Nikola Mitrović (; born 2 January 1987) is a

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

n professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays as a

defensive 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 boundari ...

for Hungarian club

Budapest Honvéd FC Budapest Honvéd Football Club (), commonly known as Budapest Honvéd or simply Honvéd, is a Hungarian sports club based in Kispest, Budapest, with the colours of red and black. The club is best known for its football team. ''Honvéd'' means th ...

Club career

Early years

In 1997, aged 10, Mitrović joined the youth system of his hometown club

Napredak Kruševac 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 Fudbalski klub Napredak () is a f ...

. He was promoted to the senior squad in 2004. Over the next three seasons, Mitrović amassed over 100 competitive appearances for the side, as they were promoted to the

top flight Top Flight (April 15, 1929 – 1949) was an American U.S. Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse. She was the leading American filly of her generation at two and three years of age. Background Bred in Kentucky by the very prominent horseman Harry ...

in 2007.

Partizan

On 23 July 2007, Mitrović agreed to a three-year contract with

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 ...

. He served mainly as a backup to Brazilian defensive midfielder Juca throughout the season, making 18 appearances ( league and cup), as the club won the double. Due to strong competition in his position, Mitrović was loaned to his parent club Napredak Kruševac in the 2008 summer

transfer window A transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other playing staff into their playing staff. Such a transfer is completed by registering the player into the new club through FIFA. "Transfer wi ...

. He was transferred to Russian club Volga Nizhny Novgorod six months later, spending the entire year there, before again returning to Napredak Kruševac in early 2010.

Újpest and Videoton

In the summer of 2010, Mitrović moved abroad for the second time and joined Hungarian club

Újpest Újpest (; german: Neu-Pest, en, New Pest) is the 4th District in Budapest, Hungary. It is located on the left bank of the Danube River. The name Újpest means "New Pest" because the city was formed on the border of the city of Pest, Hungary i ...

. He missed just one out of 30 league games, managing to score once in a 6–0 victory over Újpest's fierce rivals

Ferencváros Ferencváros () is the 9th district of Budapest ( hu, Budapest IX. kerülete), Hungary. Name The southern suburb of Pest was named after King Francis I on 4 December 1792 when he was crowned king of Hungary. History The development of Fe ...

. On 28 June 2011, Mitrović joined Hungarian champions Videoton, signing a two-year contract. He was a regular in his debut season at the club, helping them win the

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

. In the next 2012–13 campaign, Mitrović collected 50 appearances and netted nine goals in all competitions, both career-highs.

Maccabi Tel Aviv

On 4 August 2013, Mitrović moved to Israeli champions

Maccabi Tel Aviv Maccabi Tel Aviv ( he, מכבי תל אביב) is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such ...

on a one-year deal with an extension option. He was signed by his former Videoton manager

Paulo Sousa Paulo Manuel Carvalho de Sousa, CavIH (; born 30 August 1970) is a Portuguese football manager and former professional player who played as a defensive midfielder. Starting his career at Benfica, he also represented Sporting CP in his countr ...

who joined the club earlier that summer. After defending

the league ''The League'' is an American sitcom that aired on FX and later FXX from October 29, 2009, to December 9, 2015, for a total of seven seasons. The series, set in Chicago, Illinois, is a semi-improvised comedy show about a fantasy football leagu ...

title with Maccabi in his debut season, Mitrović helped the side win the domestic treble in the following 2014–15 campaign. He subsequently 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 competi ...

debut in 2015–16, collecting four appearances in the group stage under his countryman

Slaviša Jokanović Slaviša Jokanović ( sr-Cyrl, Славиша Јокановић, ; born 16 August 1968) is a Serbian professional football manager and former player. He is the manager of Russian club Dynamo Moscow. A physical player considered strong in the a ...

. On 10 January 2016, it was announced that Mitrović would be leaving the club upon his request.

Later years

Just a few days following his departure from Maccabi, Mitrović joined

China League One The Chinese Football Association China League (), also known as China League One or Chinese Jia League (中甲联赛), is the second level of professional football in China. Above League One is the Chinese Super League. Prior to the formation of ...

club

Shanghai Shenxin Shanghai Shenxin Football Club () was a professional football club that participated in China's football league system between 2003 and 2019 under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team was based in Jinshan District, Shangh ...

