Nikola Katić

Nikola Katić
Katić playing for Rangers in 2018
Personal information
Date of birth (1996-10-10) 10 October 1996 (age 28)
Place of birth Ljubuški, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Height 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)[1]
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 Zürich
Number 24
Youth career
2001–2013 HNK Stolac
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2014 HNK Stolac
2014–2015 Neretvanac Opuzen 29 (2)
2015–2018 Slaven Belupo 65 (1)
2018–2022 Rangers 37 (3)
2021–2022 → Hajduk Split (loan) 21 (0)
2022– Zürich 74 (7)
International career‡
2017–2019 Croatia U21 8 (0)
2017 Croatia 1 (0)
2024– Bosnia and Herzegovina 6 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15 December 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 14 October 2024

Nikola Katić (pronounced [nǐkola kâtitɕ]; born 10 October 1996) is a Bosnian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Swiss Super League club Zürich and the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team.

Katić started his professional career at HNK Stolac, before joining Neretvanac Opuzen in 2014. Two years later he switched to Slaven Belupo. In 2018, he was transferred to Rangers, who loaned him to Hajduk Split in 2021. The following year, he signed with Zürich.

A former Croatian youth international, Katić also made his senior international debut for Croatia, before switching his allegiance to Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2024.

Club career

Early career

Katić came through the youth setup of HNK Stolac, which he joined in 2001. He made his professional debut in 2013 at the age of 16, before moving to Croatian team Neretvanac Opuzen in March 2014.[2]

In December 2015, he switched to Slaven Belupo.[3] On 7 May 2017, he scored his first professional goal in a triumph over Istra 1961.[4]

Rangers

In June 2018, Katić was transferred to Scottish side Rangers for an undisclosed fee.[5] He made his official debut for the club in a UEFA Europa League qualifier against Shkupi on 12 July.[6] On 2 August, he scored his first goal for Rangers in a UEFA Europa League qualifier against Osijek.[7] A week later, he made his league debut against Aberdeen.[8] On 20 April 2019, he scored his first league goal for the team in a defeat of Hearts.[9]

In October, Katić signed a new four-year contract with the squad.[10]

In July 2020, he suffered a severe knee injury, which was diagnosed as an anterior cruciate ligament tear and was ruled out for at least six months. Over a year after the injury, on 24 July 2021, he returned to the pitch.[11]

He won his first trophy with the club on 7 March, when they were crowned league champions.[12]

In August, he was sent on a season-long loan to Hajduk Split.[13]

Zürich

In August 2022, Katić moved to Swiss outfit Zürich on a three-year deal.[14] He made his competitive debut for the side in a UEFA Europa League game against PSV.[15] A week later, he made his league debut against Winterthur.[16] On 13 November, he scored his first goal for Zürich in a victory over Servette.[17]

In October 2023, he extended his contract with the team until June 2026.[18]

International career

After representing Croatia at the under-21 level, Katić made his senior international debut in a friendly game against Mexico on 28 May 2017. However, in April 2024, he decided that he would play for Bosnia and Herzegovina in the future.[19]

In May, his request to change sports citizenship from Croatian to Bosnian was approved by FIFA.[20] Later that month, he received his first senior call-up, for friendly games against England and Italy.[21] He debuted against the former on 3 June.[22]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 15 December 2024[23]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] Scottish League Cup Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Neretvanac Opuzen 2014–15 Croatian Second League South 14 2 – – – 14 2
2015–16 Croatian Second League South 15 0 – – – 15 0
Total 29 2 – – – 29 2
Slaven Belupo 2015–16 Croatian Football League 1 0 0 0 – – 1 0
2016–17 Croatian Football League 29 1 3 1 – – 32 2
2017–18 Croatian Football League 35 0 2 1 – – 37 1
Total 65 1 5 2 – – 70 3
Rangers 2018–19 Scottish Premiership 18 1 1 0 2 1 9[b] 1 30 3
2019–20 Scottish Premiership 19 2 1 0 1 0 8[b] 1 29 3
Total 37 3 2 0 3 1 17 2 59 6
Hajduk Split (loan) 2021–22 Croatian Football League 21 0 4 0 – – 25 0
Zürich 2022–23 Swiss Super League 22 1 0 0 – 4[b] 0 26 1
2023–24 Swiss Super League 34 4 1 0 – – 35 4
2024–25 Swiss Super League 18 2 3 0 – 4[c] 0 25 2
Total 74 7 4 0 – 8 0 86 7
Career total 226 13 15 2 3 1 25 2 269 18
  1. ^ Includes Croatian Cup, Scottish Cup, Swiss Cup
  2. ^ a b c Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  3. ^ Appearances in UEFA Conference League

