CHICAGO – Nemanja Nikolic could have opted for the chance at Premier League glory or the newfound riches of the Chinese Super League. Instead, he accepted the challenge to come to Chicago to help reestablish the Fire among the front runners in MLS.
The 29-year-old had reported offers from China, England’s Hull City and elsewhere in Europe, but the Serbian-born Nikolic was sufficiently impressed by the inspired words of head coach Veljko Paunovic to buy into the significant rebuild taking place at Toyota Park following two seasons of last-place finishes.
Nikolic struck a league-best 28 goals in 37 games to help guide Legia Warsaw to the 2016 Polish Ekstraklasa title after a success-laden six years with Hungary’s Videoton FC, and his desire to explore pastures new found him courted by teams from three continents.
“Money, for me, it was not so important,” Nikolic told reporters after his arrival in Chicago. “If it was important, today I play for a Chinese team because we had some opportunities for China or Europe because I had some offers more or less the same offer that I said yes for Chicago.”
However, a call from Paunovic helped sway Nikolic’s decision, and the man who scored a remarkable 56 goals in 41 league games for Legia is expected to provide the goals to propel the success-starved Fire back into playoff contention. In between a reported lunch with rumored transfer target Bastian Schweinsteiger in Manchester and other scouting escapades abroad, the second-year Chicago Fire head coach managed to find time for a two-hour phone call with Nikolic which did much to convince the 5-foot-11 striker that Chicago would be his next move, in a three-year deal.
“I told him, 'Listen, you have to know that this is not for everyone,’” Paunovic revealed. “‘It’s very tough. We have to build the culture and the team and bring the team where it belongs, which is on top of the league.’ I told him, ‘You have to know there are a lot of challenges and everything.’ When I was done with my speech, he was like, ‘I want to be there. That’s what I’ve always wanted. I always wanted challenges. I want to help you. I want to help the team. Everything you told me…that’s what I’m looking for.’”
Listening to Nikolic, one gets the sense of a man supremely focused on his craft, on succeeding, on justifying the faith Paunovic and general manager Nelson Rodriguez have placed in him. He has settled in quickly in Chicago, and judging by his steady updates on social media, he is enjoying the city and all the beauty it has to offer.
But his focus will be on scoring for the Fire and making them contenders once again.
“The goals for me it’s like food, you know,” Nikolic, who will have the nicknames of his two children on his boots for Saturday’s home opener against Real Salt Lake (1 pm CT | CSN Chicago), admitted. “It’s simple. I need the goals and I like to score the goals, not just on the game, sometimes I like to score the goals [in] training and this is my key. I will try to score many many goals here for Chicago. I signed a long contract and from my first day I want to adapt as soon as possible for the league, for the team. I want to score a lot of goals here and I will work really hard to achieve this.”
But why the sudden, midseason move from Poland’s top team to the far-flung challenge of Chicago and MLS?
“I wanted something new for my career,” he revealed. “I am now 29 and really wherever I play I achieve everything. In Hungary I achieve everything. In Poland I achieve everything. Score a lot of goals, win a lot of individual trophies and collective trophies and now it was the part in my life when I want something new. When Pauno called me and explained everything I think that I am now in the right place, in the right club and this is a long project and I will work to be success, not just on the individual trophies, but the collective also.”
Nikolic had been on Rodriguez’s radar for some time, and the Fire GM is no doubt that he will become a firm fan favorite amongst the club’s faithful, just as he did in Warsaw and Hungary before that. New signings haven’t typically received a loud and color-infused airport welcome in the Windy City, but a large group of fans made their way to O’Hare to greet their new striker on January 20.
“I think he is a player our fans are going to love,” Rodriguez said when asked about the welcome Nikolic received and admitted it gave him a “fantastic feeling.”
“If anyone followed his career at Legia he became idolized by the fans there, for good reason. I think he gives all for his team, he produces and our expectations are the same.”
Shane Murray is a contributor to MLSsoccer.com.
