Nemanja Nikolić ( sr-Cyrl, Немања Николић, ; ; born 31 December 1987) is a former professional footballer who played as a striker. Nikolić is a former Hungary national team international; he has made 43 appearances and scored 8 goals for the senior team. As a Serbian Hungarian from

Vojvodina Vojvodina ( ; sr-Cyrl, Војводина, ), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an Autonomous administrative division, autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia, located in Central Europe. It lies withi ...

, Nikolić was also eligible to represent

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

, his country of birth, but he never received a call-up to the team.

Early life

Nikolić was born in

Senta Senta ( sr-cyrl, Сента, ; Hungarian language, Hungarian: ''Zenta'', ; Romanian language, Romanian: ''Zenta'') is a town and municipality located in Vojvodina, Serbia. It is situated on the bank of the Tisza, Tisa river in the geographical ...

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

to a Serbian father and a Hungarian mother. He began his career with his brother at

Club career

Kaposvár

On 7 February 2008, Nikolić was signed by

Kaposvár Kaposvár (; also known by alternative names) is a city with county rights in southwestern Hungary, south of Lake Balaton. It is one of the leading cities of Transdanubia, the capital of Somogy County, and the seat of the Kaposvár District and th ...

. He played his first match against Videoton. He managed to score thirty goals in just 49 matches therefore many top Hungarian sides wanted to sign him such as

Újpest Újpest (; , ) 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 in 1838. Újpest was a village ...

Ferencváros Ferencváros (, ) is the 9th district of Budapest (), Hungary. Name The southern suburb of Pest was named after King Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, Francis I on 4 December 1792 when he was crowned king of Hungary. History The developmen ...

and Videoton.

Videoton

In 2010 Videoton signed Nikolić. He became top scorer in the 2009–10 season of the Hungarian League. Nikolić won the 2010–11 season of the Hungarian League with Videoton. With the arrival of the Portuguese coach Paulo Sousa he was often left out from the first squad in the early matches of the 2011–12 season of the Hungarian League. However, as a substitute he managed to score against

Paks Paks is a small town in Tolna (county), Tolna county, in the south of Hungary, on the right bank of the Danube River, 100 km south of Budapest. Paks as a former agricultural settlement is now the home of the only Hungarian Paks Nuclear Pow ...

Siófok Siófok (; ; ) is a town in Somogy County, Hungary on the southern bank of Lake Balaton. It is the Somogy County#Municipalities, second largest municipality in Somogy County and the seat of Siófok District. It covers an area of about between Lak ...

(twice),

(twice) and Pápa in a row in the Hungarian League. On 2 August 2012, Nikolić scored the only goal of the first leg of the third round of the

2012–13 UEFA Europa League The 2012–13 UEFA Europa League was the 42nd season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 4th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League. The final was played at the Amsterdam Are ...

season, when Videoton beat the Belgian K.A.A. Gent 1–0 at the Sóstói Stadion. He also scored in the second leg of the tie which was won by 3–0 by Videoton at the Jules Ottenstadion. On 4 September 2012, he scored a goal in the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League season when Videoton beat Portugal's

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

3–0 at Stadion Sóstói. On 26 October 2014, Nikolić set a new record scoring in 12 consecutive league matches in the 2014–15 season.

Legia Warsaw

On 8 June 2015, Nikolić joined

Ekstraklasa (; meaning "Extra Class" in Polish), officially known as PKO Bank Polski Ekstraklasa due to its Sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by PKO Bank Polski, is a professional association football league in Poland and the highest level of the Polish foo ...

club,

Legia Warsaw Legia Warszawa (), commonly referred to as Legia Warsaw or simply Legia, is a professional football club based in Warsaw, Poland. Legia is the most successful Polish football club in history, winning a record 15 champions titles, a record 2 ...

. On 19 July 2015, Nikolić debuted in the 2015–16 season of the

by scoring two goals against

Śląsk Wrocław Wrocławski Klub Sportowy Śląsk Wrocław Spółka Akcyjna, commonly known as WKS Śląsk Wrocław (), is a Polish professional Association football, football club based in Wrocław that plays in , the second level of the Polish football leagu ...

at the Stadion Miejski,

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

. On 16 March 2016 Nikolic scored a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

against Zawisza Bydgoszcz at the Pepsi Arena,

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

. The match ended with a 4–0 win for Legia Warsaw. On 15 May 2016 Legia became champions of the 2015–16 Ekstraklasa season by beating Pogoń Szczecin 3–0 at home. He was the top scorer of the 2015–16 Ekstraklasa season, scoring 28 goals in 37 matches.

