Oka Nikolov
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 25 May 1974 | ||
| Place of birth | Erbach im Odenwald, West Germany | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1981–1989 | SG Sandbach | ||
| 1989–1991 | Darmstadt 98 | ||
| 1991–1993 | Eintracht Frankfurt | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1992–1996 | Eintracht Frankfurt II | 73 | (0) |
| 1995–2013 | Eintracht Frankfurt | 379 | (0) |
| 2013 | Philadelphia Union | 0 | (0) |
| 2014– | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 0 | (0) |
| National team | |||
| 1998–2001 | Macedonia | 5 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 25 November 2013. † Appearances (Goals). | |||
Orhej "Oka" Nikolov (Macedonian: Орхеј "Ока" Николов; born 25 May 1974) is professional football goalkeeper who currently plays for Fort Lauderdale Strikers in the North American Soccer League[1] and has played for the Macedonia national team.
He spent nineteen seasons with Eintracht Frankfurt, appearing in 413 official games over the course of 13 Bundesliga seasons (19 overall).[2][3]
Club career
Born Erbach im Odenwald, Hesse, West Germany, Nikolov grew up in Sandbach in Hesse, starting playing football with local SG Sandbach. At nearly 17 he joined Eintracht Frankfurt's youth system, going on to remain with the club until his retirement.
Nikolov started his senior career as backup, first to Uli Stein and then Andreas Köpke. After the latter left the team in June 1996 following the team's relegation from the Bundesliga he became first-choice, losing that status in early 2002 to newly-signed Dirk Heinen; he made his debut in the top division on 9 September 1995, playing the full 90 minutes in a 3–1 home win against 1. FC Kaiserslautern.
In the following years Nikolov was relatively played in every season, being an undisputed starter in five of those but only appearing once in the 2004–05 campaign as the Eagles achieved promotion from the second division, playing second-fiddle to Markus Pröll. In February 2007, after Pröll relapsed from his rib injury, he was reinstated by manager Friedhelm Funkel, contributing with 20 games to the team's permanence in the top level.
In January 2010, it was announced that the 35-year-old Nikolov would not renew his contract with Eintracht that was due to expire in the summer, but he eventually signed a new deal until 2012, and later until 2013.[4] In June 2013, Eintracht revealed that the goalkeeper's contract would be cancelled, effective immediately to allow Nikolov to fulfill his lifelong dream to play in the United States.[5] Thus, after 22 years of fidelity to Frankfurt, Nikolov left the club as Germany's most loyal Bundesliga player.
On 19 June 2013, Nikolov signed with the Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer.[6] He made his first start as a Union player on July 30, 2013 in a friendly against Stoke City playing 45 minutes. He was waived without appearing in a league match.
International career
Nikolov chose to represent the country of his ancestors, going on to win five caps for Macedonia in four years. Since he also possessed German nationality, because of that he couldn't acquire Macedonian passport and therefore was unable to play in official games under FIFA. His 5 appearances were only in friendlies.[7]
Honours
Club
References
- ↑ "Nikolov, Oka" (in German). kicker. Retrieved 16 July 2011.
- ↑ Feick, Michael (12 August 2010). "Oka Nikolov bleibt im Eintracht-Tor" [Oka Nikolov remains in Eintracht goal] (in German). Eintracht's official website. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
- ↑ "Nikolov kehrt zurück" [Nikolov returns] (in German). Frankfurter Neue Presse. 20 March 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
- ↑ "Oka Nikolov verlängert bis 2013" [Oka Nikolov renews until 2013] (in German). Frankfurter Rundschau. 14 November 2011. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
- ↑ "Frankfurt release Oka Nikolov" [Frankfurt release Oka Nikolov] (in German). Bundesliga.de. 18 June 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
- ↑ "Union sign veteran goalkeeper Oka Nikolov". Philadelphia Union. 19 June 2013. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
- ↑ "Oka Nikolov". MacedonianFootball. 12 January 2010. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
External links
- Eintracht Frankfurt official profile (German)
- Oka Nikolov at fussballdaten.de (German)
- Eintracht Frankfurt archives (German)
- profile at MacedonianFootball (English)
- Oka Nikolov at National-Football-Teams.com