Nikica Cukrov (born 6 March 1954) is a Croatian professional

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 ...

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

and retired

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who ...

International career

He made his debut for

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

in a November 1977

Balkan Cup The Balkan Cup was an international association football competition contested on and off from 1929 to 1980 by countries from the Balkans region. The most successful team was Romania with four titles. Overview The first edition featured Romania, ...

friendly match against

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

, coming on as a 69th-minute substitute for

Momčilo Vukotić Momčilo "Moca" Vukotić (Serbian Cyrillic: Moмчилo Моца Bукoтић; 2 June 19503 December 2021) was a Serbian football coach and player. He played 14 times for his national team, Yugoslavia, between 1969 and 1974 scoring four goals. ...

, and earned a total of 14 caps scoring no goals. His final international was an October 1983

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

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

Personal life

Cukrov was diagnosed with cancer in 2014, which forced him to retire from managing

Šibenik Šibenik () is a historic city in Croatia, located in central Dalmatia, where the river Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea. Šibenik is a political, educational, transport, industrial and tourist center of Šibenik-Knin County, and is also the ...

. Fortunately he recovered and worked as a scout for football in his county.Nikica Cukrov, nogometna legenda, dobio je bitku s opakom bolešću i opet punim plućima 'živi' nogomet: Ja sam za mlade i domaće!
- Šibenski

References

External links

*
Profile on Yugoslavia national team official site
1954 births Living people Sportspeople from Šibenik Association football midfielders Yugoslav footballers Yugoslavia international footballers Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Yugoslavia Competitors at the 1979 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games medalists in football Olympic footballers of Yugoslavia Footballers at the 1980 Summer Olympics HNK Šibenik players HNK Rijeka players HNK Hajduk Split players SC Toulon players Yugoslav First League players Ligue 1 players Yugoslav expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in France Yugoslav expatriate sportspeople in France Croatian football managers HNK Šibenik managers NK Zadar managers {{Croatia-footy-midfielder-stub