Nikola Vignjević (

Serbian Cyrillic The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet ( sr, / , ) is a variation of the Cyrillic script used to write the Serbian language, updated in 1818 by Serbian linguist Vuk Karadžić. It is one of the two alphabets used to write standard modern Serbian, t ...

: Никола Вигњевић; born March 12, 1971) is a former

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 football player, who currently works as Technical coach by

Alberta Golden Bears The Alberta Golden Bears and Pandas are the sports teams that represent the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Alberta athletics teams have won a total of 93 national championships, including 79 U Sports sanctioned sports, making ...

and the Greater St.Albert Sports Academy. While playing for the Lynx, he was commonly referred to as Niki and Nikki.

Career

Vignjević began his career with

FK Čukarički Fudbalski klub Čukarički () is a Serbian professional football club from Belgrade, more precisely from the Čukarica municipality, that currently plays in the Serbian SuperLiga, the top tier of Serbian football. Founded in 1926, the club sp ...

of the

Second League of Serbia and Montenegro The Second League of Serbia and Montenegro was the second tier of the football league system in Serbia and Montenegro, one level below the First League of Serbia and Montenegro. History Formed in 1992 after the breakup of Yugoslavia, it consisted ...

. In 1995, he went overseas to the United States to play indoor soccer with

San Jose Grizzlies The San Jose Grizzlies were a professional indoor soccer team based in San Jose, California. The team was founded on November 24, 1993, and played in the Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL). After playing in the 1994 and 1995 CISL seasons, th ...

of the Continental Indoor Soccer League. The following season he signed with the

Cleveland Crunch The Cleveland Crunch are an American professional indoor soccer club located in Cleveland, Ohio competing in as a charter member of the Major League Indoor Soccer (MLIS). The rebranded Crunch returned to indoor play as a member of the MASL 2 i ...

of the National Professional Soccer League where he amassed 58 goals and 35 assists as a rookie to help clinch the championship. In 1997, he returned to outdoor soccer with play with the

Rochester Raging Rhinos Rochester New York FC, formerly known as the Rochester Rhinos, are an American professional soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States. Founded in 1996, as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, they changed their name to Rochester Rhinos to ...

of the

USL A-League The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...

. In 1998, he went north of the border to Canada to sign with division rivals the

Toronto Lynx Toronto Lynx was a Canadian soccer team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1997, the team last played in the 2014 season of the Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Great Lakes D ...

. In his debut season he received the club's Best Offensive Player award. He briefly featured with the Richmond Kickers before being traded back to Toronto in 1999. During his first stint with Toronto he received several achievements as the club's MVP, twice named A-League Player of the Week and named to the A-League Team of the Week four times. In 2000, he helped the club clinch a postseason berth, and contributed a goal in a 1-0 victory over Richmond in the first round of the playoffs. In 1998, he continued playing indoor soccer this time with the Edmonton Drillers, where he played for the club for three seasons and finished as the club's all-time goalscorer with 103 goals. In late 2000, he was traded midway back to Cleveland. He returned to Toronto for the 2002 season. He would conclude his career in Toronto in 2003 where he finished as the club's all-time points leader including both goals and assists. At the conclusion of the 2003 season he signed with the

Metro Lions Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...

of the Canadian Professional Soccer League. He made his debut for the club on September 3, 2003 in a match against

Brampton Hitmen Brampton ( or ) is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Brampton is a city in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a lower-tier municipality within Peel Region. The city has a population of 656,480 as of the 2021 Census, making it the ...

. He helped improve the club's performance on the pitch, but unfortunately the team fell short in clinching a postseason berth. In 2002, he returned to indoor soccer to play with the Kansas City Comets and Harrisburg Heat of the Major Indoor Soccer League. In 2004, he returned to Alberta to sign with expansion franchise the

Edmonton Aviators The Edmonton Aviators were a soccer club based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The club was founded in 2003 as a member of the United Soccer League's A-League and folded after playing only one season in 2004. Midway through the season, with the clu ...

where he scored 3 goals and recorded 2 assists at the end of the season he announced his retirement. He was listed on the 2008-09 roster of the Edmonton Drillers indoor team.

Coaching career

After his retirement 2009 was named as the Technical coach of the

. He also coaches for the Edmonton Warriors Youth Soccer Club.GBS.pdf 2009-10 Golden Bears soccer roster
/ref> His brother Nebojša (former team-mate with the Lynx) is a coach.

Honors

;Cleveland Crunch *NPSL Championship: 1995-1996 *NPSL Central Division: 1996-1997 ;Edmonton Drillers *NPSL National Conference: 1998-1999

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vignjevic, Nikola 1971 births Living people Expatriate soccer players in Canada Association football midfielders Canadian Soccer League (1998–present) players Footballers from Belgrade Serbian expatriate footballers Serbian expatriates in Canada Serbian footballers Toronto Lynx players A-League (1995–2004) players Edmonton Aviators / F.C. players Brampton United players FK Čukarički players Cleveland Crunch (NPSL) players Edmonton Drillers (1996–2000) players Harrisburg Heat (MISL) players Kansas City Attack players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players San Jose Grizzlies players Rochester New York FC players Richmond Kickers players Continental Indoor Soccer League players