Mihael Mikic
Encyclopedia
Mihael Mikić is a Croatia
n football
player who is currently playing for Japan
ese club Sanfrecce Hiroshima
. He is now most commonly playing as a right winger, but has played during his career as an attacking midfielder and striker
as well.
and started to play football at the club NK Bistra when he was seven years old. At the age of 13, he moved to Inker Zaprešić
and started his professional career at the club already at the age of 16. He left Inker after his first professional season and went on to sign with Dinamo Zagreb
, where he became a regular by the time he turned 19.
He was still only 18 years old when he went on to make three appearances for Dinamo Zagreb in the UEFA Champions League
group stage in the autumn of 1998, starting in two matches and becoming notable for scoring the club's first goal in the UEFA Champions League when he opened the scoring in the 7th minute of Dinamo's fourth group match, against Porto at home in Zagreb. Dinamo won the match 3-1 and went on to win 1-0 against Ajax Amsterdam
away and draw 1-1 against Olympiacos at home, but failed to advance to the quarterfinals after finishing second in their group. Mikić appeared in all of Dinamo's three home matches, playing as a striker.
He also played with Dinamo Zagreb in the UEFA Champions League in the following year and made five appearances in six group matches, but was a starting player only once. He scored one goal in Dinamo's final group match, away against Olympique de Marseille
, that ended in a 2-2 draw. Dinamo was eliminated from the competition after finishing last out of four teams in their group.
Mikić continued to play for Dinamo Zagreb until 2004 and then he left the club after seven seasons for German
Bundesliga side 1. FC Kaiserslautern
. In his first season in Germany, he made only six Bundesliga appearances for Kaiserslautern and was not a regular in the first part of the 2005-06 season either, making only four appearances in the league, but then he became a regular after the winter break and collected a total of 20 Bundesliga appearances until the end of the season. He did not manage to score any goals in a total of 29 competitive appearances for Kaiserslautern and left the club in June 2006, shortly after they were relegated to the Second Bundesliga with a 16th-place finish in the first division.
In July 2006, he came back to Croatia by signing with Rijeka
and made his competitive debut for the club on 13 July 2006 in their first-leg first-round UEFA Cup
qualifier against Cypriot
club Omonia Nicosia
. Omonia eliminated Rijeka from the competition in the second leg by winning 4-3 on aggregate. Mikić's domestic league
debut for Rijeka came on 30 July 2006 in the club's opening match of the 2006-07 season, where they celebrated a 4-3 away victory against Cibalia
.
In January 2007, Mikić left Rijeka after making only 14 domestic league appearances for the club and returned to his former club Dinamo Zagreb, making his domestic league debut in their 2-1 victory in derby against Hajduk Split on 24 February 2007.
On 25 December 2008, it was announced that Mikić moved to J. League
side Sanfrecce Hiroshima
.
, but he had a fairly successful international career at youth levels with the Croatian national under-19 and under-21 team
s.
He debuted for the Croatian national under-19 team on 3 November 1997 against Northern Ireland
in their qualifying campaign for the 1998 European Under-18 Championship and subsequently made another two appearances for the team in the qualifying, scoring once. In July 1998, he was seen by many as the best player of the Croatian team at the European Under-18 Championship finals in Cyprus
, where he scored three goals in four matches and helped the team to reach the third place after beating Portugal
on penalty shootout. After the tournament, he made another four appearances and scored one goal for the team in their qualifying campaign for the 1999 European Under-18 Championship.
Mikić won his last international cap for the Croatian under-19 team on 24 March 1999 and went to make his debut for the country's under-21 team in their opening match of the 1999 World Youth Championship
in Nigeria
, against Ghana
on 4 April 1999. He appeared in all four matches played by the Croatian team at the tournament before they were eliminated by Brazil
in the round of 16. Until the end of the year 1999, he made five appearances and scored three goals for the Croatian under-21 team in their qualifying campaign for the 2000 European Under-21 Championship
and subsequently also appeared in all three group matches at the final tournament in Slovakia
, where Croatia was eliminated in the group stage. He continued to play for the Croatian under-21 team until November 2001, making six appearances and scoring three goals in their qualifying campaign for the 2002 European Under-21 Championship
.
