Nikola Vignjević
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Nikola Vignjević | ||
| Date of birth | March 12, 1971 | ||
| Place of birth | Belgrade, SFR Yugoslavia | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Alberta Golden Bears (Technical Coach) | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| Čukarički | |||
| Železnik | |||
| 1996-98, '01 | Cleveland Crunch (indoor) | 89 | (97) |
| 1998-2001 | Edmonton Drillers (indoor) | 85 | (103) |
| 1998-2003 | Toronto Lynx | 130 | (29) |
| 2003 | Metro Lions | 6 | (0) |
| 2002 | Harrisburg Heat (indoor) | 10 | (5) |
| 2003 | Kansas City Attack (indoor) | 14 | (3) |
| 2004 | Edmonton Aviators | 24 | (3) |
| 2007-2009 | Edmonton Drillers (indoor) | ||
| National team | |||
| Serbia Futsal | |||
| Teams managed | |||
| 2009- | Alberta Golden Bears (Technical Coach) | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). | |||
Nikola Vignjević (Serbian Cyrillic: Никола Вигњевић) (born March 12, 1971 in Belgrade) is a former Serbian soccer player, who currently works as Technical coach by Alberta Golden Bears and the Greater St.Albert Sports Academy. While playing for the Lynx, he was commonly referred to as Niki and Nikki.
Career
Vignjević signed with the Cleveland Crunch of the National Professional Soccer League in 1996 and became an instant success in the indoor game. He had 58 goals and 35 assists as a rookie to help Cleveland win the championship, then played only 17 games the next season due to injury. He played 2 1/2 seasons for the Edmonton Drillers before being traded back to Cleveland. He had career highs of 61 goals and 63 assists in 40 games for the Drillers in the 1998-99 season. He split the 2002-03 season between the Harrisburg Heat and Kansas City Attack.
Vignjević also excelled outdoors after signing with the Toronto Lynx in 1998. He enjoyed six successful seasons with the Lynx. Vignjević had scored 29 goals and recorded 24 assists in his Lynx career which makes him the all-time leader in goals and assists for the Lynx. In 1998 Vignjević was named Lynx Best Offensive Player, and in 1999 he was named Most Valuable Player. He helped the Lynx reach the playoffs in 2000. At the conclusion of the 2003 season he signed with the Metro Lions of the Canadian Professional Soccer League. He made his debut for the club on September 3, 2003 in a match against Brampton Hitmen.[1] He helped improve the club's record, but unfortuantely was to late in the season to clinch a playoff berth.
In 2004, Vignjević signed for the Edmonton Aviators where he scored 3 goals and recorded 2 assists; at the end of the season, Vignjević announced his retirement after seven successful seasons in the USL First Division. He was listed on the 2008-09 roster of the Edmonton Drillers indoor team.[2]
Coaching career
After his retirement 2009 was named as the Technical coach of the Alberta Golden Bears. He also coaches for the Edmonton Warriors Youth Soccer Club.[3]
His brother Nebojša (former team-mate with the Lynx) is a head coach in Serbia's top flight.
Sources
- ↑ Glover, Robin. "September 3, 2003 CPSL Metro Lions vs Brampton Hitmen (by Rocket Robin)". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2015-04-19.
- ↑ "2008 Edmonton Drillers Roster". Retrieved 2008-07-07.
- ↑ GBS.pdf 2009-10 Golden Bears soccer roster