Nikola Žigić

Nikola Žigić
Никола Жигић

Personal information
Full name	Nikola Žigić[1]
Date of birth	(1980-09-25) 25 September 1980 (age 32)
Place of birth	Bačka Topola, SFR Yugoslavia
Height	2.02 m (6 ft 7 1⁄2 in)[2]
Playing position	Centre forward
Club information
Current club	Birmingham City
Number	19
Youth career
1991–1998	AIK Bačka Topola
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1998–2001	AIK Bačka Topola	76	(68)
2001–2002	Mornar	23	(15)
2002–2003	Kolubara	8	(3)
2003	Spartak Subotica	11	(14)
2003–2006	Red Star Belgrade	79	(47)
2006–2007	Racing Santander	32	(11)
2007–2010	Valencia	28	(5)
2009	→ Racing Santander (loan)	19	(13)
2010–	Birmingham City	95	(25)
National team‡
2004–2011	Serbia	57	(20)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19:19, 4 May 2013 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 22:27, 27 April 2013 (UTC)

Nikola Žigić (Serbian Cyrillic: Никола Жигић [nǐkola ʒǐːɡitɕ]; born 25 September 1980) is a Serbian footballer who plays for English club Birmingham City as a centre forward.

At 2.02 m (6 ft 7 ¹⁄₂ in),^[2][3] Žigić is among the tallest professional players in the world.

Club career [edit]

Red Star [edit]

Žigić began with modest local teams, netting at an impressive rate, after which he joined bigger club Red Star Belgrade in 2003. During his years at the club, he played 110 matches and scored 71 goals in all competitions^{[citation needed]} (cup, league and European competitions).

Racing Santander [edit]

On 29 August 2006, Žigić signed a four-year contract with Spanish side Racing de Santander. On 1 April 2007, he scored his first hat-trick in La Liga, in a 5–4 win over Athletic Bilbao.^[4] While at Racing, he formed a formidable duo with diminutive veteran forward Pedro Munitis, and netted 12 league goals during the 2006–07 season.

Valencia [edit]

On 8 August 2007, Sky Sports understood that Valencia CF had offered Racing €19 million for Žigić, handing the player a lucrative five-year contract. Numerous other clubs, such as SV Werder Bremen and Manchester City attempted to sign him, but Valencia eventually signed the player, announcing the £20 million deal on their official website the following day. After passing a medical the next day, Žigić was introduced at the Estadio Mestalla.^{[citation needed]}

Žigić's first goal for Valencia came in a Spanish Cup match against Real Unión, adding another to turn the match around, as Valencia won 2–1. However he was unsuccessful in nailing down a starting place in the team under coach Ronald Koeman, who mostly used him as a sub or not at all. His first and only league goal came on 22 December 2007 at Real Zaragoza, as Valencia again came from behind and earned a 2–2 draw. A loan to English club Portsmouth was mooted, but Koeman changed his mind about the player leaving.^[5]

After some speculation regarding moves to the Premier League,^[6][7] and a thwarted loan return to former side Racing Santander, Žigić finally agreed to stay and fight for a place in 2008–09's Valencia.

Žigić with Birmingham in 2010

Eventually, after having failed to appear in any league matches, being restricted to domestic and UEFA Cup matches, and scoring in both competitions, he was loaned in late December 2008 to former side Santander.^[8][9] In June 2009, there were rumours of a move to Sunderland,^[10] but nothing came of it.

Žigić was then loaned to a former team, Racing, until the end of the season. On 4 January 2009, in his first game in his second spell with the Cantabrians, Žigić scored the game's only goal in a win at Real Valladolid, repeating the feat in a win at Getafe CF, two matchdays later, and again the following week on 25 January away at Sevilla FC. He finished his second spell with 13 goals in only 19 matches, squad best, and subsequently returned to Valencia, where he continued to be rarely used in the league.

Profiting from a rare chance in the league with the Che, Žigić headed in the only goal of the game at home to RCD Espanyol on 2 January 2010, in the 93rd minute. On 13 January, he added a brace at Deportivo de La Coruña in the 2009–10 Copa del Rey to put Valencia 2–0 up at halftime, in an eventual 2–2 draw (4–3 aggregate loss); on a more positive note, he replaced starter David Villa at Espanyol on 1 May and scored both goals in a 2–0 win (both with his feet).

