 Pokrivač in 2010 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1985-11-26)26 November 1985 | ||
| Place of birth | Čakovec,SR Croatia,SFR Yugoslavia | ||
| Date of death | 18 April 2025(2025-04-18) (aged 39) | ||
| Place of death | Karlovac, Croatia | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1995–1997 | Bratstvo Jurovec | ||
| 1997–2001 | Čakovec | ||
| 2001–2004 | Varteks | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2002–2006 | NK Varteks | 68 | (1) |
| 2003–2004 | →Međimurje (loan) | ||
| 2007–2008 | Dinamo Zagreb | 30 | (5) |
| 2008–2009 | Monaco | 32 | (2) |
| 2009–2011 | Red Bull Salzburg | 30 | (4) |
| 2011–2013 | Dinamo Zagreb | 15 | (2) |
| 2013 | →Inter Zaprešić (loan) | 12 | (0) |
| 2013–2014 | HNK Rijeka | 16 | (2) |
| 2014–2015 | Shakhter Karagandy | 22 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | Maccabi Petah Tikva | 0 | (0) |
| 2016–2017 | Slaven Belupo | 11 | (1) |
| 2021–2023 | Pušća | 46 | (13) |
| 2023–2024 | GNK Tigar Sveta Nedelja | 27 | (0) |
| 2024–2025 | Vojnić '95 [hr] | 21 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 2005–2006 | Croatia U21 | 8 | (0) |
| 2008–2010 | Croatia | 15 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2019 | Rudeš (assistant) | ||
| 2021–2022 | Ravnice [hr] (youth team coach) | ||
| 2022–2023 | Pušća (youth team coach) | ||
| 2023–2024 | Rudeš (youth team coach) | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Nikola Pokrivač (26 November 1985 – 18 April 2025) was a Croatian professionalfootballer who played as amidfielder.
Pokrivač started to play football with amateur side Bratstvo Jurovec, near his hometown.[1] He went on to continue his youth career withČakovec andNK Varteks, eventually advancing to the first team at Varteks in the summer of 2004.
Making his seniordomestic league debut for Varteks againstZadar on 7 August 2004, Pokrivač went on to establish himself as a regular at the club in 2005. He also appeared in some European matches for the club, playing in theUEFA Intertoto Cup in the summer of 2005 and theUEFA Cup qualifying a year later. In 2006, he also played for Varteks in the two-legged final of theCroatian Cup, where they lost toHNK Rijeka on away goals after a 5–5 draw on aggregate.
His good performances at Varteks eventually secured him a move to Croatia's top clubDinamo Zagreb in the winter break of the 2006–07 season. He quickly became a regular at his new club and also helped them winning both the Croatian league and cup titles in 2007. He also collected further experience in European competitions with Dinamo, making a total of 10 appearances in both theUEFA Champions League qualifying and the UEFA Cup during the first half of the 2007–08 season.
On 30 January 2008, Pokrivač moved to FrenchLigue 1 sideAS Monaco on a four-and-a-half-year contract. He made his league debut on 23 February 2008 in Monaco's 1–1 draw atParis Saint-Germain, playing the full 90 minutes. He continued to appear regularly for the club over the following two months, until being sent off with a straight red card in the final moments of the club's away match againstNice on 19 April 2008. He made a total of 9 appearances in the Ligue 1 during his first six months with the club.
Struggling to regain his place as a regular with Monaco during his second season with the club, he scored his first goal in the Ligue 1 in Monaco's 3–1 win at home toNancy on 29 October 2008, also recording an assist in the same match. A month later, he scored the only goal in Monaco's 1–0 win atAuxerre in the Ligue 1. He finished the 2008–09 season with a total of 23 appearances in the Ligue 1. On 4 March 2009, he also scored one goal for Monaco in their 2–0 win atAjaccio in theCoupe de France round of 16.
On 24 August 2009, it was announced that Pokrivač signed a three-year contract with Austrian sideRed Bull Salzburg. He made his debut for the club on 29 August 2009 in theirBundesliga match againstSV Kapfenberg, coming on as a substitute forSimon Cziommer in the 55th minute and scoring his first goal for the club when he netted the final goal in Salzburg's 4–0 win six minutes later.
On 26 September 2009, he scored his second Bundesliga goal for Salzburg in their 2–1 win atAustria Kärnten and delivered a superb performance in a 7–1 home win against the same club on 4 October 2009, participating in all of Salzburg's three goals in the first half. He first set up the opening goal of the match forChristoph Leitgeb in the 3rd minute, then scored the second goal in the 34th minute, before setting up the third goal of the match forMarc Janko in the 41st minute.
On 16 August 2011, Pokrivač signed a four-year contract withDinamo Zagreb.[2]
During the 2012–13 winter transfer window, Pokrivač was loaned out toInter Zaprešić for the remainder of the season.[3]
On 7 June 2013, Pokrivač signed a two-year contract withHNK Rijeka.
