Years Team Name Jovica Nikolic Role Footballer | Height 1.87 m | |
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Date of birth (1959-07-11) 11 July 1959 (age 56) Place of birth Svetozarevo, SFR Yugoslavia | ||
Jovica Nikolić (Serbian Cyrillic: Joвицa Hикoлић; born 11 July 1959) is a Serbian retired footballer who played as a central midfielder, and a current manager.
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Club career
Nikolić was born in Svetozarevo, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. In his country, he played for FK Jagodina and Red Star Belgrade: with the latter he won two leagues and one cup, scoring a career-best eight goals in 22 games in his first season en route to the national championship, but being rarely used in his last two years combined (only 14 league appearances).
In the 1989 summer, aged 30, Nikolić was allowed to leave the country and signed for S.C. Salgueiros in Portugal, helping the club promote to the Primeira Liga in his first season. In the following campaign the Paranhos side overachieved for a final fifth place, with the subsequent qualification to the UEFA Cup – a first-ever – with the player netting six goals in 36 games; during most of his spell with the club, he shared teams with countrymen Čedomir Đoinčević and Stevan Milovac.
Nikolić retired from football at 36 years of age, after two seasons with F.C. Maia in the Portuguese third division. In late May 2008 he had his first coaching experience, being appointed at FC Ordabasy in Kazakhstan.
International career
Nikolić gained one cap for Yugoslavia, starting in a 1–2 home loss against East Germany for the 1986 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, on 28 September 1985 (match played in Belgrade).
Previously, in 1984, he played Olympic football, appearing in five games out of six and scoring three goals as the national team finished third in Los Angeles.