Nikola Drinčić ( sr-Cyrl, Никола Дринчић, ; born 7 September 1984) is a Montenegrin 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 ...

coach and a former player, he played as a

central midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. He is an assistant coach with IMT. After playing for

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

's national under-21 team, Drinčić represented

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

senior level Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

between 2007 and 2014.

Club career

Early years

After spending his development years in

Partizan Partizan may refer to: Sport * JSD Partizan, a sports society from Belgrade, Serbia, which includes the following clubs: **AK Partizan, athletics ** Biciklistički Klub Partizan, cycling ** Džudo Klub Partizan, judo **FK Partizan, association fo ...

's youth academy, Drinčić made his senior debuts with the club's affiliated side Teleoptik. He signed a professional contract with Partizan in March 2004, making four league appearances until the end of the season. In the next two years, Drinčić was sent on loan to Spartak Subotica and Budućnost Banatski Dvor, enjoying a successful stint with the latter, scoring nine league goals from 28 appearances in the 2005–06 season. In the summer of 2006, Drinčić was sold to Turkish

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), officially known as Spor Toto Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional league for association football clubs. It is the top-flight of the Turkish football league system and is run by the ...

club

Gaziantepspor Gaziantepspor was a Turkish football club located in the city of Gaziantep. Formed in 1969 and dissolved in 2020, Gaziantepspor were nicknamed the ''Şahinler'' (The Falcons). The club colours were black and red, and they played their home matche ...

Amkar Perm, Spartak Moscow and Krasnodar

He left the country after only six months, transferring to Russian club

Amkar Perm FC Amkar Perm (russian: link=no, Футбо́льный клуб "Амка́р" Пермь ) is a professional association football, football club. Originally founded in 1994, it is based in the city of Perm, Russia, Perm. It was a participant in ...

. Over the following three years, Drinčić made 81 league appearances and scored four goals for the side. In January 2010, Drinčić joined

Spartak Moscow Spartak Moscow may refer to the following teams based or formerly based in Moscow, Russia: * FC Spartak Moscow, an association football club * HC Spartak Moscow, a professional ice hockey team * Spartak GM Moscow, a semi-professional rugby club * WB ...

on a free transfer. He however broke his

shinbone The tibia (; ), also known as the shinbone or shankbone, is the larger, stronger, and anterior (frontal) of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates (the other being the fibula, behind and to the outside of the tibia); it connects ...

in a friendly just two weeks after joining the club, causing him to make a half-year break from competitive football. After recovering, Drinčić was never able to break into the starting eleven and appeared in just four league games for the club, eventually leaving at the end of the season. On 3 November 2010, Drinčić made his

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

debut in a 1–4 away loss to

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

at Stamford Bridge, coming off the bench in 67th minute as substitute for

Aleksandr Sheshukov Aleksandr Sergeyevich Sheshukov (russian: Александр Сергеевич Шешуков; born 15 April 1983) is a Russian former footballer who played as a midfielder or defender. International career Sheshukov made his debut for the R ...

. On 8 December 2010, he made assist in a 1–2 away victory against

Žilina Žilina (; hu, Zsolna, ; german: Sillein, or ; pl, Żylina , names in other languages) is a city in north-western Slovakia, around from the capital Bratislava, close to both the Czech and Polish borders. It is the fourth largest city of Sl ...

in UEFA Champions League. In February 2011, Drinčić signed with fellow

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

club

Krasnodar Krasnodar (; rus, Краснода́р, p=krəsnɐˈdar; ady, Краснодар), formerly Yekaterinodar (until 1920), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The city stands on the Kuban River in southern ...

. He collected 57 league appearances and scored three goals in the following two and a half years. On 2 September 2013, Drinčić was released from his contract.

Return to Partizan

In December 2013, Drinčić joined his former club

on a free transfer, penning a three-year contract. He made his competitive debut for the club in a 0–0 away draw with

Novi Pazar Novi Pazar ( sr-cyr, Нови Пазар, lit. "New Bazaar"; ) is a city located in the Raška District of southwestern Serbia. As of the 2011 census, the urban area has 66,527 inhabitants, while the city administrative area has 100,410 inhabita ...

on 22 February 2014. On 8 March 2014, Drinčić scored his first goal for the club, in a 5–0 away league victory over Radnički 1923. In next round, he scored a goal from a free kick to give his team a 4–2 win over

Rad RAD or Rad may refer to: People * Robert Anthony Rad Dougall (born 1951), South African former racing driver * Rad Hourani, Canadian fashion designer and artist * Nickname of Leonardus Rad Kortenhorst (1886–1963), Dutch politician * Radley R ...

