Mustafa Nukić (born 3 December 1990) is a Slovenian footballer who plays as a forward.

Mustafa Nukić
Personal information
Date of birth (1990-12-03) 3 December 1990 (age 33)
Place of birth Vlasenica, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SFR Yugoslavia[1]
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[2]
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
Svoboda Ljubljana
Olimpija Ljubljana
2008–2009 Interblock
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2008 Svoboda Ljubljana[3] 6 (1)
2008–2009 Interblock Svoboda[4] 1 (0)
2009–2011 Interblock 0 (0)
2009–2010Livar (loan) 5 (0)
2011Zarica Kranj (loan)
2011 Celje 2 (0)
2012 Radomlje 5 (0)
2012–2013 Svoboda Ljubljana 20 (26)
2013 Triglav Kranj 18 (3)
2014 Koper 4 (0)
2015 Ivančna Gorica 9 (1)
2015 Annabichler SV 15 (1)
2016–2018 Ilirija 1911 65 (38)
2018–2021 Bravo 91 (27)
2021–2024 Olimpija Ljubljana 71 (23)
International career
2008 Slovenia U18 4 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23 October 2024

In a journeyman career, he made over 150 Slovenian PrvaLiga appearances for Celje, Triglav Kranj, Koper, Bravo and Olimpija Ljubljana. He contributed 17 goals as Bravo won the Slovenian Second League in 2018–19.

Career

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Born in Vlasenica (now in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina), Nukić and his mother immigrated to Ljubljana, Slovenia when he was 18 months old due to the outbreak of the Bosnian War. He was raised in refugee accommodation in Vič, where he was joined by his father and stayed there until the sixth grade of primary school. Prohibited from going to kindergarten, he did not meet Slovenians until he began primary school.[5] He was a childhood fan and youth player for Olimpija Ljubljana.[1]

Nukić spent his early career with several teams in the Slovenian PrvaLiga and Slovenian Second League, including Koper, a team that he called the best organised in Slovenia, but also the worst experience of his career due to disagreements with manager Rodolfo Vanoli.[5] For three years, he studied economics at university, while working for office supply company Extra Lux.[5] He had the only foreign footballing experience of his career in 2015 at Annabichler SV in the Austrian Regionalliga (third tier), an experience he disliked because of the long driving distances.[5]

Nukić transferred in July 2018 from Ilirija 1911 to Bravo.[6] In 2018–19, he scored 17 goals as his team won the Second League title,[7] but in the following campaign he scored only three goals in 34 games while adding six assists.[8] In 2020–21, he was the league's top assist provider with eleven, as well as scoring seven goals.[9]

On 25 June 2021, at the age of 30, he returned to Olimpija on a two-year deal.[10] He made his professional debut for the team on 22 July in his first European match, in which he scored the only goal of a UEFA Europa Conference League second qualifying round first leg at home to Birkirkara of Malta.[11] The Professional Footballers' Union of Slovenia named him in the Best XI of the season.[12]

Honours

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Bravo

Olimpija Ljubljana

References

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  1. ^ a b "Mustafa Nukić" (in Slovenian). NK Olimpija Ljubljana. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  2. ^ "Mustafa Nukić". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
  3. ^ "MNZ liga 07/08". mnzljubljana-zveza.si (in Slovenian). Retrieved 8 April 2023.
  4. ^ "Regionalna Ljubljanska LEGEA liga 08/09". mnzljubljana-zveza.si (in Slovenian). Retrieved 8 April 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d Plestenjak, Rok (9 April 2022). "Ganljiva življenjska zgodba idola navijačev Olimpije" [The touching life story of the idol of the Olimpija fans] (in Slovenian). Siol. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  6. ^ "S člani trenira tudi že Mustafa Nukić" [Mustafa Nukić is already training with the members] (in Slovenian). NK Bravo. 18 July 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  7. ^ "Mustafa Nukić – statistika sezone 2018/19". nzs.si (in Slovenian). Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  8. ^ "Mustafa Nukić – statistika sezone 2019/20". prvaliga.si (in Slovenian). Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  9. ^ a b Viškovič, Rok (22 June 2021). "Nogometni popotnik, ki je v Šiški našel samega sebe" [A footballing nomad, who found himself at Šiška] (in Slovenian). Sport Klub. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  10. ^ "Mustafa Nukić ostaja v Ljubljani, se pa iz Brava seli k Olimpiji" [Mustafa Nukić remains in Ljubljana, but moves from Bravo to Olimpija] (in Slovenian). Siol. 25 June 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  11. ^ "Nukić upa, da bo še kdaj razveselil Olimpijine navijače" [Nukić hopes to please Olimpija's fans again] (in Slovenian). Siol. 23 July 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  12. ^ "Večni derbi zgodaj, prvak Maribor najprej z Radomljami" [Eternal derby early, champions Maribor first with Radomlje]. Delo (in Slovenian). 20 June 2022. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  13. ^ "Slovenia – M. Nukić – Profile with news, career statistics and history – Soccerway". soccerway.com. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  14. ^ Viškovič, Rok (6 May 2023). "Olimpija po drami v 130. minuti do dvojne krone, zanimiv niz Maribora je končan". Sportklub (in Slovenian). Retrieved 7 May 2023.
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