Boban Nikolov (Macedonian: Бобан Николов; born 28 July 1994) is a Macedonian professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Bosnian club Borac Banja Luka and the North Macedonia national team.

Boban Nikolov
Nikolov with Vardar in 2017
Personal information
Full name Boban Nikolov
Date of birth (1994-07-28) 28 July 1994 (age 30)
Place of birth Štip, Macedonia
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
Borac Banja Luka
Number 5
Youth career
0000–2010 Bregalnica Štip
2010–2012 Gheorghe Hagi Academy
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2015 Viitorul Constanța 38 (2)
2015–2018 Vardar 64 (8)
2018–2021 Fehérvár 73 (7)
2021 Lecce 15 (0)
2021–2022 Sheriff Tiraspol 14 (3)
2022–2023 FCSB 11 (0)
2023–2024 Kisvárda 22 (1)
2024– Borac Banja Luka 0 (0)
International career
2010 Macedonia U17 3 (1)
2011–2012 Macedonia U19 9 (0)
2013–2017 Macedonia U21 22 (1)
2016– North Macedonia 48 (4)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 12 May 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 20 November 2022

Personal life

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Boban Nikolov is an ethnic Aromanian,[1] and he speaks Aromanian.[1][2]

Club career

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Viitorul Constanța

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On 8 March 2013, Nikolov made his debut for Viitorul Constanța in the Liga I, in a 4–1 defeat to Gaz Metan Mediaș.[3] On 19 May of the same year, he scored his first Liga I goal in a 5–2 win against Steaua București.[4]

Lecce

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On 19 January 2021 he was signed by Italian Serie B club Lecce.[5]

Sheriff Tiraspol

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Seven months later, on 20 August 2021, he signed for Moldovan National Division club Sheriff Tiraspol.[6]

FCSB

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On 17 September 2022, Nikolov signed for Liga I club FCSB on a one-year deal, with an option to extend for a further year.[7]

International career

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On 29 May 2016, Nikolov made his international debut against Azerbaijan, and on 24 March 2017 he scored his first goal in the 2018 World Cup qualifier against Liechtenstein.[8] He was also a regular in the U21 and U19 categories, where he also served as captain. As of April 2020, he has earned a total of 22 caps, scoring 2 goals.[9][10] He represented the nation at UEFA Euro 2020, their first major tournament.

Career statistics

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Club

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As of match played 6 Septembar 2024[11]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Viitorul Constanța 2012–13 Liga I 5 1 0 0 5 1
2013–14 18 0 2 0 20 0
2014–15 15 1 1 0 16 1
Total 38 2 3 0 41 2
Vardar 2015–16 Macedonian First Football League 20 1 2 0 1 0 1 0 24 1
2016–17 34 7 3 2 1 0 38 9
2017–18 10 0 0 0 12 3 22 3
Total 64 8 5 2 14 3 1 0 84 13
Fehérvár 2017–18 Nemzeti Bajnokság I 13 3 13 3
2018–19 29 2 8 1 14 0 51 3
2019–20 22 1 4 2 3 0 29 3
2020–21 9 1 0 0 4 1 13 2
Total 73 7 12 3 21 1 106 11
Lecce 2020–21 Serie B 15 0 0 0 15 0
Sheriff Tiraspol 2021–22 Moldovan National Division 14 3 1 0 7 1 22 4
FCSB 2022–23 Liga I 11 0 2 0 13 0
Kisvárda 2023–24 Nemzeti Bajnokság I 22 1 4 1 26 2
Borac Banja Luka 2024–25 Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina 0 0 0 0 0 0
Career total 237 21 27 6 42 5 1 0 307 32

International

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As of match played 20 November 2022[12]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
North Macedonia
2016 2 0
2017 4 1
2018 7 0
2019 9 1
2020 7 0
2021 11 1
2022 8 1
Total 48 4

International goals

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As of match played 5 June 2022. North Macedonia score listed first, score column indicates score after each Nikolov goal.
International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition[13]
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 24 March 2017 Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz, Liechtenstein 3   Liechtenstein 1–0 3–0 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
2 19 November 2019 Toše Proeski Arena, Skopje, North Macedonia 22   Israel 1–0 1–0 UEFA Euro 2020 qualification
3 8 October 2021 Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz, Liechtenstein 37   Liechtenstein 3–0 4–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
4 5 June 2022 Victoria Stadium, Gibraltar 44   Gibraltar 2–0 2–0 2022–23 UEFA Nations League C

Honours

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Vardar[11]

Fehérvár[11]

Sheriff Tiraspol[11]

References

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  1. ^ a b Luță, Christian (16 September 2022). "Gigi Becali a anunțat transferul momentului la FCSB! "Am vorbit cu el în aromână". Fostul căpitan Florin Tănase l-a recomandat". ProSport (in Romanian).
  2. ^ Bocai, Marian (6 February 2015). "Macedoneanul Boban Nikolov și salvadorianul Nelson Bonilla i-au cântat și i-au urat lui Hagi în aromână (galerie foto + video)". Ziua de Constanța (in Romanian).
  3. ^ "Boban Nikolov made his pro debut". macedonianfootball.com. 9 March 2013. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
  4. ^ "Boban Nikolov, primul străin din istorie care înscrie pentru Viitorul". Digi Sport. 19 May 2013. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
  5. ^ "NIKOLOV IN GIALLOROSSO" (in Italian). Lecce. 19 January 2021.
  6. ^ "Welcome, Boban". FC Sheriff Tiraspol. 20 August 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  7. ^ Mihaitalazarica (17 September 2022). "Bine ai venit, Boban Nikolov!" (in Romanian). FCSB. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  8. ^ UEFA
  9. ^ Appearances for (North) Macedonia National Team - RSSSF
  10. ^ "Player Database". eu-football.info. Retrieved 2020-04-26.
  11. ^ a b c d Boban Nikolov at Soccerway
  12. ^ "Boban Nikolov". European Football. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  13. ^ Boban Nikolov at National-Football-Teams.com
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