|-
|1996-97||Inker Zaprešić
||rowspan="8"|Prva HNL||25||5||||||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||||
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|1997-98||rowspan="7"|Dinamo Zagreb
||5||2||||||colspan="2"|-||||||||
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|1998-99||15||6||||||colspan="2"|-||||||||
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|1999-00||26||6||||||colspan="2"|-||||||||
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|2000-01||28||3||||||colspan="2"|-||||||||
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|2001-02||25||3||||||colspan="2"|-||||||||
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|2002-03||28||3||||||colspan="2"|-||||||||
|-
|2003-04||17||1||||||colspan="2"|-||||||||
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|2004-05||rowspan="2"|1. FC Kaiserslautern
||rowspan="2"|1. Bundesliga
||6||0||||||||||colspan="2"|-||||
|-
|2005-06||20||0||||||||||colspan="2"|-||||
|-
|rowspan="2"|2006-07||Rijeka
||rowspan="4"|Prva HNL||14||0||||||colspan="2"|-||||||||
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|rowspan="3"|Dinamo Zagreb||10||3||||||colspan="2"|-||||||||
|-
|2007-08||21||1||||||colspan="2"|-||||||||
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|2008-09||15||0||||||colspan="2"|-||||||||
|-
|2009||rowspan="2"|Sanfrecce Hiroshima
||rowspan="2"|J. League Division 1||25||0||0||0||5||0||colspan="2"|-||30||0
|-
|2010
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41||1||2||1||9||0||0||0||52||2
296||36||||||||||||||||
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
n football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
player who is currently playing for Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese club Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Sanfrecce Hiroshima
is a Japanese association football club in the J. League Division 1.-Club name:The club name is a portmanteau of the Japanese numeral for three, San and an Italian word frecce or 'arrows'...
. He is now most commonly playing as a right winger, but has played during his career as an attacking midfielder and striker
Striker
Forwards, also known as strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals...
as well.
Club career
Mikić was born in ZagrebZagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
and started to play football at the club NK Bistra when he was seven years old. At the age of 13, he moved to Inker Zaprešić
NK Inter Zaprešic
NK Inter Zaprešić is a Croatian football club based in Zaprešić, a town northwest of the capital Zagreb originally founded in 1929. They play in the Prva HNL after they were promoted from Druga HNL at the end of the 2006–07 season...
and started his professional career at the club already at the age of 16. He left Inker after his first professional season and went on to sign with Dinamo Zagreb
Dinamo Zagreb
GNK Dinamo Zagreb, commonly referred to as Dinamo Zagreb , or by their nickname Modri are a Croatian football club based in Zagreb. They play their home matches at Stadion Maksimir. They are the most successful club in Croatian football, having won thirteen Croatian championship titles, ten...
, where he became a regular by the time he turned 19.
He was still only 18 years old when he went on to make three appearances for Dinamo Zagreb in the UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
group stage in the autumn of 1998, starting in two matches and becoming notable for scoring the club's first goal in the UEFA Champions League when he opened the scoring in the 7th minute of Dinamo's fourth group match, against Porto at home in Zagreb. Dinamo won the match 3-1 and went on to win 1-0 against Ajax Amsterdam
Ajax Amsterdam
Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax , also referred to as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam or simply Ajax , is a professional football club from Amsterdam, Netherlands...
away and draw 1-1 against Olympiacos at home, but failed to advance to the quarterfinals after finishing second in their group. Mikić appeared in all of Dinamo's three home matches, playing as a striker.
He also played with Dinamo Zagreb in the UEFA Champions League in the following year and made five appearances in six group matches, but was a starting player only once. He scored one goal in Dinamo's final group match, away against Olympique de Marseille
Olympique de Marseille
Olympique de Marseille is a French association football club based in Marseille. Founded in 1899, the club plays in Ligue 1 and have spent most of its history in the top tier of French football. Marseille have been French champions nine times and have won the Coupe de France a record ten times. In...
, that ended in a 2-2 draw. Dinamo was eliminated from the competition after finishing last out of four teams in their group.
Mikić continued to play for Dinamo Zagreb until 2004 and then he left the club after seven seasons for German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Bundesliga side 1. FC Kaiserslautern
1. FC Kaiserslautern
1. Fußball-Club Kaiserslautern, also known as 1. FCK, FCK or simply Kaiserslautern, is a German association football club based in Kaiserslautern, Rhineland-Palatinate. On 2 June 1900, Germania 1896 and FG Kaiserslautern merged to create FC 1900...
. In his first season in Germany, he made only six Bundesliga appearances for Kaiserslautern and was not a regular in the first part of the 2005-06 season either, making only four appearances in the league, but then he became a regular after the winter break and collected a total of 20 Bundesliga appearances until the end of the season. He did not manage to score any goals in a total of 29 competitive appearances for Kaiserslautern and left the club in June 2006, shortly after they were relegated to the Second Bundesliga with a 16th-place finish in the first division.