. On 26 April 2014, Drinčić scored a spectacular goal from a free kick in a Belgrade derby in a 2–1 home win over

Red Star Belgrade Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club, ), commonly known as Red Star Belgrade in English-language media, is a Serbian professional football club based in Bel ...

. Drinčić was again named in the competition's best eleven due to his performances throughout the season. In the following 2014–15 season, Drinčić played four matches in the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League group stage. On 18 October 2014, Drinčić scored again against Red Star and again from a free kick, helping club to reach a 1–0 victory in 147th Derby. On 14 March 2015, he scored a goal from a free kick in a 2–0 home league victory over

. He recorded a 38 appearances in all competitions and scored two goals and seven assist in 2014–15 season as the club won the title. He was again named in the competition's best eleven due to his performances throughout the season.

Later years

In June 2015, Drinčić signed a two-year contract with Israeli club

Maccabi Haifa Maccabi Haifa ( he, מכבי חיפה) is one of the biggest sports clubs in Israel and a part of the Maccabi association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Haifa which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, such as Football ...

with an option for another season. His contract was eventually terminated in January of the following year by mutual consent. After returning to the country of his birth, Drinčić joined top-flight side

in July 2016. He made his competitive debut for the club against Radnički Niš on 5 August 2016. He left the club by mutual agreement in March 2017. In June 2017, Drinčić signed one-year deal with Čukarički. On 21 July 2017, Drinčić made his competitive debut for the club against

Vojvodina Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Војводина}), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia. It lies within the Pannonian Basin, bordered to the south by the national capital ...

. In next round, Drinčić scored a spectacular goal in a 2–0 home league victory over

Napredak Napredak may refer to: * HKD Napredak, cultural society of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina *FK Napredak Kruševac, Serbian football club * FK Napredak Aleksinac, Serbian football club * FK Napredak Banatska Topola, Serbian football club *NK SAŠK N ...

. In August 2018, Drinčić signed with Radnički Niš. He joined

in June 2019.

International career

Drinčić was a regular member of the Serbia national under-21 team, making his debut in August 2006. He also participated at the 2007 UEFA Under-21 Championship in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, winning the silver medal after losing to the hosts in the final. Despite representing Serbia at youth level, Drinčić eventually chose to play for Montenegro on the senior level, believing it would get him more playing time. He made his debut for the Montenegro national team in the country's inaugural match versus

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

in September 2007. He has earned a total of 33 caps, scoring 3 goals. His final international was a March 2014

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 ...

against

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

Statistics

International

International goals

:''Scores and results list Montenegro's goal tally first.''

Honours

Club

;Partizan *

Serbian SuperLiga The Serbian Super League ( sr, Супер лига Србије / Super liga Srbije), referred to as the Mozzart Bet Super League ( sr, Моцарт Бет Супер лига / Mozzart Bet Super liga) for sponsorship reasons, is a Serbian profes ...

: 2014–15 ;Vojvodina *

Serbian Cup The Serbian Cup ( Serbian: Куп Србије, Kup Srbije) is the national football cup of Serbia. The winner of the competition gets a spot in the UEFA Europa League qualifying round. From 2006 to 2010, the competition was known as the Lav Cup ...

: 2019–20

International

;Serbia * UEFA Under-21 Championship: Runner-up 2007

Individual

Team of the Season: 2013–14, 2014–15, 2017–18, 2018–19

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Drincic, Nikola 1984 births Living people Footballers from Belgrade Serbian people of Montenegrin descent Association football midfielders Serbia and Montenegro footballers Serbian footballers Serbia under-21 international footballers Montenegrin footballers Montenegro international footballers FK Teleoptik players FK Partizan players FK Spartak Subotica players FK Budućnost Banatski Dvor players Gaziantepspor footballers FC Amkar Perm players FC Spartak Moscow players FC Krasnodar players Maccabi Haifa F.C. players FK Rad players FK Čukarički players FK Radnički Niš players FK Vojvodina players First League of Serbia and Montenegro players Second League of Serbia and Montenegro players Süper Lig players Russian Premier League players Serbian SuperLiga players Israeli Premier League players Montenegrin expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Turkey Montenegrin expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Expatriate footballers in Russia Montenegrin expatriate sportspeople in Russia Expatriate footballers in Israel Montenegrin expatriate sportspeople in Israel