Nikola Žigić

Nikola Žigić

Personal information
Full name	Nikola Žigić
Date of birth	September 25, 1980 (1980-09-25) (age 30)
Place of birth	Bačka Topola, Yugoslavia
Height	2.02 m (6 ft 7 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Birmingham City
Number	19
Youth career
1991–1998	Bačka Topola
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1998–2001	Bačka Topola	76	(68)
2002	Mornar Bar	23	(15)
2002	Kolubara Lazarevac	8	(3)
2003	Spartak Subotica	11	(14)
2003–2006	Red Star	79	(47)
2006–2007	Racing Santander	32	(11)
2007–2010	Valencia	28	(5)
2009	→ Racing Santander (loan)	19	(13)
2010–	Birmingham City	2	(0)
National team‡
2004–	Serbia	49	(16)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:00, 21 August 2010 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 08:03, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

Nikola Žigić (Serbian: Никола Жигић, born 25 September 1980) is a Serbian footballer who plays for Birmingham City in the Premier League as a centre forward.

At 2.02 m (6 ft 7 ¹⁄₂ in),^[1][2] Žigić is one of the tallest players in the world playing for a top flight football club. He is known for using his height to his advantage, scoring a lot of goals with his head, and using his strength to muscle his way past defenders, and to get to the ball before his opponent.

Club career

Red Star

Born in Bačka Topola, Serbia, Žigić started playing with modest local teams, netting at an impressive rate, after which he joined country giants Red Star Belgrade in 2003. During his years at the club, he played 110 matches and scored 71 goals in all competitions (cup, league and European competitions).

Racing de Santander

On 29 August 2006, Žigić signed a four-year contract with Spanish side Racing de Santander. On 1 April 2007, he scored his first hat-trick in Spain's top flight, in a 5–4 win over Athletic Bilbao.^[3] While at Racing, he formed a formidable duo with diminutive veteran forward Pedro Munitis, and netted 12 league goals during the season.

Valencia

On 8 August 2007, Sky Sports understood that Valencia CF had offered Racing €19 million for Žigić, handing the player a lucrative five-year contract. Numerous other clubs, such as SV Werder Bremen and Manchester City attempted to sign him, but Valencia eventually signed the player, announcing the £20 million deal on their official website the following day. After passing a physical the next day, Žigić was introduced at the Estadio Mestalla.^[4]

Žigić's first goal for Valencia came in a Spanish Cup match against Real Unión, adding another to turn the match around, as Valencia won 2–1. However he was unsuccessful in nailing down a starting place in the team under coach Ronald Koeman, who mostly used him as a sub or not at all. Žigić's first and only league goal came on 22 December 2007 at Real Zaragoza. Valencia again came from behind and earned a 2–2 draw. It was made clear in January that he turned down the opportunity to join English side Portsmouth on loan for the remainder of the season.^[5]

After some speculation regarding moves to the Premier League,^[6][7] and a thwarted loan return to former side Racing Santander, Žigić finally agreed to stay and fight for a place in 2008–09's Valencia.

Eventually, after having failed to appear in any league matches, being restricted to domestic and UEFA Cup matches, and scoring in both competitions, he was loaned in late December 2008 to former side Santander.^[8][9] In June 2009, it was suggested that Žigić could be signed to Sunderland,^[10] but nothing came of it.

Žigić was then loaned to a former team, Racing, until the end of the season. On January 4, 2009, in his first game in his second spell with the Cantabrians, Žigić scored the game's only goal in a win at Real Valladolid, repeating the feat in a win at Getafe CF, two matchdays later, and again the following week on January 25 away at Sevilla FC. He finished his second spell with 13 goals in only 19 matches, squad best, and subsequently returned to Valencia, where he continued to be rarely used in the league.

Profitting from a rare chance in the league with the Che, Žigić headed in the game's only goal at home to RCD Espanyol, on January 2, 2010, in the 93rd minute. On the 13th, he added a brace at Deportivo de La Coruña for the domestic cup, putting Valencia 2–0 up at halftime, in an eventual 2–2 draw (4–3 aggregate loss); on a more positive note, he replaced starter David Villa at RCD Espanyol on May 1, netting both goals in a 2–0 win (both with his feet).

Birmingham City

On 26 May 2010, Žigić signed a four-year contract with English Premier League club Birmingham City, for an undisclosed fee.^[11] Media speculation suggested the fee to be in the region of £6 million.^[12] He made his debut away at Sunderland coming off the bench in the 58th minute, he produced two attempts on target.

Career statistics

As of 24 August 2010

International career

Although he attracted much attention for his performances with Red Star in the Serbo-Montenegrin league, Žigić only gained a regular place in the national team in mid-2005, after having made his debut the previous year under coach Ilija Petković.

