Nikola Pokrivač facts for kids
Pokrivač in 2010
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 26 November 1985 | ||
| Place of birth | Čakovec, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia | ||
| Date of death | 18 April 2025 (aged 39) | ||
| Place of death | Karlovac, Croatia | ||
| Height | 1.85 m | ||
| Playing position | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1995–1997 | Bratstvo Jurovec | ||
| 1997–2001 | Čakovec | ||
| 2001–2004 | Varteks | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2002–2006 | NK Varteks | 68 | (1) |
| 2003–2004 | → Međimurje (loan) | ||
| 2007–2008 | Dinamo Zagreb | 30 | (5) |
| 2008–2009 | Monaco | 32 | (2) |
| 2009–2011 | Red Bull Salzburg | 30 | (4) |
| 2011–2013 | Dinamo Zagreb | 15 | (2) |
| 2013 | → Inter Zaprešić (loan) | 12 | (0) |
| 2013–2014 | HNK Rijeka | 16 | (2) |
| 2014–2015 | Shakhter Karagandy | 22 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | Maccabi Petah Tikva | 0 | (0) |
| 2016–2017 | Slaven Belupo | 11 | (1) |
| 2021–2023 | Pušća | 46 | (13) |
| 2023–2024 | GNK Tigar Sveta Nedelja | 27 | (0) |
| 2024–2025 | Vojnić '95 | 21 | (0) |
| National team | |||
| 2005–2006 | Croatia U21 | 8 | (0) |
| 2008–2010 | Croatia | 15 | (0) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2019 | Rudeš (assistant) | ||
| 2021–2022 | Ravnice (youth team coach) | ||
| 2022–2023 | Pušća (youth team coach) | ||
| 2023–2024 | Rudeš (youth team coach) | ||
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Nikola Pokrivač was a professional footballer from Croatia. He played as a midfielder. He was born on November 26, 1985, and passed away on April 18, 2025.
Contents
Playing for Clubs
Starting His Career
Nikola Pokrivač began playing football at a young age. He started with an amateur team called Bratstvo Jurovec. Later, he joined youth teams at Čakovec and NK Varteks. In the summer of 2004, he joined Varteks' main team.
He played his first senior league game for Varteks on August 7, 2004. By 2005, he became a regular player for the club. He also played in European matches, like the UEFA Intertoto Cup in 2005 and the UEFA Cup qualifiers in 2006. In 2006, Varteks reached the final of the Croatian Football Cup, but they lost to HNK Rijeka.
Joining Dinamo Zagreb
Because he played so well at Varteks, Nikola moved to Dinamo Zagreb, one of Croatia's top clubs. This happened during the winter break of the 2006–07 season. He quickly became an important player for Dinamo. He helped them win both the Croatian league and cup titles in 2007. He also gained more experience in European games, playing in the UEFA Champions League qualifiers and the UEFA Cup.
Playing in France with Monaco
On January 30, 2008, Nikola moved to France to play for AS Monaco. He signed a four-and-a-half-year contract. His first game in the French league was on February 23, 2008, against Paris Saint-Germain. He played regularly for a few months. During his second season with Monaco, he scored his first goal in the French league on October 29, 2008. This was in Monaco's 3–1 win against Nancy. He also helped set up another goal in that game. A month later, he scored the only goal in Monaco's 1–0 win against Auxerre.
Moving to Red Bull Salzburg
On August 24, 2009, Nikola signed a three-year contract with Red Bull Salzburg in Austria. He played his first game for them on August 29, 2009. He came into the game as a substitute and scored his first goal for the club just six minutes later. This helped Salzburg win 4–0.
He scored another goal for Salzburg on September 26, 2009. On October 4, 2009, he had a fantastic game where he helped Salzburg score three goals in the first half. He set up the first goal, then scored the second himself, and then helped set up the third goal.
Returning to Dinamo Zagreb
On August 16, 2011, Nikola Pokrivač signed a four-year contract to play for Dinamo Zagreb again.
Loan to Inter Zaprešić
During the winter of 2012-13, Nikola was loaned to Inter Zaprešić. He played for them for the rest of that season.
Joining HNK Rijeka
On June 7, 2013, Nikola signed a two-year contract with HNK Rijeka.
Playing for Shakhter Karagandy
In the summer of 2014, Nikola moved to Kazakhstan to play for Shakhter Karagandy.
