Nikica Jelavić

Nikica Jelavić (Čapljina, August 27, 1985) is a Croatian football coach and retired footballer. He played as a forward. He is currently the coach of Lokomotiva Zagreb.

Club Career

Beginnings

His first club was GOŠK from his hometown Gabela, then he moved to Neretva from Metković under coach Branko Gutić, and then on the recommendation of Ante Prce, Ivan Gudelj, Dražen Mužinić, and Wilson Džoni, he ended up at the youth team of Hajduk Split at the age of 15.

Hajduk Split

There, while playing for the cadets, he injured his knee, which would trouble him for the next few years. As a teenager, he was already known as the successor to Alen Bokšić, and he stood out mainly with his aerial ability and heading. He made his senior team debut at the age of 17 under the guidance of Zoran Vulić, then he came off the bench a few times, but over time he was increasingly troubled by his knee, which later underwent surgery.

Since he could no longer play for the juniors, all the coaches treated him as a serious contender for the first 11. However, due to frequent injuries, he did not manage to get a real opportunity. When Miroslav Blažević became the coach, he referred to his center forward as the "flying fortress" and counted on him seriously. His final affirmation was again delayed by a knee injury. That season he only recovered in the spring when Blažević was no longer on the Hajduk bench. He played, in a very poor Hajduk team at the time, against Osijek at Poljud, and with 2 goals contributed significantly to the victory of 3:0. He later entered the team again, recording 3 goals in 9 appearances. The following season, Zoran Vulić returned as coach, who put him in the first team after very good performances in the preparations. Jelavić scored his first goal that season, in an away match against Međimurje. Later, he recorded solid performances, but few goals, yet he attracted the interest of Spanish Espanyol. Although he could have gone abroad in the winter, the club decided to keep him. In the spring, he regularly recorded appearances, but not so many goals.

Zulte Waregem

Before the start of preparations for the new season, he moved to the ranks of the Belgian first league team Waregem for half a million euros, with whom he signed a three-year contract. He already scored his debut goal for the new team against Standard, but by the end of the season, he only scored 2 more in over 20 matches.

Rapid Vienna

In early June 2008, he transferred to the ranks of the Austrian champion Rapid from Vienna.

Rangers

On August 20, 2010, Nikica Jelavić signed a 4-year contract with Scottish Rangers.

Everton

After one and a half seasons in Glasgow, on January 31, 2012, Jelavić transferred to the English club Everton from Liverpool and signed a contract for four and a half years. He adapted excellently to the FA Premier League and already in his first half-season, in thirteen league appearances, he scored nine goals and was the top scorer for Everton at the end of the 2011/12 season.

Hull City

On January 13, 2014, Nikica signed a contract with Hull City.

West Ham United

On September 1, 2015, Nikica signed a two-year contract with London’s West Ham United.

Guizhou Zhicheng

Jelavić played a total of 58 matches for the club from Guiyang, Guizhou Zhicheng from 2018/19 to 2019/20, scoring 27 goals and assisting 8 times.

NK Lokomotiva

He joined Lokomotiva on September 3, 2020, as a free agent and played for the club until March 1, 2021, when he ended his playing career.

International Career

Slaven Bilić, then coach of the Croatian national football team, called him up to the national team for a friendly match ahead of the qualifying matches against Estonia and Russia on June 2 and 6, 2007. In 2009, coach Slaven Bilić called Jelavić for matches against Qatar and Kazakhstan. In his debut for the national team, in a friendly match in Rijeka on October 8, 2009, he scored a goal in the 91st minute of the match for Croatia's victory against Qatar of 3:2. Before the qualifying match against Azerbaijan for the European Championship 2016, he informed coach Niko Kovač that, dissatisfied with his status in the team, he was leaving the Croatian national team.