In the summer of 2014, Pokrivač signed for Shakhter Karagandy.
Pokrivač was diagnosed withHodgkin lymphoma in 2015,[4] and, after recovering, joinedSlaven Belupo in Croatia. He scored what would prove to be the last goal of his professional career in April 2016, against his former clubHNK Rijeka.[5] However, the lymphoma would return, in 2016 and 2017, prompting him to undergo a bone marrow transplant, having received it from his mother, Ana.[6] He announced his retirement from professional football in November 2017, following his final recovery.[7]
In September 2021, Pokrivač returned to football, albeit amateur, by joining sixth-tier NK Pušća from theeponymous municipality.[8] In his second season at the club, it won the league and the Zaprešić area cup.[9] Subsequently, Pokrivač moved to fifth-tier GNK Tigar inSveta Nedelja.[10] After a year at GNK Tigar, Pokrivač moved to another fifth-tier club,Vojnić '95 [hr].[11]
Pokrivač played for theCroatia under-21 national team and also represented the country at both the under-17 and under-19 levels. He won a total of 39 international caps and scored three goals for all Croatian youth national teams between 2001 and 2006.[12]
On 5 May 2008, he received his first call-up for theCroatia national team at senior level, being added to their 23-man squad for theUEFA Euro 2008 finals inAustria andSwitzerland.[13] He went on to make his international debut on 24 May 2008 in a friendly match againstMoldova inRijeka, coming on as a substitute forNiko Kovač in the 59th minute. At the UEFA Euro 2008 finals, he only appeared in Croatia's final group match againstPoland, completing the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 victory for Croatia.
Pokrivač went on to make five appearances in Croatia's unsuccessful qualifying campaign for the2010 FIFA World Cup, appearing in both matches againstKazakhstan andEngland as well as the away fixture atAndorra. He only started one of the five matches, being in the starting line-up for Croatia in their 5–1 defeat to England atWembley. However, he was substituted at half-time after a poor performance in the first half.
Pokrivač earned a total of 15 caps, scoring no goals.[14] His final international was an October 2010 friendly againstNorway.[15]
Pokrivač was married to Katarina Pokrivač, with whom he had one daughter. He was diagnosed withHodgkin lymphoma and underwent treatment.[16]
On the evening of 18 April 2025, Pokrivač died in a traffic collision nearKarlovac involving four cars, which also killed another person while three others were hospitalized with serious injuries.[17][18]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| NK Varteks | 2002–03 | Prva HNL | 5 | 0 | – | – | – | 5 | 0 | |||
| 2004–05 | 20 | 1 | 5 | 0 | – | – | 25 | 1 | ||||
| 2005–06 | 28 | 0 | 8 | 1 | – | 6 | 0 | 42 | 1 | |||
| 2006–07 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 2 | 0 | 18 | 0 | |||
| Međimurje Čakovec (loan) | 2003–04 | Druga HNL | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Dinamo Zagreb | 2006–07 | Prva HNL | 13 | 0 | 4 | 0 | – | – | 17 | 0 | ||
| 2007–08 | 17 | 5 | 1 | 0 | – | 10 | 0 | 28 | 5 | |||
| Monaco | 2007–08 | Ligue 1 | 9 | 0 | – | – | – | 9 | 0 | |||
| 2008–09 | 24 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | 28 | 3 | |||
| Red Bull Salzburg | 2009–10 | Austrian Bundesliga | 22 | 4 | 1 | 0 | – | 6 | 0 | 29 | 4 | |
| 2010–11 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | – | 7 | 1 | 17 | 3 | |||
| Dinamo Zagreb | 2011–12 | Prva HNL | 11 | 2 | 4 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | 16 | 2 | |
| 2012–13 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | |||
| Inter Zaprešić (loan) | 2012–13 | Prva HNL | 12 | 0 | – | – | – | 12 | 0 | |||
| HNK Rijeka | 2013–14 | Prva HNL | 16 | 2 | 2 | 0 | – | 8 | 1 | 26 | 3 | |
| Shakhter Karagandy | 2014 | Kazakhstan Premier League | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 6 | 1 | 17 | 1 | |
| 2015 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 14 | 0 | ||||
| Maccabi Petah Tikva | 2015–16 | Israeli Premier League | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 0 | 0 | |||
| Slaven Belupo | 2015–16 | Prva HNL | 7 | 1 | 2 | 1 | – | – | 9 | 1 | ||
| 2016–17 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 4 | 0 | ||||
| 2017–18 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Career total | 237 | 17 | 36 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 47 | 3 | 321 | 21 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Croatia | 2008 | 5 | 0 |
| 2009 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2010 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 15 | 0 | |