Slaven Belupo and Ending Professional Career
In 2015, Nikola was diagnosed with a serious illness called Hodgkin lymphoma. After getting better, he joined Slaven Belupo in Croatia. He scored his last professional goal in April 2016 against his old club, HNK Rijeka. However, his illness returned in 2016 and 2017. He needed a special medical procedure called a bone marrow transplant, and his mother, Ana, was his donor. After fully recovering, he announced in November 2017 that he was retiring from professional football.
Playing Amateur Football
In September 2021, Nikola returned to football, but this time as an amateur player. He joined NK Pušća, a team in the sixth division. In his second season there, his team won their league and a local cup. After that, Nikola moved to GNK Tigar, a fifth-division club. A year later, he moved to another fifth-division club, Vojnić '95.
Playing for His Country
Youth National Teams
Nikola Pokrivač played for Croatia's national youth teams. He represented his country at the under-17, under-19, and under-21 levels. Between 2001 and 2006, he played 39 international games for Croatia's youth teams and scored three goals.
Senior National Team
On May 5, 2008, Nikola was called up to play for the Croatia national team at the senior level. He was part of the 23-player squad for the UEFA Euro 2008 tournament. His first game for the national team was on May 24, 2008, in a friendly match against Moldova. At the UEFA Euro 2008 finals, he played in Croatia's last group match against Poland, which Croatia won 1–0.
Nikola played in five games during Croatia's qualifying campaign for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He played against teams like Kazakhstan and England. In total, he played 15 games for the Croatian national team. His last international game was a friendly match against Norway in October 2010.
Personal Life
Nikola Pokrivač was married to Katarina Pokrivač. They had one daughter together. He bravely battled Hodgkin lymphoma, a serious illness, and underwent treatment.
Career Statistics
Club Appearances
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Europe | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| NK Varteks | 2002–03 | Prva HNL | 5 | 0 | – | – | – | 5 | 0 | |||
| 2004–05 | 20 | 1 | 5 | 0 | – | – | 25 | 1 | ||||
| 2005–06 | 28 | 0 | 8 | 1 | – | 6 | 0 | 42 | 1 | |||
| 2006–07 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 2 | 0 | 18 | 0 | |||
| Međimurje Čakovec (loan) | 2003–04 | Druga HNL | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Dinamo Zagreb | 2006–07 | Prva HNL | 13 | 0 | 4 | 0 | – | – | 17 | 0 | ||
| 2007–08 | 17 | 5 | 1 | 0 | – | 10 | 0 | 28 | 5 | |||
| Monaco | 2007–08 | Ligue 1 | 9 | 0 | – | – | – | 9 | 0 | |||
| 2008–09 | 24 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | 28 | 3 | |||
| Red Bull Salzburg | 2009–10 | Austrian Bundesliga | 22 | 4 | 1 | 0 | – | 6 | 0 | 29 | 4 | |
| 2010–11 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | – | 7 | 1 | 17 | 3 | |||
| Dinamo Zagreb | 2011–12 | Prva HNL | 11 | 2 | 4 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | 16 | 2 | |
| 2012–13 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | |||
| Inter Zaprešić (loan) | 2012–13 | Prva HNL | 12 | 0 | – | – | – | 12 | 0 | |||
| HNK Rijeka | 2013–14 | Prva HNL | 16 | 2 | 2 | 0 | – | 8 | 1 | 26 | 3 | |
| Shakhter Karagandy | 2014 | Kazakhstan Premier League | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 6 | 1 | 17 | 1 | |
| 2015 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 14 | 0 | ||||
| Maccabi Petah Tikva | 2015–16 | Israeli Premier League | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 0 | 0 | |||
| Slaven Belupo | 2015–16 | Prva HNL | 7 | 1 | 2 | 1 | – | – | 9 | 1 | ||
| 2016–17 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 4 | 0 | ||||
| 2017–18 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Career total | 237 | 17 | 36 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 47 | 3 | 321 | 21 | ||
International Appearances
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Croatia | 2008 | 5 | 0 |
| 2009 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2010 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 15 | 0 | |
Awards and Achievements
Nikola Pokrivač won several awards with his teams:
- Međimurje Čakovec
- Druga HNL: 2003-04
- Dinamo Zagreb
- Croatian First Football League: 2006-07, 2007-08, 2011-12
- Croatian Football Cup: 2007, 2008, 2012
- Red Bull Salzburg
- Austrian Football Bundesliga: 2009-10
- HNK Rijeka
- Croatian Football Cup: 2014
Images for kids
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Nikola Pokrivač in 2010
See also
In Spanish: Nikola Pokrivač para niños
