Nikola Jerkan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nikola Jerkan (born December 8, 1964) is a former football defender from Croatia.
Jerkan was born in Split and started playing football professionally for NK Zagreb. In 1983 he moved to Cibalia Vinkovci where he would spend three years before moving to Hajduk Split in 1986. In 1988 he started playing for the first team and played two season before he moved to Real Oviedo in Spain in 1990. In 1991, in his second season there, he was selected for the best defender of La Liga.
He played for the Croatian national football team between 1992 and 1997, attaining 31 caps and scoring one goal (against Lithuania in Zagreb during the qualifications for Euro 96). He played three games at the Euro 96 and was at that point established in the centre of the Croatian defence.
Jerkan joined Nottingham Forest in the summer of 1996 for a fee of £1million. Jerkan's time at Nottingham Forest was traumatic. He struggled to hold down a first-team place and after the departure of Frank Clark never hit it off with new manager Dave Bassett.
He went on a year-long loan to Rapid Vienna of Austria at the start of the 1997-98 season and was never seen in the English game again. He spent the 1998/99 season at the City Ground but played no games.
In 1999 he moved Charleroi where he played during the next two seasons, and then retired. He then moved to live in Oviedo.
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Croatia squad - 1996 European Championship | |
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1 Ladić | 2 Jurčević | 3 Jarni | 4 Štimac | 5 Jerkan | 6 Bilić | 7 Asanović | 8 Prosinečki | 9 Šuker | 10 Boban | 11 Bokšić | 12 Mrmić | 13 Stanić | 14 Soldo | 15 Pavličić | 16 Mladenović | 17 Pamić | 18 Brajković | 19 Vlaović | 20 Šimić | 21 Cvitanović | 22 Gabrić | Coach: Blažević |
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