Nikola Ninković
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Nikola Ninković | ||
| Date of birth | 19 December 1994 | ||
| Place of birth | Bogatić, FR Yugoslavia | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Partizan | ||
| Number | 11 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Partizan | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2011– | Partizan | 62 | (8) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2011 | Serbia U17[1] | 7 | (3) |
| 2012– | Serbia U19[1] | 5 | (3) |
| 2012– | Serbia U21 | 4 | (2) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 26 May 2013. † Appearances (Goals). | |||
Nikola Ninković (Serbian Cyrillic: Никола Нинковић, born 19 December 1994) is a Serbian footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Serbian SuperLiga club Partizan. He has been cited as one of the most talented young football players in all of Europe.[2]
Club career
Partizan
On 11 July 2011, alongside Lazar Marković, Ninković signed his first professional contract with Partizan, on a five-year deal.[3][4] He made his official debut for the club in the second leg of the second qualifying round for the UEFA Champions League on 19 July 2011, coming on as a substitute for Zvonimir Vukić, against Shkëndija.[5] Ninković made his league debut against Rad on 31 March 2012.
On 11 August 2012, Ninković scored his first goal for Partizan in a 7–0 home victory over BSK Borča. After only a couple of weeks into the 2012 season, he garnered interest from Tottenham Hotspur,[6] S.S. Lazio,[7] and Borussia Dortmund.[2]
Ninković surpassed Stevan Jovetić as youngest Partizan captain ever on October 31, 2012. Ninković was 17 years, 10 months and 12 days old. [8] He held this honour until he was surpassed by Andrija Živković.
International career
"God gave him an enormous talent and an unbelievable feel for dribbling...He's our Zinedine Zidane and when the time comes, I'm sure he will become the most valuable player in the history of Serbian football."
Nikola Ninković has been capped by the Serbian national sides up to the under-21 level. At the 2012 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, he scored a remarkable goal against England U-19 from a corner kick position.[9] On 7 September 2012, by scoring with a long-distance shot against Denmark U21, Ninković sent Serbia's U-21 team to the qualification play-offs for the 2013 UEFA European U21 Football Championship. Serbia's U21 side would go on to lose thin losses against England's U21 team over both legs, and on 25 October 2012, the Football Association of Serbia suspended Ninković and Ognjen Mudrinski from playing in all national teams for a year, following incidents at the Under-21 international against England in Kruševac on 16 October 2012.[10]
Career statistics
- As of end of 2013-2014 season
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Partizan | 2011–12 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 2012–13 | 21 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 27 | 4 | |
| 2013–14 | 19 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 26 | 4 | |
| Total | 44 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 60 | 8 | |
Honours
- Partizan Belgrade
- Serbian SuperLiga (2): 2011–12, 2012–13
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Only official UEFA matches included
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Sport Bild. "Top-Klubs jagen den Serbien-Zidane – auch der BVB!".
- ↑ "Partizan osvežio vezni red svojim talentima, Ninkovićem i Markovićem" (in Serbian). blic.rs. 11 July 2011. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
- ↑ "Marković i Ninković profesionalci!" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 11 July 2011. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
- ↑ "Polished Partizan prevail against Shkëndija". uefa.com. 19 July 2011. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
- ↑ Tribalfootball – Partizan Belgrade warn Tottenham off Nikola Ninkovic Retrieved 27 September 2012.
- ↑ Sportal (Serbian) – Italijanski mediji: Lacio hoće Ninkovića (English: "Italian media: Lazio wants Ninkovic") Retrieved 24 September 2012.
- ↑ Ninković nasledio Jovetića i postao najmlađi kapiten u istoriji Partizana. Blic.rs (31 October 2012). Retrieved on 13 September 2013.
- ↑ Sportal (Serbian) – EP (U-19): Novi poraz "orlića", majstorija Ninkovića Retrieved 6 July 2012.
- ↑ Soccer-Serbian FA suspends Under-21 players for England fracas, Retrieved 25 October 2012.
External links
- Nikola Ninković at utakmica.rs
- Nikola Ninković – UEFA competition record
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