International

As of match played 14 October 2024[24]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Croatia
2017 1 0
Total 1 0
Bosnia and Herzegovina
2024 6 0
Total 6 0
Career total 7 0

Honours

Rangers[23]

Hajduk Split[23]

References

  1. ^ "Nikola Katic". fcz.ch (in German). Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  2. ^ "Bivši stoper Rangersa bi mogao pojačati Zmajeve, ovako je govorio ranije: BiH je moja zemlja". avaz.ba (in Bosnian). 28 December 2023. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  3. ^ "Nikola Katić i službeno postao novi igrač Slavena Belupa". epodravina.hr (in Croatian). 10 December 2015. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  4. ^ "Slaven Belupo u pozitivnoj seriji: U Koprivnici pala i Istra". index.hr (in Croatian). 7 May 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  5. ^ "Rangers sign Croatian defender Nikola Katic from Slaven Belupo on four-year deal". skysports.com. 13 June 2018. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  6. ^ "Rangers 2-0 Shkupi: Steven Gerrard era starts with Europa League first qualifying round win". skysports.com. 12 July 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  7. ^ "Rangers 1-1 NK Osijek (2-1 agg): Nikola Katic seals Europa League progress". skysports.com. 12 July 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  8. ^ "Aberdeen 1-1 Rangers: Steven Gerrard denied first Rangers league win by 90th-minute Bruce Anderson equaliser". skysports.com. 5 August 2018. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  9. ^ "Hearts 1-3 Rangers: Steven Gerrard's team put Celtic title party on hold". skysports.com. 20 April 2019. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  10. ^ "Nikola Katic signs one-year Rangers contract extension until 2023". skysports.com. 17 October 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  11. ^ "Great to see – Rangers star's Ibrox appearance has these Gers fans buzzing". hitc.com. 25 July 2021. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  12. ^ "Rangers confirmed as Scottish Premiership champions after Celtic draw with Dundee United". syksports.com. 7 March 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  13. ^ "Rangers duo Cedric Itten and Nikola Katic loaned out for season". bbc.co.uk. 31 August 2021. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  14. ^ "Der FC Zürich verpflichtet einen kroatischen Nationalspieler". sport.ch (in German). 31 August 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  15. ^ "Schwacher FCZ kassiert nächste Klatsche – der Meister rutscht immer tiefer in die Krise". sport.ch (in German). 6 October 2022. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  16. ^ "Planloser FCZ bleibt auch bei Nullnummer gegen ängstliches Winterthur sieglos". sport.ch (in German). 9 October 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  17. ^ "Der FCZ ballert sich den Frust von der Seele – Überzeugender FC Zürich bezwingt den Servette FC mit 4:1". sport.ch (in German). 13 November 2022. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  18. ^ "Der neue FCZ-Sportchef Malenovic überzeugt einen Wechselkandidat von einer Vertragsverlängerung". sport.ch (in German). 19 October 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  19. ^ "Katić o dolasku u reprezentaciju BiH: Spahić me prvi kontaktirao i došao mi kući". klix.ba (in Bosnian). 29 May 2024. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  20. ^ "Spahić govorio o Gigoviću, Đuriću, Jašiću, ali i drugima: Posao neće biti lagan". oslobodjenje.ba (in Bosnian). 16 May 2024. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  21. ^ "Sergej Barbarez objavio spisak za Englesku i Italiju, pozvan i Džeko". reprezentacija.ba (in Bosnian). 16 May 2024. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
  22. ^ "Engleska slavila protiv BiH: Zmajevi u Barbarezovom debiju za pola sata potopljeni u Newcastleu". faktor.ba (in Bosnian). 3 June 2024. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  23. ^ a b c "N. Katić". soccerway.com. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
  24. ^ "Nikola Katić". eu-football.info. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
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