. He stayed in Asia for only six months, before returning to Israel and signing for Bnei Yehuda in late August 2016. In January of the following year, Mitrović moved to Cypriot club

Anorthosis Anorthosis Famagusta ( el, Ανόρθωση Αμμοχώστου, translit=Anorthosi Ammochostou), commonly known as Anorthosis in English or Anorthosi in Greek, is a Cypriot football club, part of the Anorthosis Famagusta multi-sport club fo ...

. In September 2017, Mitrović returned to his homeland and joined his parent club

on a free transfer. He scored the winning goal in a 1–0 home league 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 ...

on 1 October 2017, chipping the ball from outside the box over

Milan Borjan Milan Borjan ( sr-cyr, Милан Борјан; born 23 October 1987) is a professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Red Star Belgrade and the Canadian national team. Early life Borjan was born on 23 October 1987 in Knin, SFR Yug ...

in the sixth minute of injury time. In January 2018, Mitrović moved to Poland and joined

Ekstraklasa Poland Ekstraklasa (), meaning "Extra Class" in Polish, named PKO Ekstraklasa since the 2019–20 season due to its sponsorship by PKO Bank Polski, is the top Polish professional league for men's association football teams. Contested by 18 ...

club

Wisła Kraków Towarzystwo Sportowe Wisła Kraków Spółka Akcyjna, commonly referred to as Wisła Kraków (), is a Polish professional football club based in Kraków. It currently competes in the I liga, the second level of Polish football league system. ...

for six months. In August 2018, Mitrović signed a one-year contract with Azerbaijani club

Keşlə Keşlə (; Кешлә, کشله; also Keshly, Keshlya, Kəşlə, Keşlä, Kešlæ, Kishly, Kishlya, Kishty, Kişli and Kitly) is a settlement and municipality in Baku, Azerbaijan. It has a population of 25,626. The Keshla area is becoming main ...

. In July 2019, Mitrović returned to Hungary after six years and signed with

Zalaegerszeg Zalaegerszeg (; hr, Jegersek; sl, Jageršek; german: Egersee) is the administrative center of Zala county in western Hungary. Location Zalaegerszeg lies on the banks of the Zala River, close to the Slovenian and Austrian borders and west-south ...

International career

In April 2010, Mitrović made his full international debut for

, coming on as a substitute for

Ljubomir Fejsa Ljubomir Fejsa ( sr-Cyrl, Љубомир Фејса, ; born 14 August 1988) is a Serbian professional footballer who plays for Partizan as a defensive midfielder. From 2008–09 to 2016–17, Fejsa won ten consecutive league titles across thre ...

in a friendly against Japan, an eventual 3–0 success.

Statistics

Club

International

Honours

;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 ...

: 2007–08 *

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 f ...

: 2007–08 ;Videoton *

Ligakupa The Hungarian League Cup ( hu, Magyar Ligakupa) was an annual football tournament contested by clubs in the Hungarian League. It was created in 2007 and the competition only lasted for 8 seasons, being cancelled in 2015/2016. Ligakupa Finals The ...

: 2011–12 * Szuperkupa: 2011, 2012 ;Maccabi Tel Aviv *

Israeli Premier League The Israeli Premier League ( he, ליגת העל, ''Ligat Ha`Al'', ), is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Israeli Football League – the state's league of Israel. The league is contested b ...

: 2013–14, 2014–15 * Israel State Cup: 2014–15 *

Toto Cup The Israel Toto Cup ( he, גביע הטוטו, ''Gvia Ha'Toto'') is an association football tournament that features clubs in the two highest divisions in Israel: the Israeli Premier League (Ligat Ha'Al), and the second division Liga Leumit. F ...

: 2014–15

Notes

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitrovic, Nikola Anorthosis Famagusta F.C. players Association football midfielders Azerbaijan Premier League players Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv F.C. players China League One players Cypriot First Division players Ekstraklasa players Expatriate footballers in Azerbaijan Expatriate footballers in China Expatriate footballers in Hungary Expatriate footballers in Israel Expatriate footballers in Poland Expatriate footballers in Russia FC Volga Nizhny Novgorod players FK Napredak Kruševac players FK Partizan players Israeli Premier League players Shamakhi FK players Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C. players Fehérvár FC players Nemzeti Bajnokság I players Serbia and Montenegro footballers Serbia international footballers Serbian expatriate footballers Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Azerbaijan Serbian expatriate sportspeople in China Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Hungary Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Israel Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Poland Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Russia Serbian First League players Serbian footballers Serbian SuperLiga players Shanghai Shenxin F.C. players Sportspeople from Kruševac Újpest FC players Wisła Kraków players Zalaegerszegi TE players 1987 births Living people