He scored a couple of goals in some friendlies, but it was his substitute appearance in a crucial 2006 World Cup qualifier against Spain in Madrid during September 2005 that brought him international recognition. After an atrocious first-half at the Vicente Calderón Stadium, during which Serbia-Montenegro rarely crossed the centre line, only being 1–0 down, coach Petković threw Žigić into the mix, and his towering presence up front changed the flow of the match instantly. He would later set up the equalizer, also providing Mateja Kežman with a 2–1 chance, but the ball was clipped wide of Iker Casillas' gaping half-empty net. However, Serbia got the key away point and confirmed their World Cup qualification at home in Belgrade versus Bosnia-Herzegovina, with Žigić again nicely setting up Kežman for the game's only goal.

Žigić's only start of the 2006 FIFA World Cup came in the nation's final Group C match, when the team was already eliminated. He scored an early goal in the 10th minute of the first half off a long ball from Dejan Stanković against Ivory Coast, in a 3–2 loss.^[13]

Still an automatic choice under new national manager Javier Clemente, his form took a dip. On 24 March 2007, Žigić received a red card during the Euro 2008 qualifications against Kazakhstan, seconds before the end of the game. This caused him to miss the home game against Portugal (against Finland, on 2 June 2007, he was also not available due to surgery on a facial injury he received on 27 May).^[14]

International goals

List of goals Nikola scored for Serbia and Montenegro's and Serbia's national team. ^[15]

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	8 Jun 2005	Rogers Centre, Toronto, Canada	Italy	1–0	1–1	Friendly
2.	15 August 2005	Lobanovsky Dynamo Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine	Poland	1–1	3–2	Friendly
3.	13 November 2005	Wutaisha Stadium, Nanjing, China	China PR	0–2	0–2	Friendly
4.	21 Jun 2006	Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany	Côte d'Ivoire	0–1	2–3	2006 FIFA World Cup
5.	2 September 2006	Stadion Crvena Zvezda, Beograd, Serbia	Azerbaijan	1–0	1–0	UEFA Euro 2008 qual.
6.	7 October 2006	Stadion Crvena Zvezda, Beograd, Serbia	Belgium	1–0	1–0	UEFA Euro 2008 qual.
7.	11 October 2006	Stadion Crvena Zvezda, Beograd, Serbia	Armenia	3–0	3–0	UEFA Euro 2008 qual.
8.	24 March 2007	Almaty Central Stadium, Almaty, Kazakhstan	Kazakhstan	2–1	2–1	UEFA Euro 2008 qual.
9.	17 October 2007	Tofik Bakhramov Stadium, Baku, Azerbaijan	Azerbaijan	0–2	1–6	UEFA Euro 2008 qual.
10.	17 October 2007	Tofik Bakhramov Stadium, Baku, Azerbaijan	Azerbaijan	1–4	1–6	UEFA Euro 2008 qual.
11.	21 November 2007	Stadion Crvena Zvezda, Beograd, Serbia	Poland	1–2	2–2	UEFA Euro 2008 qual.
12.	6 September 2008	Stadion Crvena Zvezda, Beograd, Serbia	Faroe Islands	2–0	2–0	2010 World Cup qual.
13.	11 October 2008	Stadion Crvena Zvezda, Beograd, Serbia	Lithuania	3–0	3–0	2010 World Cup qual.
14.	1 April 2009	Stadion Partizan, Beograd, Serbia	Sweden	1–0	2–0	Friendly
15.	10 October 2009	Stadion Crvena Zvezda, Beograd, Serbia	Romania	1–0	5–0	2010 World Cup qual.
16.	18 November 2009	Craven Cottage, London, England	Korea Republic	0–1	0–1	Friendly

Honours

Red Star

• Serbia and Montenegro League: 2003–04, 2005–06
• Serbia and Montenegro Cup: 2003–04, 2005–06

Valencia

• Spanish Cup: 2007–08

Individual

• Serbia's Player of the Year: 2003, 2005, 2006
• Serbia and Montenegro League: Topscorer 2003–04

References

External links

• National team data (Serbian)
• BDFutbol profile
• Nikola Žigić at National-Football-Teams.com

Serbia and Montenegro squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup 1 Jevrić • 2 Ergić • 3 Dragutinović • 4 Duljaj • 5 Vidić • 6 Gavrančić • 7 Koroman • 8 Kežman • 9 Milošević (c) • 10 Stanković • 11 P. Đorđević • 12 Kovačević • 13 Basta • 14 N. Đorđević • 15 Dudić • 16 D. Petković • 17 Nađ • 18 Vukić • 19 Žigić • 20 Krstajić • 21 Ljuboja • 22 Ilić • 23 Stojković • Coach: I. Petković

Serbia squad – 2010 FIFA World Cup 1 Stojković • 2 Rukavina • 3 Kolarov • 4 Kačar • 5 Vidić • 6 Ivanović • 7 Tošić • 8 Lazović • 9 Pantelić • 10 Stanković (c) • 11 Milijaš • 12 Isailović • 13 Luković • 14 Jovanović • 15 Žigić • 16 Obradović • 17 Krasić • 18 Ninković • 19 Petrović • 20 Subotić • 21 Mrđa • 22 Kuzmanović • 23 Đuričić • Coach: Antić