In July 2006, he came back to Croatia by signing with Rijeka
NK Rijeka
HNK Rijeka is a Croatian football club, from Rijeka on the Croatian coast.-History:The club was founded as NK Kvarner in 1946, after Rijeka passed from Italy to Yugoslavia following the end of World War II. During its early period in Yugoslavia, the club had moderate success in various Yugoslav...
and made his competitive debut for the club on 13 July 2006 in their first-leg first-round UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
qualifier against Cypriot
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
club Omonia Nicosia
AC Omonia
Athletic Club Omonoia Nicosia is a professional football club that plays in the Cyprus capital city Nicosia. The club was established in 1948 and became a member of the Cyprus Football Association in 1953...
. Omonia eliminated Rijeka from the competition in the second leg by winning 4-3 on aggregate. Mikić's domestic league
Croatian First League
The Prva HNL , also known as 1. HNL or for sponsorship reasons the MAXtv Prva Liga, is the top Croatian football league competition, established in 1992. The winners qualify for the UEFA Champions League...
debut for Rijeka came on 30 July 2006 in the club's opening match of the 2006-07 season, where they celebrated a 4-3 away victory against Cibalia
HNK Cibalia
HNK Cibalia, or just Cibalia, is a Croatian football club from the town of Vinkovci in eastern Croatia. Cibalia currently play in the Prva HNL, Croatia's top flight. Their stadium is located in the south part of their home town and can hold 12,000 spectators...
.
In January 2007, Mikić left Rijeka after making only 14 domestic league appearances for the club and returned to his former club Dinamo Zagreb, making his domestic league debut in their 2-1 victory in derby against Hajduk Split on 24 February 2007.
On 25 December 2008, it was announced that Mikić moved to J. League
J. League
The or is the top division of and is the top professional association football league in Japan. It is one of the most successful leagues in Asian club football and the only league given top class 'A' ranking by the AFC. Currently, J. League Division 1 is the first level of the Japanese...
side Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Sanfrecce Hiroshima
is a Japanese association football club in the J. League Division 1.-Club name:The club name is a portmanteau of the Japanese numeral for three, San and an Italian word frecce or 'arrows'...
.
International career
Mikić still did not manage to make his debut for the Croatian national A-teamCroatia national football team
The Croatia national football team represents Croatia in international football. The team is controlled by the Croatian Football Federation, the governing body for football in the country, and has been managed since 2006 by former player Slaven Bilić...
, but he had a fairly successful international career at youth levels with the Croatian national under-19 and under-21 team
Croatia national under-21 football team
The Croatia national under-21 football team, also known as Croatia under-21 or Croatia U21 is a youth association football national team which represents Croatia at this age level and is a feeder team for the Croatia national football team....
s.
He debuted for the Croatian national under-19 team on 3 November 1997 against Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland national football team
The Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in international association football. Before 1921 all of Ireland was represented by a single side, the Ireland national football team, organised by the Irish Football Association...
in their qualifying campaign for the 1998 European Under-18 Championship and subsequently made another two appearances for the team in the qualifying, scoring once. In July 1998, he was seen by many as the best player of the Croatian team at the European Under-18 Championship finals in Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, where he scored three goals in four matches and helped the team to reach the third place after beating Portugal
Portugal national football team
The Portugal national football team represents Portugal in association football and is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation, the governing body for football in Portugal. Portugal's home ground is Estádio Nacional in Oeiras, and their head coach is Paulo Bento...
on penalty shootout. After the tournament, he made another four appearances and scored one goal for the team in their qualifying campaign for the 1999 European Under-18 Championship.
Mikić won his last international cap for the Croatian under-19 team on 24 March 1999 and went to make his debut for the country's under-21 team in their opening match of the 1999 World Youth Championship
1999 FIFA World Youth Championship
The 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship took place in Nigeria between April 3 and April 24, 1999. The 1999 championship was the 12th contested.- Qualification :The following 24 teams qualified for the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship.-Squads:...
in Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
, against Ghana
Ghana national football team
The Ghana national football team, popularly known as the Black Stars, is the national association football team of Ghana and is controlled by the Ghana Football Association...
on 4 April 1999. He appeared in all four matches played by the Croatian team at the tournament before they were eliminated by Brazil
Brazil national football team
The Brazil national football team represents Brazil in international men's football and is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation , the governing body for football in Brazil. They are a member of the International Federation of Association Football since 1923 and also a member of the...
in the round of 16. Until the end of the year 1999, he made five appearances and scored three goals for the Croatian under-21 team in their qualifying campaign for the 2000 European Under-21 Championship
2000 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship
The UEFA U-21 Championship 2000, which spanned two years , had 47 entrants. Northern Ireland competed for the first time. For the first time a finals tournament with two groups of four teams was held, with one of those teams, Slovakia, having been chosen as the hosts.Italy U-21s won the...
and subsequently also appeared in all three group matches at the final tournament in Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
, where Croatia was eliminated in the group stage. He continued to play for the Croatian under-21 team until November 2001, making six appearances and scoring three goals in their qualifying campaign for the 2002 European Under-21 Championship
2002 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship
UEFA U-21 Championship 2002 was the 13th staging of UEFA's European Under-21 Football Championship. The final tournament was hosted by Switzerland between 16 and 28 May 2002.Czech Republic U-21s won the competition for the first time.-Qualification:...