Birmingham City [edit]

On 25 May 2010, Žigić signed a four-year contract with Premier League club Birmingham City for an undisclosed fee.^[11] Media speculation suggested the fee to be in the region of £6 million.^[12] He made his debut on the opening day of the season away at Sunderland: replacing Garry O'Connor in the 58th minute, he came close to scoring from outside the penalty area and "injected a note of panic hitherto undetected" in the home team's defence as Birmingham came back from 2–0 down to secure a draw.^[13][14]

Žigić's first goal for the club came as Birmingham beat Milton Keynes Dons 3–1 in the League Cup on 21 September.^[15] He scored his first Premier League goal on 16 October, opening the scoring at Arsenal with a header from a Keith Fahey cross, but Birmingham lost the game 2–1.^[16] His fourth goal of the campaign was the 84th-minute winner as Birmingham progressed to the League Cup semi-final at the expense of local rivals Aston Villa.^[17] He scored the opening goal in the 2011 Football League Cup Final with a short-range header as Birmingham defeated favourites Arsenal 2–1 at Wembley Stadium on 27 February 2011.^[18] Because of "niggling" hip and groin injuries, Žigić made only two more substitute appearances. His absence deprived the team of what the Birmingham Mail's reporter called their "most effective style: getting the ball forward early, pressing up the pitch and playing off him", as they were relegated to the Championship.^[19]

Žigić's first goal in the Championship gave Birmingham a 1–0 win against Leeds United in October 2011.^[20] Away to Leeds in January 2012, Žigić scored all four goals as Birmingham came back from 1–0 behind to win 4–1.^[21]

He began the 2012–13 season with a goal in the fourth minute of stoppage time to gain a point for Birmingham at home to Charlton Athletic on the opening day.^[22] On 15 February 2013, Birmingham manager Lee Clark publicly criticised Žigić for producing "possibly the worst training session in terms of a professional footballer I have ever come across", despite knowing he was due to start the forthcoming game against Watford.^[23] Up until this incident, Clark had used Žigić more often as substitute than starter. He had scored six league goals at a rate of one goal every 165 minutes, and been sent off twice.^[24] Clark said that Žigić would not be involved against Watford, but that it was "in Nikola's hands" as to whether he would prepare properly for the Sheffield Wednesday fixture three days later.^[25] Zigic responded well after been dropped scoring goals against Peterborough and Middlesbrough in two wins for Birmingham.

International career [edit]

Although he attracted much attention for his performances with Red Star in the Serbo-Montenegrin league, Žigić only gained a regular place in the national team in mid-2005, after having made his debut the previous year under coach Ilija Petković.

He scored a couple of goals in some friendlies, but it was his substitute appearance in a crucial 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Spain in Madrid in September 2005 that brought him international recognition. After an atrocious first-half at the Vicente Calderón Stadium, during which Serbia-Montenegro rarely crossed the centre line, only being 1–0 down, coach Petković threw Žigić into the mix, and his towering presence up front changed the flow of the match instantly. He would later set up the equalizer, also providing Mateja Kežman with a 2–1 chance, but the ball was clipped wide of Iker Casillas' gaping half-empty net. However, Serbia got the key away point and confirmed their World Cup qualification at home in Belgrade versus Bosnia-Herzegovina, with Žigić again nicely setting up Kežman for the game's only goal.

Žigić's only start at the 2006 World Cup came in the nation's final Group C match, when the team was already eliminated. He scored an early goal in the 10th minute of the first half off a long ball from Dejan Stanković against Côte d'Ivoire, in a 3–2 loss.^[26]

Still an automatic choice under new national manager Javier Clemente, his form took a dip. On 24 March 2007, Žigić received a red card during the Euro 2008 qualifying match against Kazakhstan, seconds before the end of the game. This caused him to miss the home game against Portugal.^{[citation needed]} He also missed the match against Finland on 2 June 2007 after surgery on a facial injury received on 27 May.^[27]

Also playing a crucial role during the 2010 World Cup qualifiers partnering up with Marko Pantelić scoring three important goals on the way to Serbia's first qualification of a major tournament as an independent nation.

