas (; born 22 June 1987) 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 ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

defender.

Club career

Nikola Matas went up through the ranks of his hometown's

NK Junak Sinj Nogometni Klub Junak Sinj (''Football Club Junak Sinj''), commonly referred to as Junak Sinj or just Junak, is a prodessional Croatian football club based in the town of Sinj, in the southern Croatian region of Dalmatia. They currently compete i ...

academy, spending half a season in

NK Zagreb Nogometni klub Zagreb (''Zagreb Football Club''), commonly known as NK Zagreb or simply Zagreb (), is a Croatian amateur football club based in the Croatian capital city of Zagreb. It currently competes in the fifth tier league competition of ...

, aged 18. He returned, however to Junak for his first senior season. He joined the newly promoted

Druga HNL The Prva nogometna liga ( en, First football league), commonly Prva NL or 1. NL, is the second tier of the football league system in Croatia. The league was formed in 1991 with the breakup of Yugoslavia and the dissolution of the Yugoslav Second ...

team, featuring in both their seasons at that rank, before returning to his home team, for another season in Croatia's second tier. Leaving the club again in the summer of 2010, he went on to spend 2 seasons in the Treća HNL Jug, playing for nearby

NK Hrvace NK Hrvace is a Croatian football club based in the town of Hrvace. They currently compete in Treća HNL, Croatia's third level. Honours Treća HNL The Druga nogometna liga ( eng, Second football league), commonly Druga NL or 2. NL) is ...

and

NK Uskok NK Uskok is a Croatian football club based in Klis Klis ( hr, Klis, it, Clissa, tr, Kilis) is a Croatian municipality located around a mountain fortress bearing the same name. It is located in the region of Dalmatia, located just northeast o ...

. This was followed by yet another return to Junak and the

. Despite the club's relegation at the end of the season, his performances drew interest from

Prva HNL The Hrvatska nogometna liga () ( en, Croatian football league), also known as HNL or for sponsorship reasons the SuperSport HNL, is the top Croatian professional football league competition, established in 1992. Previously, it was called Prva H ...

sides, and he signed a 4-year contract with

NK Lokomotiva Nogometni klub Lokomotiva Zagreb ( en, Lokomotiva Zagreb Football Club), commonly known as Lokomotiva Zagreb or simply Lokomotiva, is a Croatian professional association football, football club based in Zagreb. It competes in the Croatian First ...

. He started off as the first choice at the right back position there, after the departure of Ivan Boras and the injury of Toni Gorupec. After the first seven rounds, however, he faded from the team and left the club at the winter break.

International career

Matas 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 January

2017 China Cup The 2017 Gree China Cup International Football Championship () was the inaugural edition of the China Cup, an international football tournament. It was held from 10 to 15 January 2017 in Nanning, Guangxi, China. The tournament was hosted by t ...

match against

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

and earned a total of 2 caps, scoring no goals. His second and final international was during the same tournament against

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Matas, Nikola 1987 births Living people People from Sinj Association football fullbacks Croatian footballers Croatia international footballers NK Junak Sinj players HNK Trogir players NK Hrvace players NK Uskok players NK Lokomotiva Zagreb players NK Osijek players NK Istra 1961 players NK Nafta Lendava players NK Dugopolje players First Football League (Croatia) players Second Football League (Croatia) players Croatian Football League players Slovenian Second League players Croatian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Slovenia Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Slovenia