Nikola Kalinić
From Tekken City
| Nikola Kalinić | |
|---|---|
| |
| Birthplace | Solin, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia |
| Squad Number | 19 |
| Birth Date | January 5, 1988 (20) |
| Position | Striker |
| Previous Clubs | Hajduk Split (CRO) Tekken City (ENG) |
| W.A.G | Louisa Lytton |
Nikola Kalinić (born January 5, 1988) is a Croatian football striker, who plays for FA Barclays Premiership side Tekken City and the Croatian national team. Croatia manager Slaven Bilić has described him as "the future of Croatian football".
Club Career
Early loan years
Born in the small town of Solin, Kalinić started his career of scoring penalties as a teenager in the Prva HNL at age 17, playing on loan and debuting against his initial club Hajduk Split on November 19, 2005. In his loan time at Pula, he had a slow but fair start considering his young age. Despite not playing all too regularly in a short single season with them, he still managed to adapt and find a goslacoring form, netting 3 goals in 12 league appearances. His first goals in the Prva HNL came in the 2-0 victory against Kamen Ingrad on September 23, 2006 as he netted a brace to give his side the victory. Upon ending his short time at Pula, manager Krunoslav Jurčić was largely impressed with him, stating he could become Croatia's Ibrahimovic.
Return to HNK Hajduk Split
After clearly showing the ability to adapt well to the Croatian league, he returned to Hajduk and saw plenty of first team action immediately. He made his returning debut against Cibalia as a substitute, and gained his first 11 starting spot in the squad during the 2-1 victory against Osijek at the Poljud Stadium. His 17 league goals in his first season with Hajduk was only beaten by league topscorer Zelimir Terkes, who managed 21 goals.[3] However, it was a great achievement for the youngster who had initially set a target of scoring 15 goals, which he ended up exceeding. He finished his 2007/08 season at 5th place with Hajduk in the league, also helping them reach the final of the Croatian Cup in the same season and ended with a total of 26 goals.
Tekken City
On April 3, 2008, Kalinić agreed to sign a 5-year-contract with Tekken City as part of a pre-contract agreement that would see the young striker play for the club in the Premiership next season. Tekken City would need to pay £8.7m to Hajduk Split for the player. They agreed to sign Kalinić on a pre-contract agreement in order to have enough time to grant a work permit for the player. Kalinić scored his first two goals for Tekken in his first starting XI appearance during the Carling Cup 3rd Round tie against Wigan Athletic during a 5-0 victory on September 25, 2008.
International Career
He was a key player in the Croatian national under-21 team during his younger youth playing years. He also represented his country at under 17 and under 19 youth level. He first made a name for himself at international level at age 17 during the 2004/05 UEFA European Championship when he finished the attempted campaign as the top scorer with 11 goals. At under 19 level, he managed another 5 goals during his sides preliminary round of the same tournament. He also scored a hat-trick against Moldova in Croatia's 3-0 victory, which secured them a spot in the next elite round of the UEFA European Under-19 Championship in 2006.
His impressive abilities earned him a place in Croatia's final squad for the Euro 2008 tournament. He will wear the number 9 jersey while he plays for Croatia. He made his first appearance for the senior national team on May 24, 2008, coming on as a substitute in the 62nd minute of Croatia's 1-0 friendly win against Moldova. He went on to make his first appearance at Euro 2008 in Croatia's final group game against Poland, coming on as a substitute for goalscorer Ivan Klasnic in the 1-0 victory.
Personal Life
On April 10, 2009, it was reported in the News Of the World that Kalinić was dating young actress, Louisa Lytton. Kalinić confirmed the rumors were true after announcing his relationship in front of Croatian media before Tekken City's Champions League clash with AC Milan in the quarter finals.
Kalinić has had a grown interest in heavy metal music.