Chicago Fire

Nikolić joined the Chicago Fire as a Designated Player for a reported transfer fee of $3 million from

on 20 December 2016 on a three-year deal worth reportedly $1.9 million per year, per MLS Players Union documents. Speaking on the transfer, in a press release by the club, Fire GM Nelson Rodriguez stated "Through this transfer, we have secured a champion in his prime, and one of the most prolific goal scorers in Europe over the last few years". Fire coach

Veljko Paunović Veljko Paunović ( sr-Cyrl, Вељко Пауновић, ; born 21 August 1977) is a Serbian football manager and former player. He is the head coach of Spanish club Real Oviedo. A versatile attacking unit, he could operate as an attacking m ...

noted his awareness of Nikolić from an early age from his time in Serbia. In an article published by the Fire Paunović praised Nikolić's skillset:

"His quality is scoring goals and assisting, but then he's a man that can participate in both phases of team play," Paunovic said. "He's very good in all phases of the game. Defensively, he helps the team to recover the ball as soon as possible in order that we can control the game and create opportunities for our team to win. Sometimes he will benefit from team play and he will be just the executor, but sometimes he's capable of creating his own situations in the game, the opportunities 1v1, and scoring his own goals."

2017 season

Nikolić's high career strike-rate continued with the Fire, where he became an instant success - leading the league in scoring and acquiring numerous accolades through the first half of the season, and ultimately winning the 2017 MLS Golden Boot. His first goal for the club came in the Fire's 2017 home opener against

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake (RSL) is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Fou ...

, in which he scored an unassisted effort in the 11th minute. Nikolić was named to the MLS Team of the Week in week 7 alongside fellow Fire forward Luis Solignac. He was additionally selected as MLS player of the week in week 7. He was once again chosen for team of the week in week 11 for his brace in Chicago's 4–1 win against the reigning

MLS Cup MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Playoffs. The game is held in November or December and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Confere ...

champion

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders FC is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The club was established on ...

. With 10 goals through the first 11 games of the season, Nikolić led the league in scoring. With his brace against the

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Founded in ...

on 16 May, he became the first Fire player to score in four straight games since Mike Magee in 2013. This brace once again earned him MLS Team of the Week honors. After week 15 Nikolić continued to lead the league in scoring, with 12 goals in 15 games. He was named to the week 15 Team of the Week for his goal against Atlanta United in Chicago's 2–0 home win alongside Fire players

Bastian Schweinsteiger Bastian Schweinsteiger ( , ; born 1 August 1984) is a German former professional Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. Earlier in his career, he primarily played as a wide midfielder before later switching to a central mi ...

, David Accam, and João Meira. He was named MLS Player of the Month for May for his six goals and one assist during the Fire's undefeated run during the stretch. A week after Fire teammate David Accam was named player of the week for week 17 for his

against

Orlando City SC Orlando City Soccer Club is an American professional soccer club based in Orlando, Florida. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Owned by Zygi, Leonard, and Mark Wilf, it is the sister club of ...

, Nikolić earned the same honor on 3 July for his brace against

Vancouver Whitecaps FC Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Vancouver. The Whitecaps compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The MLS ite ...

. It was the second time he won the award (the first time in week 7 as noted above). After week 18 Nikolić continued to lead the

MLS Golden Boot The MLS Golden Boot (currently commercially termed "Audi Golden Boot") has been awarded since the 2005 Major League Soccer season, 2005 season to Major League Soccer's regular–season leading scorer. The award replaced the MLS Scoring Champion ...

race with 16 goals in 18 matches. Alongside

Nikolić was named to the "2017 MLS All-Star Fan XI". Nikolic finished the 2017 season as the Golden Boot winner with 24 goals and 4 assists.

2018 season

Nikolić finished the 2018 season as the Fire's top scorer, finishing seventh in scoring league-wide, with 15 goals and 2 assists.

Fehérvár

In February 2020, Nikolić left the Fire on the expiry of his contract and returned to Hungary and former club Videoton now known as Fehérvár. Nikolić was given the number 71 shirt upon his return.

International career

On 11 October 2013, Nikolić debuted in the Hungary national team against the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

in an 8–1 defeat at the

Amsterdam Arena The Johan Cruyff Arena ( ; officially stylised as Johan Cruijff ArenA) is the main stadium of the Dutch capital city of Amsterdam and the home stadium of association football, football club AFC Ajax, Ajax since its opening. Built from 1993 to ...

in the

2014 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA#Structure, FIFA confederations. The 2014 FIFA World Cup featured 32 teams, with one place reserved for the host nation, Brazil national football team, Bra ...

