Nikola Vignjević

Nikola Vignjević (Serbian Cyrillic: Никола Вигњевић; born March 12, 1971) is a former Serbian football player, who currently works as Technical coach by Alberta Golden Bears and the Greater St.Albert Sports Academy. While playing for the Lynx, he was commonly referred to as Niki and Nikki.

Niki Vignjević
Personal information
Full name Nikola Vignjević
Date of birth (1971-03-12) March 12, 1971
Place of birth Belgrade, SFR Yugoslavia
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Alberta Golden Bears (Technical Coach)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1994 Čukarički
1995 San Jose Grizzlies (indoor) 13 (9)
1996–1998 Cleveland Crunch (indoor) 57 (67)
1997 Rochester Raging Rhinos 21 (3)
1998 Toronto Lynx 27 (9)
1998–2001 Edmonton Drillers (indoor) 85 (103)
1999 Richmond Kickers 3 (0)
1999–2000 Toronto Lynx 49 (14)
2001 Železnik
2000–2001 Cleveland Crunch (indoor) 32 (34)
2002–2003 Toronto Lynx 54 (8)
2003 Metro Lions 6 (0)
2002–2003 Harrisburg Heat (indoor) 10 (5)
2002–2003 Kansas City Attack (indoor) 14 (3)
2004 Edmonton Aviators 24 (3)
2008–2009 Edmonton Drillers (indoor)
National team
Serbia Futsal
Teams managed
2009– Alberta Golden Bears (Technical Coach)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Career

Vignjević began his career with FK Čukarički of the Second League of Serbia and Montenegro. In 1995, he went overseas to the United States to play indoor soccer with San Jose Grizzlies of the Continental Indoor Soccer League.[1] The following season he signed with the Cleveland Crunch of the National Professional Soccer League where he amassed 58 goals and 35 assists as a rookie to help clinch the championship. In 1997, he returned to outdoor soccer with play with the Rochester Raging Rhinos of the USL A-League.[2] In 1998, he went north of the border to Canada to sign with division rivals the Toronto Lynx.[3] In his debut season he received the club's Best Offensive Player award.

He briefly featured with the Richmond Kickers before being traded back to Toronto in 1999. During his first stint with Toronto he received several achievements as the club's MVP, twice named A-League Player of the Week and named to the A-League Team of the Week four times. In 2000, he helped the club clinch a postseason berth, and contributed a goal in a 1-0 victory over Richmond in the first round of the playoffs.[4] In 2001, he returned to Serbia to play one season with FK Železnik.

In 1998, he continued playing indoor soccer this time with the Edmonton Drillers, where he played for the club for three seasons and finished as the club's all-time goalscorer with 103 goals. In 2001, he was traded midway back to Cleveland. After a year in Serbia he returned to Toronto for the 2002 season.[5][6] He would conclude his career in Toronto in 2003 where he finished as the club's all-time points leader including both goals and assists. At the conclusion of the 2003 season he signed with the Metro Lions of the Canadian Professional Soccer League.[7] He made his debut for the club on September 3, 2003 in a match against Brampton Hitmen.[8] He helped improve the club's performance on the pitch, but unfortunately the team fell short in clinching a postseason berth.

In 2002, he returned to indoor soccer to play with the Harrisburg Heat and Kansas City Attack of the Major Indoor Soccer League. In 2004, he returned to Alberta to sign with expansion franchise the Edmonton Aviators where he scored 3 goals and recorded 2 assists at the end of the season he announced his retirement. He was listed on the 2008-09 roster of the Edmonton Drillers indoor team.[9]

Coaching career

After his retirement 2009 was named as the Technical coach of the Alberta Golden Bears. He also coaches for the Edmonton Warriors Youth Soccer Club.[10]

His brother Nebojša (former team-mate with the Lynx) is a coach.

Honors
Cleveland Crunch
  • NPSL Championship: 1995-1996
  • NPSL Central Division: 1996-1997
Edmonton Drillers
  • NPSL National Conference: 1998-1999

Sources
  1. "Nikola Vignjevic | SoccerStats.us". soccerstats.us. Retrieved 2016-07-08.
  2. "The Team". 2000-08-19. Archived from the original on 2000-08-19. Retrieved 2017-10-28.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  3. "Welcome To the Official Toronto Lynx Web Site". 2003-12-03. Archived from the original on December 3, 2003. Retrieved 2016-07-08.
  4. Glover, Robin. "September 15, 2000 Toronto Lynx vs Richmond Kickers". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2016-07-08.
  5. Lynch, Rob. "www.a-league.com -- Story by Rob Lynch". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2016-07-08.
  6. Nutt, David. "Toronto Lynx Media Release April 2, 2003". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2016-07-08.
  7. "Metro Lions Soccer Organisation". 2006-08-27. Archived from the original on 2006-08-27. Retrieved 2017-11-24.
  8. Glover, Robin. "September 3, 2003 CPSL Metro Lions vs Brampton Hitmen (by Rocket Robin)". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2015-04-19.
  9. "2008 Edmonton Drillers Roster". Retrieved 2008-07-07.
  10. GBS.pdf 2009-10 Golden Bears soccer roster
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