Nikola Sekulov
Nikola Sekulov (Macedonian: Никола Секулов; born 18 February 2002) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Serie C Group A club Juventus Next Gen. Born in Italy to Macedonian parents, Sekulov represented Macedonia internationally at youth level, before switching to Italy in 2018.
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
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Date of birth | 18 February 2002 | |||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Piacenza, Italy | |||||||||||||||
Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | |||||||||||||||
Position(s) | Midfielder | |||||||||||||||
Team information | ||||||||||||||||
Current team | Juventus Next Gen | |||||||||||||||
Number | 7 | |||||||||||||||
Youth career | ||||||||||||||||
2007–2012 | Piacenza | |||||||||||||||
2012–2015 | Parma | |||||||||||||||
2015–2016 | Pro Piacenza | |||||||||||||||
2016–2021 | Juventus | |||||||||||||||
Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||
2020– | Juventus Next Gen[lower-greek 1] | 64 | (6) | |||||||||||||
International career‡ | ||||||||||||||||
2017 | Macedonia U17 | 2 | (0) | |||||||||||||
2018–2019 | Italy U17 | 10 | (0) | |||||||||||||
2019–2020 | Italy U18 | 6 | (0) | |||||||||||||
2021–2022 | Italy U20 | 6 | (1) | |||||||||||||
Honours
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20:50, 24 April 2023 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21:22, 18 April 2022 (UTC) |
Club career
Born in Piacenza, Italy, to Macedonian parents, Sekulov began his youth career at Piacenza in 2007, remaining there until 2012 when he moved to Parma.[2] In 2015 he joined Pro Piacenza, before moving to Juventus in 2016.[2]
Sekulov made his Serie C debut for Juventus U23 – the reserve team of Juventus – on 21 October 2020 in a 1–0 defeat to Pro Vercelli.[3] On 22 September 2021, Sekulov scored his first goal in his career in a 2–1 win against Triestina.[4] On 17 October, Sekulov scored a brace in a 2–1 win against Seregno.[5] On 29 October, Sekulov extended his contract with Juventus until 2025.[6]
On 7 December 2022, Sekulov scored Juventus Next Gen's 2–0 in their victory against Padova in Coppa Italia Serie C after carrying the ball from his own half.[7]
International career
Sekulov represented Macedonia internationally at youth level until the under-17s, switching allegiance to Italy in 2018.[2] He represented the under-17s at the 2019 UEFA European Under-17 Championship, reaching the final of the competition where Italy lost to the Netherlands.[8]
Style of play
A half-winger (Italian: mezz'ala), Sekulov has been likened to former Juventus midfielder Claudio Marchisio for his technical qualities, movements, and height.[8]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 22 April 2023[9]
Club | Season | League | Coppa Italia | Other | Total | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Juventus Next Gen[lower-greek 1] | 2020–21 | Serie C | 3 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
2021–22 | Serie C | 33 | 4 | — | 8[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 41 | 4 | ||
2022–23 | Serie C | 28 | 4 | — | 8[lower-alpha 2] | 2 | 36 | 6 | ||
Total | 64 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 80 | 10 | ||
Career total | 64 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 80 | 10 |
- Three appearances in Coppa Italia Serie C, five appearances in Serie C promotion play-offs
- Appearances in Coppa Italia Serie C
References
- "From Under 23 to Next Gen – a new identity at Juventus". Juventus F.C. 26 August 2022. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
- Attanasio, Christian (3 July 2020). "Juve Primavera: Nikola Sekulov, il talento dai Balcani tra bianconeri e Italia". Juventus News 24 (in Italian). Retrieved 12 December 2020.
- "Pro Vercelli vs. Juventus II - 21 October 2020 - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
- Ferrero, Giorgio (22 September 2021). "Juventus U23 Triestina 2-1: termina al Moccagatta, decide Akè". Juventus News 24 (in Italian). Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- Ferrero, Giorgio (17 October 2021). "Juventus U23 Seregno 2-1: fischio finale, Sekulov ribalta la partita". Juventus News 24 (in Italian). Retrieved 17 October 2021.
- JuventusNews24, Redazione (29 October 2021). "Rinnovo Sekulov Juve: è ufficiale! I dettagli per l'attaccante dell'Under 23". Juventus News 24 (in Italian). Retrieved 29 October 2021.
- JuventusNews24, Redazione (7 December 2022). "Gol Sekulov, una meraviglia dell'attaccante per il 2-0 Next Gen – VIDEO". Juventus News 24 (in Italian). Retrieved 7 December 2022.
- "Nikola Sekulov, l'azzurro dei Balcani fa faville con Juve e Under - TUTTOmercatoWEB.com". www.tuttomercatoweb.com (in Italian). Retrieved 12 December 2020.
- Nikola Sekulov at Soccerway. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
Notelist
- The team's name was changed from Juventus U23 to Juventus Next Gen in August 2022.[1]
External links
- Nikola Sekulov at Soccerway
- Nikola Sekulov at Global Sports Archive
- "Nikola Sekulov". FIGC U18 profile (in Italian).
- "Nikola Sekulov". FIGC U19 profile (in Italian).