. On 14 October 2013, Nikolić scored his first goal in the national team against

Andorra Andorra, officially the Principality of Andorra, is a Sovereignty, sovereign landlocked country on the Iberian Peninsula, in the eastern Pyrenees in Southwestern Europe, Andorra–France border, bordered by France to the north and Spain to A ...

in the 51st minute. His second goal was recorded as an own goal by

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

. On 18 November 2014, Nikolić scored against

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

in a 2–1 defeat in a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

at the Groupama Arena,

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. Nikolić was called up to Hungary's squad for

UEFA Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's association football, football ch ...

. On 18 June 2016, he played in a 1–1 draw against

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

at the

Stade Vélodrome The Stade Vélodrome (), known for sponsorship reasons as the Orange Vélodrome since June 2016, is a multi-purpose stadium in Marseille, France. It is home to the Olympique de Marseille football club of Ligue 1 since it opened in 1937, and has ...

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

in which his run and far post drive was re-directed in by Iceland for the last minute equalizer. On 3 May 2018, Nikolić announced his retirement from the national team. But this situation has been changed when he agreed with Marco Rossi on his return. On 1 June 2021, Nikolić was included in the final 26-man squad to represent Hungary at the rescheduled

UEFA Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the Anniversary#Latin-derived numerical names, quadrennial international men's association footb ...

tournament.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Hungary's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Nikolić goal''.

Honours

Videoton *

Nemzeti Bajnokság I The Nemzeti Bajnokság (, ), also known as NB I or Fizz Liga after its title sponsor, OTP Bank's webshop subsidiary, is a professional association football league in Hungary and the highest level of the Hungarian football league system. Twelve ...

: 2010–11, 2014–15 * Hungarian League Cup: 2011–12 * Hungarian Super Cup: 2011, 2012 Legia Warsaw *

: 2015–16, 2016–17 *

Polish Cup The Polish Cup in Association football, football ( ) is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout football competition for Polish football club (association football), football clubs, held continuously since 1950, and is the second most i ...

: 2015–16 Individual *

top scorer: 2009–10 (18 goals), 2013–14 (18 goals; shared with Attila Simon), 2014–15 (21 goals) *

top scorer: 2015–16 (28 goals) *

top scorer: 2015–16 (6 goals) * Ekstraklasa Player of the Year: 2015 *

Player of the Season: 2015–16 *

Forward of the Season: 2015–16 *

Player of the Month: August 2015, September 2015, October 2015 *

Canal+ Spectator Prize: 2015–16 *

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

(24 goals) *

MLS Best XI The MLS Best XI is an annual acknowledgment of the best eleven players in Major League Soccer. The selection is determined by a collection of media, players, and MLS club technical staffs. Winners Appearances by player The following players ...

* 2017 Hungarian Player of the Year (M4 Sport Gála) * Best MLS Player ESPY Award:

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

Personal life

On 28 January 2011, Nikolić obtained Hungarian citizenship. András Cser-Palkovics, mayor of

Székesfehérvár Székesfehérvár (; ; ; ; Serbian language, Serbian: ''Стони Београд''; ), known colloquially as Fehérvár (), is a city in central Hungary, and the country's ninth-largest city. It is the Regions of Hungary, regional capital of C ...

said that "We know about him that he knows the country, speaks the language since he has big plans with Videoton this year". Nikolić said that "I knew that it is not easy to obtain Hungarian citizenship but I hoped that due to the fact that my mother is Hungarian it would be easier but it turned out to be a bit more difficult."

References

External links

Nemanja Nikolić
profile at magyarfutball.hu
Profile
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nikolic, Nemanja 1987 births Living people Footballers from Senta Men's association football forwards Serbia and Montenegro men's footballers Hungarian men's footballers Hungary men's international footballers Serbian men's footballers Hungarian people of Serbian descent Serbian people of Hungarian descent FK Senta players Barcsi SC footballers Kaposvölgye VSC footballers Kaposvári Rákóczi FC players Fehérvár FC players Legia Warsaw players Chicago Fire FC players Pendikspor footballers AEK Larnaca FC players Nemzeti Bajnokság I players Nemzeti Bajnokság II players Ekstraklasa players Major League Soccer players TFF 1. Lig players Cypriot First Division players Designated Players (MLS) Major League Soccer All-Stars UEFA Euro 2016 players UEFA Euro 2020 players Hungarian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Poland Hungarian expatriate sportspeople in Poland Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Hungarian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Hungarian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus Hungarian expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus 21st-century Hungarian sportsmen