Niko Sigur
Personal information
Full name Niko Kristian Sigur
Date of birth (2003-09-09) September 9, 2003
Place of birth Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Position(s) Defensive midfielder, right-back
Team information
Current team
 Hajduk Split
Number 20
Youth career
Mountain United FC
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
2021 Vaughan Azzurri
2022 NK Radomlje
2022– Hajduk Split
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2021 York Lions 11 (2)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2023– Hajduk Split 26 (0)
International career‡
2023– Croatia U21 6 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 25 December 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 25 December 2023

Niko Kristian Sigur (born 9 September 2003) is a professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Prva HNL club Hajduk Split.[2][3][4] Born in Canada, Sigur has represented Croatia at the youth international level.

Early life

Sigur was born in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada and first began playing soccer with Mountain United FC in Burnaby, [5] in which he won the 2016 BC provincial championship and the 2018 BCSPL League Cup title.[1] He was then selected to play for the Whitecaps FC Academy, winning the USSDA Northwest Division championship in 2018. He attended at Notre Dame Regional Secondary School at the high school level, where he won the 2019 BC AA provincial championship.[1]

University career

Sigur played one year of university soccer at York University in 2021. During his university career he started in 10 of 11 matches, scoring 2 goals and registering 1 assist. He was named York's athlete of the week in November for his semi final playoff performance, which saw him score the winning goal against Ryerson in the 119th minute and recording an assist in the same game. York would later finish with a silver medal the OUA championship during his only season.[1]

Club career

Early career

He played for Vaughan Azzurri's "C" team in 2021, making 2 appearances for the club.[6] He then moved to Slovenia in early 2022, joining NK Radomlje's youth setup.[7] He later transferred to Hajduk Split in Croatia to play for their academy, registering 2 goals and 3 assists in his first youth season.[8]

He was ineligible to play in Hajduk Split's historic UEFA Youth League run due to a special rule where older players in the junior ages must have at least two years of club experience in order to perform.[9]

Hajduk Split

He was signed on August 3, 2022 by Prva HNL side Hajduk Split ahead of their season. He made his unofficial debut for the first-team in a 4–1 friendly win against NK Urania.[10]

He made his official senior debut on a 2–0 win against NK Varaždin on April 22 as a right back, due to the injuries of Dino Mikanović and Gergő Lovrencsics[11]

Style of play

Sigur is described as a very technical midfielder who can impact the game on both ends.[1] Sigur regards himself as a defensive midfielder who can also play in several midfield positions.[8] He is also able to play as a right back, as shown on his senior professional debut.[11]

International career

Born in Canada, Sigur is of Croatian descent. In May 2023, he was called up to the Croatia U21s for the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship and the senior Canada men's national soccer team, and opted to represent Croatia.[12][13]

Career statistics

As of match played 17 December 2023[14]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Croatian Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Hajduk Split 2022–23 Croatian First Football League 7010——80
2023–24 Croatian First Football League 190002[lower-alpha 1]01[lower-alpha 2]0220
Total 260102010300
Career total 260102010300

Honours

Hajduk Split

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Niko Sigur". YorkU Lions. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Tko je Niko Sigur (19), Hajdukov debitant? 'Kad mi je Leko rekao da ću igrati, bio sam nervozan'". 24sata.hr.
  3. ↑ "EVO TKO JE SLJEDEĆI NA REDU ZA PRIKLJUČIVANJE PRVOJ MOMČADI HAJDUKA, ON VEĆ SADA RADI RAZLIKU NA TERENU". jutarnji.hr.
  4. ↑ "Magičan put za 365 dana: Niko Sigur, od uličnog fudbalera do debija za prvi tim Hajduka". nogomania.rs.
  5. ↑ "Alumni Players". Mountain United FC. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  6. ↑ "Niko Sigur". League1 Ontario. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  7. ↑ "Niko Sigur NK Radomlje NK Brinje Grosuplje". NK Radomlje (in Croatian). Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  8. 1 2 "Za Hajduk debitirao igrač koji je prošle godine igrao na ulici". Index.hr (in Croatian). Index Sport. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  9. ↑ Alfirević, Slaven. "Tko je neočekivani debitant u momčadi Hajduka? Junior koji ne smije nastupati u Europi zbog posebnog pravila". Slobodna Dalmacija (in Croatian). Slobodna Dalmacija. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  10. ↑ "Baška Voda: Urania - Hajduk 1:4". HNK Hajduk Split (in Croatian). Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  11. 1 2 "Niko Sigur: Bio sam nervozan prije debija, ali suigrači su mi puno pomogli" (in Croatian). HNK Hajduk Split. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  12. ↑ "Mlada zvijezda Hajduka prelomila između Kanade i Hrvatske?". Gol.hr.
  13. ↑ "Dual Citizenship Dilemma: Talented Niko Sigur chooses Croatia". croatiaweek.com.
  14. ↑ "Niko Sigur profile". Soccerway. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
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