Place of birth Split, Croatia Number 8 2010–2014 Hajduk Split | Playing position 2006–2009 Omladinac Vranjic Height 1.78 m | |
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Date of birth (1997-10-04) 4 October 1997 (age 19) Date joined 2014 (Croatia national under-18 football team, HNK Hajduk Split) Parents Joško Vlašić, Venera Vlašić Current teams HNK Hajduk Split (#8 / Midfielder, Forward), Croatia national under-21 football team (Midfielder) Siblings Blanka Vlašić, Luka Vlašić, Marin Vlašić Similar Josip Juranović, Toma Bašić, Fran Tudor, Zvonimir Kožulj, Ante Erceg | ||
Nikola vlas ic hajduk goals skills assists 14 15
Nikola Vlašić (born 4 October 1997) is a Croatian footballer who plays as a midfielder for Hajduk Split in the Prva HNL.
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In 2014, Vlašić made list of the world's top 40 footballers born in 1997, compiled by The Guardian.
Club career
Born in Split to the family of the athletics coach Joško Vlašić, as the younger brother of the world champion high jumper Blanka Vlašić, Nikola's future football career was viewed as a "project", though not aimed at profit, by his father, who started training him personally ever since he was 4 1⁄2 years old.
Vlašić went on to join the NK Omladinac Vranjic academy, before he was brought to HNK Hajduk Split, aged 12. He made his debut for the Croatia U16 national football team at the age of 14, playing regularly with older teammates at U17 and U18 levels as well. He excelled at youth club level as well, and in the 2013/2014 season he formed a potent midfield partnership for the Hajduk U17 team with Andrija Balić, which resulted in the team finishing the first half of the season in first place, without a single loss. The two then received and signed professional contracts, and were moved to the U19 team, where he played regularly.
He made his first team debut in the UEFA Europa League qualifying match on 17 July 2014, playing in the away match against Dundalk F.C.. Scoring on his debut, he became Hajduk Split's youngest scorer in international competitions, aged 16 years and 9 months, 2 months less than the previous record holder Mario Tičinović. That season, Vlašić went on to make 37 appearances in all competitions, scoring four goals.
On 30 June 2016, Hajduk announced that Vlašić had been appointed vice-captain of the club, with Lovre Kalinić continuing to be the captain. As Kalinić was on extended holidays as a result of being part of the Croatian squad at UEFA Euro 2016, Vlašić captained Hajduk for the first time on 14 July 2016, the season opening fixture; a 2-2 away draw against CS Municipal Studențesc Iași in the second round of the 2016–17 Europa League qualifying phase.