 Nikolić coaching Lokomotiv Moscow in 2020 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1979-07-20)20 July 1979 (age 46) | ||
| Place of birth | Belgrade,SR Serbia,SFR Yugoslavia | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | AEK Athens (manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1989–1998 | Rad | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1998–1999 | Rad | 0 | (0) |
| 1998–1999 | →Dorćol (loan) | ||
| Managerial career | |||
| 2008–2011 | Rad | ||
| 2012–2013 | Rad | ||
| 2013 | Vojvodina | ||
| 2013–2015 | Partizan | ||
| 2016 | Olimpija Ljubljana | ||
| 2016–2017 | Partizan | ||
| 2017–2019 | Fehérvár | ||
| 2020–2021 | Lokomotiv Moscow | ||
| 2023–2024 | Shabab Al Ahli | ||
| 2024–2025 | CSKA Moscow | ||
| 2025– | AEK Athens | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Marko Nikolić (Serbian Cyrillic:Марко Николић; born 20 July 1979) is a Serbianprofessional footballmanager who is the current manager ofGreek Super League clubAEK Athens.
Born inBelgrade, Nikolić joinedRad as a trainee in 1989. He played for the club at all youth levels, together with the likes ofIvica Iliev,Milan Martinović, andNemanja Vučićević, among others. After completing his formation, Nikolić spent some time on loan with third-tier clubDorćol, before retiring from the game due to an injury.
In his early 20s, Nikolić worked withRad's youth teams for many years, before being promoted to the senior squad in 2008. He served as assistant manager to bothMihailo Ivanović and Aleksandar Janjić, eventually replacing the latter one on 26 October 2008, after the club earned just five points from the opening nine fixtures.[1] Three days later, Nikolić became the youngest manager ever in thetop flight of Serbian football, recording a 1–0 win overVojvodina.[2] He ultimately managed to save the club from relegation thatseason, finishing in ninth place. On 23 May 2011, two rounds before the end of the2010–11 season, Nikolić secured a spot in the2011–12 UEFA Europa League, but decided to leave the club due to "achieved goals".[3]
On 6 March 2012,Rad appointed Nikolić as manager for the second time. He signed a contract that would keep him at the club until the summer of 2013.[4]
On 7 June 2013, Nikolić was appointed manager ofVojvodina.[5] He led the club to theplay-off round in the Europa League, but lost toSheriff Tiraspol 2–3 on aggregate. On 9 December 2013, Nikolić parted company with Vojvodina by mutual agreement.[6]
On 16 December 2013, Nikolić was appointed manager ofPartizan, replacingVuk Rašović.[7] Some of his first signings included his former Vojvodina playersMiroslav Vulićević,Petar Škuletić, andBranislav Trajković. On 22 February 2014, Nikolić made his debut in a goalless draw away atNovi Pazar.[8] He eventually failed to defend the league title in the2013–14 campaign. In the following2014–15 season, Nikolić qualified to thegroup stage of the Europa League,[9] finishing bottom of the table. He was somewhat unexpectedly released by the club on 25 March 2015, leaving Partizan in first place and reaching the cup semi-final.[10]
On 11 January 2016, Nikolić was presented as new manager of Slovenian clubOlimpija Ljubljana, penning a two-and-a-half-year contract.[11] He rejoined his countrymanRanko Stojić, the club'sdirector of football, as they previously performed the same roles at Rad.[12] On 10 April 2016, in a league fixture versusZavrč, Nikolić reportedly called his player,Blessing Eleke, a "black idiot" for elaborately celebrating an injury-time equalizer in an eventual 1–1 draw.[13] He later apologized to the player, club's management, and fans.[14] However, on 14 April 2016, Nikolić received a seven-match ban and was fined €1,500 by theSlovenian FA following the incident.[15] He eventually terminated his contract with the club by mutual consent on 18 April 2016.[16][17]
On 4 August 2016, Nikolić returned toPartizan on a two-year deal.[18] His first competitive game back in charge of Partizan ended in a 1–3 home loss toVojvodina three days later. After recording two wins and two losses in the first four matches, Nikolić ran a streak of 37 consecutive games without a loss in both the league and cup (33 wins), eventually winningthe double. On 31 May 2017, Nikolić terminated his contract with Partizan upon his request.[19]
On 6 June 2017, Nikolić signed a two-year contract with Hungarian clubVideoton.[20] He won theNemzeti Bajnokság I in hisfirst season in charge.[21]
He managed the club to reach the play-offs of the2018–19 UEFA Champions League. However, the club was defeated byAEK Athens F.C., therefore, the cub was eligible to play in the group stages of the2018–19 UEFA Europa League. Vidi beatPAOK FC twice and they drew withChelsea F.C. However, in the following yearFehérvár FC was beaten byFC Vaduz in the third round of the2019–20 UEFA Europa League.
On 25 November 2019, he was dismissed byFehérvár FC after a 3-1 home defeat at theMOL Aréna Sóstó. The club directors expected that Fehérvár could gain more points in the first half of the2019–20 Nemzeti Bajnokság I season than their rivalFerencváros since Ferencváros played in the2019–20 UEFA Europa League. However, on the 12 match day Ferencváros led the championship.
On 14 May 2020, the board of directors ofRussian Premier League clubLokomotiv Moscow announced the signing of Nikolić, with contract beginning on 1 June 2020.[22] The Russian league was suspended until that date due to theCOVID-19 pandemic in Russia. He replacedYuri Semin. In the 2020–21 season, Lokomotiv won theRussian Cup and qualified for the Europa League, also finishing in 3rd place in the league table. On 21 May 2021, Lokomotiv extended contract with Nikolić for three additional years.[23] He left Lokomotiv by mutual consent on 5 October 2021.[24]
On 6 June 2024, Nikolić signed a two-season contract withCSKA Moscow in Russia.[25] He was chosenRussian Premier League manager of the month for March 2025 and for April 2025.[26][27] CSKA finished third in the2024–25 Russian Premier League and won the2024–25 Russian Cup.[28] Nikolić resigned from CSKA on 9 June 2025.[29]
On 14 June 2025, Nikolić signed a two-year contract withGreek Super League clubAEK Athens.[30]
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | |||
 Rad | 26 October 2008 | 23 May 2011 | 86 | 31 | 28 | 27 | 036.05 |
| Rad | 6 March 2012 | 7 June 2013 | 47 | 20 | 10 | 17 | 042.55 |
| Vojvodina | 7 June 2013 | 9 December 2013 | 26 | 12 | 10 | 4 | 046.15 |
| Partizan | 16 December 2013 | 25 March 2015 | 50 | 34 | 10 | 6 | 068.00 |
 Olimpija Ljubljana | 11 January 2016 | 18 April 2016 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 050.00 |
| Partizan | 4 August 2016 | 31 May 2017 | 40 | 34 | 4 | 2 | 085.00 |
 Fehérvár | 6 June 2017 | 25 November 2019 | 120 | 69 | 27 | 24 | 057.50 |
 Lokomotiv Moscow | 1 June 2020 | 5 October 2021 | 64 | 31 | 18 | 15 | 048.44 |
 Shabab Al Ahli | 2 June 2023 | 29 May 2024 | 31 | 19 | 4 | 8 | 061.29 |
| CSKA Moscow | 1 June 2024 | 9 June 2025 | 43 | 23 | 13 | 7 | 053.49 |
 AEK Athens | 14 June 2025 | Present | 24 | 16 | 5 | 3 | 066.67 |
| Total | 540 | 293 | 134 | 113 | 054.26 | ||
Partizan
Fehérvár
Lokomotiv Moscow
Shabab Al Ahli
CSKA Moscow