.
Career statistics
Last update: 17 December 2010|-
|1996-97||Inker Zaprešić
NK Inter Zaprešic
NK Inter Zaprešić is a Croatian football club based in Zaprešić, a town northwest of the capital Zagreb originally founded in 1929. They play in the Prva HNL after they were promoted from Druga HNL at the end of the 2006–07 season...
||rowspan="8"|Prva HNL||25||5||||||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||||
|-
|1997-98||rowspan="7"|Dinamo Zagreb
Dinamo Zagreb
GNK Dinamo Zagreb, commonly referred to as Dinamo Zagreb , or by their nickname Modri are a Croatian football club based in Zagreb. They play their home matches at Stadion Maksimir. They are the most successful club in Croatian football, having won thirteen Croatian championship titles, ten...
||5||2||||||colspan="2"|-||||||||
|-
|1998-99||15||6||||||colspan="2"|-||||||||
|-
|1999-00||26||6||||||colspan="2"|-||||||||
|-
|2000-01||28||3||||||colspan="2"|-||||||||
|-
|2001-02||25||3||||||colspan="2"|-||||||||
|-
|2002-03||28||3||||||colspan="2"|-||||||||
|-
|2003-04||17||1||||||colspan="2"|-||||||||
|-
|2004-05||rowspan="2"|1. FC Kaiserslautern
1. FC Kaiserslautern
1. Fußball-Club Kaiserslautern, also known as 1. FCK, FCK or simply Kaiserslautern, is a German association football club based in Kaiserslautern, Rhineland-Palatinate. On 2 June 1900, Germania 1896 and FG Kaiserslautern merged to create FC 1900...
||rowspan="2"|1. Bundesliga
Fußball-Bundesliga
The Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga...
||6||0||||||||||colspan="2"|-||||
|-
|2005-06||20||0||||||||||colspan="2"|-||||
|-
|rowspan="2"|2006-07||Rijeka
NK Rijeka
HNK Rijeka is a Croatian football club, from Rijeka on the Croatian coast.-History:The club was founded as NK Kvarner in 1946, after Rijeka passed from Italy to Yugoslavia following the end of World War II. During its early period in Yugoslavia, the club had moderate success in various Yugoslav...
||rowspan="4"|Prva HNL||14||0||||||colspan="2"|-||||||||
|-
|rowspan="3"|Dinamo Zagreb||10||3||||||colspan="2"|-||||||||
|-
|2007-08||21||1||||||colspan="2"|-||||||||
|-
|2008-09||15||0||||||colspan="2"|-||||||||
|-
|2009||rowspan="2"|Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Sanfrecce Hiroshima
is a Japanese association football club in the J. League Division 1.-Club name:The club name is a portmanteau of the Japanese numeral for three, San and an Italian word frecce or 'arrows'...
||rowspan="2"|J. League Division 1||25||0||0||0||5||0||colspan="2"|-||30||0
|-
|2010
2010 J. League Division 1
The 2010 J. League Division 1 season was the 46th season of the top-flight club football in Japan and the 18th season since the establishment of J1 League. The season began on March 6 and ended on December 4....
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41||1||2||1||9||0||0||0||52||2
296||36||||||||||||||||
Team honors
Dinamo Zagreb- Croatian Champions - 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2007, 2008
- Croatian CupCroatian CupThe Croatian Cup is an annually held football tournament for Croatian football clubs and is the second most important competition in Croatian football after the Prva HNL league championship. It is governed by the Croatian Football Federation and usually runs from late August to May...
- 1998, 2001, 2002, 20072006–07 Croatian CupThe 2006–07 Croatian Cup was the sixteenth season of Croatia's football knockout competition.-Calendar:-Preliminary round:The preliminary round was held on 30 August, 2006.-First round:Matches played on 20 September, 2006.-Second round:...
, 2008 - Croatian SupercupCroatian SupercupThe Croatian Supercup is a football match between the winners of the Prva HNL and the Croatian Cup. The Supercup serves as a curtain raiser of the new football season and is only held when different clubs happen to win the two most important competitions during the previous season The Croatian...
- 2002, 2003
External links
- Mihael Mikić national team appearances at the Croatian Football FederationCroatian Football FederationThe Croatian Football Federation is the governing body of association football in Croatia. It was originally formed in 1912 and is based in the capital city of Zagreb. The organisation is a member of both FIFA and UEFA, and is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the game of football in Croatia...
official website