Nikola Jovanović

Nikola Jovanović

Personal information
Full name	Nikola Jovanović
Date of birth	18 September 1952 (1952-09-18) (age 59)
Place of birth	Cetinje, SFR Yugoslavia
Height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Playing position	Defender
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1975–1980	Red Star Belgrade	85	(1)
1980–1982	Manchester United	21	(4)
1981–1982	→ Budućnost Podgorica (loan)	12	(1)
1982–?	Budućnost Podgorica	?	(?)
National team
1979-1982	Yugoslavia	7	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Nikola "Nikki" Jovanović (Cyrillic: Hикoлa Joвaнoвић, born 18 September 1952 in Cetinje) is a retired Montenegrin footballer.

Club career

Jovanović was one of the most successful players of, then Yugoslav, giant Red Star where he played as a defender and had an impressive overall record of 359 matches and 50 goals for the Belgrade side.^[1] He than made history when he became the first Yugoslav footballer to play for leading English league side Manchester United, where he made 21 Football League appearances in the early 1980s after being signed by manager Dave Sexton. In addition, he was the first non-British player in the club's history.^[1] In January 1980, Manchester United made Jovanović one of the club's most expensively signed players at the time by paying £300,000 for his services to Red Star (it was Red Star's and Yugoslav First League record transfer fee at the time).^[1] However, his time at Old Trafford was short lived and he failed to justify his transfer fee. By the end of his first season he began suffering from chronic back pain and before long was on his way back to his native Yugoslavia.^[1] After being injured for almost two seasons he retired at the age of 31.^[1]

International career

Jovanović was capped seven times for the Yugoslavia national football team and was part of the squad at the 1982 FIFA World Cup.^[1]

Personal life

Born in Cetinje, present day Montenegro, he resides with his family in Mengeš, Slovenia.^[1] Before signing for Manchester United he turned down the offer from Bayern Munich and decided in favour of the English side.^[1]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} Rok Viškovič (27 May 2011). "Prvi tujec v zgodovini Man Utd živi v Sloveniji" (in Slovene). http://www.siol.net/sportal/nogomet/liga_prvakov/novice/2011/05/prvi_tujec_v_zgodovini_man_utd_zivi_v_sloveniji.aspx. Retrieved 27 May 2011. 

• (Serbian) Serbian national football team website

Persondata
Name	Jovanovic, Nikola
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	18 September 1952
Place of birth	Cetinje, SFR Yugoslavia
Date of death
Place of death