Nikola Vlašić
 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 4 October 1997 | ||
| Place of birth | Split, Croatia | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder, Winger | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Hajduk Split | ||
| Number | 8 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2006–2009 | Omladinac Vranjic | ||
| 2010–2014 | Hajduk Split | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2014– | Hajduk Split | 62 | (4) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2012–2013 | Croatia U16 | 8 | (1) |
| 2013 | Croatia U17 | 8 | (1) |
| 2014 | Croatia U18 | 2 | (1) |
| 2015 | Croatia U19 | 3 | (0) |
| 2015– | Croatia U21 | 4 | (0) |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 1 August 2016. | |||
Nikola Vlašić (born 4 October 1997) is a Croatian footballer who plays as a midfielder for Hajduk Split in the Prva HNL.
In 2014, Vlašić made list of the world's top 40 footballers born in 1997, compiled by The Guardian.[1]
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.[2]
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,[3] 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,[4] 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.[5] That season, Vlašić went on to make 37 appearances in all competitions, scoring four goals.[6]
On 30 June 2016, Hajduk announced that Vlašić had been appointed vice-captain of the club, with Lovre Kalinić continuing to be the captain.[7] 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.[8]
Career statistics
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Hajduk Split | 2014–15 | 27 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 37 | 4 |
| 2015–16 | 23 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 34 | 2 | |
| 2016–17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | |
| Total | 52 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 76 | 6 | |
| Last Update: 1 August 2016[9] | |||||||||
References
- ↑ "Next Generation 2014: 40 of the best young talents in world football". The Guardian. 14 October 2014. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
- ↑ "Joško Vlašić: Nije Nikola projekt za zaradu" (in Croatian). Večernji list. 22 February 2014. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
- ↑ "Statistics - Caps: Nikola Vlašić". Croatian Football Federation. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
- ↑ "Potpisali Vlašić, Hairlahović i Balić: Očekujemo puno od njih" (in Croatian). 24sata. 16 January 2014. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
- ↑ "Hajduk slavio u Irskoj: Nikola Vlašić najmlađi strijelac 'bijelih' u povijesti!" (in Croatian). Gol.hr. 17 July 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
- ↑ http://hajduk.hr/prva-momcad/nikola-vlasic/8
- ↑ http://hajduk.hr/vijest/kalinic-je-kapetan--a-nikola-vlasic-njegov-nasljednik/7423
- ↑ http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/season=2017/matches/round=2000789/match=2020096/postmatch/index.html
- ↑ "Nikola Vlasic > Club Matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nikola Vlašić. |
- Nikola Vlašić at Croatian Football Statistics (Croatian)
- Nikola Vlašić at hajduk.hr
- Nikola Vlašić at the Croatian Football Federation website (Croatian)