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

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

manager and former player. After playing for

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 ...

's national under-21 team, Drinčić represented

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

at senior level between 2007 and 2014.

Club career

Early years

After spending his development years in Partizan'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''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...

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 matc ...

Amkar Perm, Spartak Moscow and Krasnodar

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

Amkar Perm FC Amkar Perm ( ) is a professional football club. Originally founded in 1994, it is based in the city of Perm. It was a participant in second-tier football from 1995 and in the Russian Premier League from 2004 to 2018, after which it was dissol ...

. Over the following three years, Drinčić made 81 league appearances and scored four goals for the side. In January 2010, Drinčić joined Spartak Moscow on a free transfer. He however broke his

shinbone The tibia (; : tibiae or tibias), 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 t ...

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 (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

debut in a 1–4 away loss to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, coming off the bench in 67th minute as substitute for Aleksandr Sheshukov. On 8 December 2010, he made assist in a 1–2 away victory against

Žilina Žilina (; ; ; ; Names of European cities in different languages: U-Z#Z, 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 List of cities ...

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

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

club

Krasnodar Krasnodar, 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 Russia, with a population of 1,154,885 residents, and up to 1.263 millio ...

. 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 Partizan 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) is a List of cities in Serbia, city located in the Raška District of southwestern Serbia. As of the 2022 census, the urban area has 71,462 inhabitants, while the city administrative area has 106,720 inha ...

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. 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 referred to as Crvena zvezda () and colloquially referred to as Red Star Belgrade in anglophone media, is a ...

. 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 The 2014–15 UEFA Europa League group stage was played from 18 September to 11 December 2014. A total of 48 teams competed in the group stage to decide 24 of the 32 places in the knockout phase of the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League. Draw The draw ...

. 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 Rad. 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 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 Rad 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 administrative division, autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia, located in Central Europe. It lies withi ...

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

, 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, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

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, 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 ...

against

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

Playing statistics

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

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

;Partizan *

Serbian SuperLiga The Serbian Super League (), also known as Mozzart SuperLiga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Serbia and the highest level of the Serbian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a sys ...

: 2014–15 ;Vojvodina *

Serbian Cup The Serbian Cup ( Serbian: Куп Србије / Kup Srbije), also known as Mozzart Serbian Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the national football cup of Serbia. The winner of the competition gets a spot in the UEFA Europa League qualifying round. ...

: 2019–20 ;Serbia * UEFA Under-21 Championship: Runner-up

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

Individual

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

Player of the Week: 2020–21 (Round 12)

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Drincic, Nikola 1984 births Living people Footballers from Belgrade Serbian people of Montenegrin descent Men's association football midfielders Serbia and Montenegro men's footballers Serbian men's footballers Serbia men's under-21 international footballers Montenegrin men's footballers Montenegro men's 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 men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Montenegrin expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Expatriate men's footballers in Russia Montenegrin expatriate sportspeople in Russia Expatriate men's footballers in Israel Montenegrin expatriate sportspeople in Israel Serbian football managers FK Zemun managers FK Radnički Niš managers Serbian SuperLiga managers