Nikola Mitrović (Serbian Cyrillic: Никола Митровић; born 2 January 1987) is a Serbian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Hungarian club BVSC-Zugló.

Nikola Mitrović
Mitrović playing for Újpest in 2010
Personal information
Date of birth (1987-01-02) 2 January 1987 (age 37)
Place of birth Kruševac, SFR Yugoslavia
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team
BVSC-Zugló
Number 18
Youth career
1997–2004 Napredak Kruševac
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004–2007 Napredak Kruševac 103 (5)
2007–2008 Partizan 15 (0)
2008Napredak Kruševac (loan) 16 (2)
2009 Volga Nizhny Novgorod 20 (2)
2010 Napredak Kruševac 14 (2)
2010–2011 Újpest 29 (1)
2011–2013 Videoton 55 (7)
2013–2016 Maccabi Tel Aviv 81 (4)
2016 Shanghai Shenxin 4 (0)
2016–2017 Bnei Yehuda 16 (0)
2017 Anorthosis 14 (1)
2017 Napredak Kruševac 12 (2)
2018 Wisła Kraków 15 (0)
2018–2019 Keşlə 25 (2)
2019–2020 Zalaegerszeg 31 (3)
2020–2022 Újpest 62 (5)
2022–2023 Budapest Honvéd 29 (0)
2023– BVSC-Zugló 15 (1)
International career
2004 Serbia and Montenegro U17[a] 3 (0)
2010 Serbia 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21 December 2023

Club career

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Early years

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In 1997, aged 10, Mitrović joined the youth system of his hometown club Napredak Kruševac. He was promoted to the senior squad in 2004. Over the next three seasons, Mitrović amassed over 100 competitive appearances for the side, as they were promoted to the top flight in 2007.

Partizan

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On 23 July 2007, Mitrović agreed to a three-year contract with Partizan.[1] He served mainly as a backup to Brazilian defensive midfielder Juca throughout the season, making 18 appearances (league and cup), as the club won the double. Due to strong competition in his position, Mitrović was loaned to his parent club Napredak Kruševac in the 2008 summer transfer window. He was transferred to Russian club Volga Nizhny Novgorod six months later, spending the entire year there, before again returning to Napredak Kruševac in early 2010.

Újpest and Videoton

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In the summer of 2010, Mitrović moved abroad for the second time and joined Hungarian club Újpest. He missed just one out of 30 league games, managing to score once in a 6–0 victory over Újpest's fierce rivals Ferencváros.[2] On 28 June 2011, Mitrović joined Hungarian champions Videoton, signing a two-year contract.[3] He was a regular in his debut season at the club, helping them win the League Cup. In the next 2012–13 campaign, Mitrović collected 50 appearances and netted nine goals in all competitions, both career-highs.

Maccabi Tel Aviv

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Mitrović in action against Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fàbregas on his UEFA Champions League debut in September 2015

On 4 August 2013, Mitrović moved to Israeli champions Maccabi Tel Aviv on a one-year deal with an extension option.[4] He was signed by his former Videoton manager Paulo Sousa who joined the club earlier that summer. After defending the league title with Maccabi in his debut season, Mitrović helped the side win the domestic treble in the following 2014–15 campaign. He subsequently made his UEFA Champions League debut in 2015–16, collecting four appearances in the group stage under his countryman Slaviša Jokanović. On 10 January 2016, it was announced that Mitrović would be leaving the club upon his request.[5]

Later years

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Just a few days following his departure from Maccabi, Mitrović joined China League One club Shanghai Shenxin. He stayed in Asia for only six months, before returning to Israel and signing for Bnei Yehuda in late August 2016.[6] In January of the following year, Mitrović moved to Cypriot club Anorthosis.[7]

In September 2017, Mitrović returned to his homeland and joined his parent club Napredak Kruševac on a free transfer. He scored the winning goal in a 1–0 home league win over Red Star Belgrade on 1 October 2017, chipping the ball from outside the box over Milan Borjan in the sixth minute of injury time.[8][9]

In January 2018, Mitrović moved to Poland and joined Ekstraklasa club Wisła Kraków for six months.[10]

In August 2018, Mitrović signed a one-year contract with Azerbaijani club Keşlə.[11]

In July 2019, Mitrović returned to Hungary after six years and signed with Zalaegerszeg.

