Nenad Nikolić (footballer, born 1961)

Nenad Nikolić
Personal information
Full name	Nenad Nikolić
Date of birth	20 August 1961
Place of birth	Lipljan, FPR Yugoslavia
Date of death	30 April 1999 (aged 37)
Place of death	Belgrade, FR Yugoslavia
Position(s)	Defender
Youth career
	Partizan
Senior career*
Years	Team
	Čukarički
	Žarkovo
	Čukarički
	Proleter Zrenjanin
1989–1990	Tacoma Stars
1990–1992	Proleter Zrenjanin
	Čukarički
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Nenad Nikolić (Serbian Cyrillic: Ненад Николић; 20 August 1961 – 30 April 1999) was a Serbian footballer who spent most of his career with FK Čukarički.

He was killed, at the age of 37, on 30 April 1999 during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia.

Early life

Nikolić was born in Lipljan, PR Serbia, FPR Yugoslavia. His father's name was Ljubomir. As a young child he moved to Zemun with his family, while a year later he moved to, Petlovo Brdo, where he lived until the death. He grew up with his twin sister Nada and his older brother Zoran. Since he was a young child, his talent and love for football was obvious. His desire and passion for football, made him spend day and night on the field.

Nikolić graduated from Gymnasium XIII in Belgrade, Serbia.

Family

Nikolić had a twin sister, Nada, and older brother, Zoran. Nikolić's godfather was Cypriot footballer Vesko Mihajlović. Nikolić married Snežana in 1991. He left behind two little children, at the time of his death, an eight-month-old Aleksandar, and a two-year-old Katarina.

Nikolić joined Tacoma Stars in the United States, but returned later, to open a food processing Family business shop in Banovo brdo, Belgrade, in the immediate vicinity of Čukarički Stadium. The shop still exists, renamed, NENAD.

Death

First NATO planes flew toward Yugoslavia on 24 March 1999. Nikolić, was a reservist in MUP Serbia, and assigned to guard the headquarters on Knez Miloša street. A month after the bombing had started, a bomb was dropped at the headquarters, while Nikolić was covering the nightshift, causing damages to the building and its surrounding area. Nikolić was not injured, but while he was trying to evacuate the injured people, a second bomb was dropped, and he was killed.^[1]

Legacy

Nenad Neša Nikolić Memorial Tournament

Nenad Neša Nikolić Memorial Tournament took place on FK Čukarički football field in 2014, and is held annually since then, to commemorate him. The tournament is supported by the Municipality of Čukarica.^[2]

Honors and awards

The Ministries of Foreign Affairs has a memorial in his name
Posthumously awarded the Order of Merit in the field of defense and security

References

^ "Spomen ploča Nenadu Nikoliću ubijenom u NATO bombardovanju". Radio-televizija Vojvodine. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
^ "Sećanje na Nenada Nešu Nikolića". www.fkcukaricki.rs. Retrieved 1 March 2017.

External links

[1] "Spomen ploča Nenadu Nikoliću ubijenom u NATO bombardovanju". Radio-televizija Vojvodine. Retrieved 1 March 2017.

[2] "Sećanje na Nenada Nešu Nikolića". www.fkcukaricki.rs. Retrieved 1 March 2017.

[1]

[2]