He represented his country in the 2010 World Cup. On 17 November 2010, he scored the winning goal against Bulgaria in a friendly match, which was held in Sofia, but was sent off for a second yellow card shortly before the conclusion of the game. Also scoring three goals in Euro 2012 qualifiers against Faroe islands, Slovenia and Estonia. The sudden retirements of Dejan Stanković and Nemanja Vidić from international football after Serbia failed to qualify for Euro 2012 meant Žigić was appointed captain of the national team.^[28]

International goals [edit]

Correct up to and including match played 15 November 2011^[2]

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	8 June 2005	Rogers Centre, Toronto, Canada	Italy	1–0	1–1	Friendly
2.	15 August 2005	Lobanovsky Dynamo Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine	Poland	1–1	3–2	Friendly
3.	13 November 2005	Nanjing Olympic Sports Center, Nanjing, China	China PR	0–2	0–2	Friendly
4.	21 June 2006	Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany	Ivory Coast	0–1	3–2	2006 World Cup
5.	2 September 2006	Stadion Crvena Zvezda, Beograd, Serbia	Azerbaijan	1–0	1–0	Euro 2008 qualifying
6.	7 October 2006	Stadion Crvena Zvezda, Beograd, Serbia	Belgium	1–0	1–0	Euro 2008 qualifying
7.	11 October 2006	Stadion Crvena Zvezda, Beograd, Serbia	Armenia	3–0	3–0	Euro 2008 qualifying
8.	24 March 2007	Almaty Central Stadium, Almaty, Kazakhstan	Kazakhstan	2–1	2–1	Euro 2008 qualifying
9.	17 October 2007	Tofik Bakhramov Stadium, Baku, Azerbaijan	Azerbaijan	0–2	1–6	Euro 2008 qualifying
10.	17 October 2007	Tofik Bakhramov Stadium, Baku, Azerbaijan	Azerbaijan	1–4	1–6	Euro 2008 qualifying
11.	21 November 2007	Stadion Crvena Zvezda, Beograd, Serbia	Poland	1–2	2–2	Euro 2008 qualifying
12.	6 September 2008	Stadion Crvena Zvezda, Beograd, Serbia	Faroe Islands	2–0	2–0	2010 World Cup qualification
13.	11 October 2008	Stadion Crvena Zvezda, Beograd, Serbia	Lithuania	3–0	3–0	2010 World Cup qualification
14.	1 April 2009	Stadion Partizan, Beograd, Serbia	Sweden	1–0	2–0	Friendly
15.	10 October 2009	Stadion Crvena Zvezda, Beograd, Serbia	Romania	1–0	5–0	2010 World Cup qualification
16.	18 November 2009	Craven Cottage, London, England	South Korea	0–1	0–1	Friendly
17.	3 September 2010	Tórsvøllur, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands	Faroe Islands	0–3	0–3	Euro 2012 qualifying
18.	7 September 2010	Stadion Crvena Zvezda, Beograd, Serbia	Slovenia	1–1	1–1	Euro 2012 qualifying
19.	8 October 2010	Stadion Partizan, Beograd, Serbia	Estonia	1–0	1–3	Euro 2012 qualifying
20.	17 November 2010	Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria	Bulgaria	0–1	0–1	Friendly

Club statistics [edit]

This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living people that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately. (May 2011)

Correct up to and including end of 2012–13 season

^a Totals include one appearance and one goal in the 2011–12 Football League Championship play-offs.

Honours [edit]

Red Star

• Serbia and Montenegro League: 2003–04, 2005–06
• Serbia and Montenegro Cup: 2003–04, 2005–06

Valencia

• Copa del Rey: 2007–08

Birmingham City

• Football League Cup: 2010–11

Individual

• Serbian Footballer of the Year: 2007
• Serbia and Montenegro League: Topscorer 2003–04

References [edit]

External links [edit]

• National team data (Serbian)
• BDFutbol profile
• Nikola Žigić career stats at Soccerbase
• Nikola Žigić at National-Football-Teams.com
• Premier League profile

v t e Serbia and Montenegro squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup 1 Jevrić 2 Ergić 3 Dragutinović 4 Duljaj 5 Vidić 6 Gavrančić 7 Koroman 8 Kežman 9 Milošević (c) 10 Stanković 11 P. Đorđević 12 Kovačević 13 Basta 14 N. Đorđević 15 Dudić 16 D. Petković 17 Nađ 18 Vukić 19 Žigić 20 Krstajić 21 Ljuboja 22 Ilić 23 Stojković Coach: I. Petković

v t e Serbia squad – 2010 FIFA World Cup 1 Stojković 2 Rukavina 3 Kolarov 4 Kačar 5 Vidić 6 Ivanović 7 Tošić 8 Lazović 9 Pantelić 10 Stanković (c) 11 Milijaš 12 Isailović 13 Luković 14 Jovanović 15 Žigić 16 Obradović 17 Krasić 18 Ninković 19 Petrović 20 Subotić 21 Mrđa 22 Kuzmanović 23 Đuričić Coach: Antić

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