International career

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In April 2010, Mitrović made his full international debut for Serbia, coming on as a substitute for Ljubomir Fejsa in a friendly against Japan, an eventual 3–0 success.

Career statistics

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Club

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As of 27 June 2020[12][13][14]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Continental Other Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Napredak Kruševac 2004–05 31 1 31 1
2005–06 37 3 37 3
2006–07 35 1 35 1
Total 103 5 103 5
Partizan 2007–08 15 0 3 0 0 0 18 0
Napredak Kruševac (loan) 2008–09 16 2 2 0 18 2
Volga Nizhny Novgorod 2009 20 2 1 0 21 2
Napredak Kruševac 2009–10 14 2 0 0 14 2
Újpest 2010–11 29 1 5 2 0 0 34 3
Videoton 2011–12 28 1 6 0 9 1 2 0 1[b] 0 46 2
2012–13 27 6 5 0 6 3 11 0 1[b] 0 50 9
Total 55 7 11 0 15 4 13 0 2 0 96 11
Maccabi Tel Aviv 2013–14 33 2 0 0 0 0 8 0 41 2
2014–15 34 2 2 1 5 1 0 0 41 4
2015–16 14 0 0 0 2 0 9 0 1[c] 0 26 0
Total 81 4 2 1 7 1 17 0 1 0 108 6
Shanghai Shenxin 2016 4 0 0 0 4 0
Bnei Yehuda 2016–17 16 0 1 0 1 0 18 0
Anorthosis 2016–17 14 1 4 0 18 1
Napredak Kruševac 2017–18 12 2 1 0 13 2
Wisła Kraków 2017–18 15 0 0 0 15 0
Keşlə 2018–19 25 2 2 0 0 0 27 2
Zalaegerszeg 2019–20 31 3 1 0 32 3
Újpest 2020–21 30 4 4 0 0 0 34 4
Career total 480 35 37 3 23 5 30 0 3 0 573 43
  1. ^ Only official UEFA matches included
  2. ^ a b Appearance in Szuperkupa
  3. ^ Appearance in Israel Super Cup

International

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Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Serbia 2010 1 0
Total 1 0

Honours

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Partizan
Videoton
Maccabi Tel Aviv

References

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  1. ^ "Mitrović novo pojačanje Partizana!" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 23 July 2007. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  2. ^ "Megalázó verést kapott Újpesten a Fradi" (in Hungarian). origo.hu. 11 September 2010. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  3. ^ "Nikola Mitrovics is nálunk folytatja" (in Hungarian). vidi.hu. 28 June 2011. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  4. ^ "MTA SIGN SERBIAN MIDFIELDER NIKOLA MITROVIC". maccabi-tlv.co.il. 4 August 2013. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  5. ^ "NIKOLA MITROVIC LEAVING". maccabi-tlv.co.il. 10 January 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  6. ^ "בני יהודה: ניקולה מיטרוביץ' חתם לעונה עם אופציה לעונה נוספת" (in Hebrew). walla.co.il. 31 August 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  7. ^ "Ανορθωσιάτης ο Νίκολα Μίτροβιτς (δηλώσεις)" (in Greek). anorthosisfc.com.cy. 23 January 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  8. ^ "Mitrović lobom u 96' kaznio Zvezdu!" (in Serbian). b92.net. 1 October 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
  9. ^ "Zvezda na kolenima: Napredak do pobede u 96!" (in Serbian). mondo.rs. 1 October 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
  10. ^ "Nikola Mitrović piłkarzem Wisły" (in Polish). wisla.krakow.pl. 8 January 2018. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
  11. ^ "Keşlə FK növbəti transfer reallaşdırdı" (in Azerbaijani). keshlafc.az. 9 August 2018. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  12. ^ "Mitrovic, Nikola" (in Hungarian). nela.hu. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  13. ^ "MITROVIC NIKOLA" (in Hungarian). mlsz.hu. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  14. ^ "ניקולה מיטרוביץ'" (in Hebrew). football.org.il. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
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