Nemanja Nikolic was the definition of instant impact in MLS. The Serbian-born, Hungarian striker joined the Chicago Fire from Legia Warsaw. There was a trend at his previous few clubs, he scored a lot of goals. In December of 2016, Nikolic joined the Fire on a reported $3m fee as a Designated Player. His 2017 season was something magical, as he scored far too many goals to mention even close to each one in this article.
In a strange first goal of his MLS career, Nikolic ran in behind after appearing offside, but it turns out that the Real Salt Lake player was the one who played the through ball. He slipped a low left footed shot right under Columbus goalkeeper Zack Steffen. Nikolic started with 2 goals in his first five games, but those numbers would increase exponentially in the next two months. He scored his first brace against New England in mid-April, smashing one in at the back post, then used his pure pace to get in behind for the second. Nikolic scored a large majority of his first season goals at home at Toyota Park, now SeatGeek Stadium. He scored his first away goal at Red Bull Arena, curling a shot to the far post. It became two straight games with an away goal when he calmly opened his hips out on the West Coast.
Returning back home to Bridgeview, IL, Nikolic scored a brace in two straight games. He scored a penalty and a free tap in against Seattle, while also providing an assist. The next match included his first headed goal, in addition to a sliding, roofed finish at the back stick. Nikolic had scored 6 goals in his last 4 matches. In June, to the first day of July, he scored another 5 goals in 4 games. Once he got going, it was very difficult to hold him down. It was another brace for Vancouver, being in the right place at the right time. There is nothing flashy about Nikolic, he just uses his speed and strength to his advantage, while finishing low into the corners on most occasions. Nikolic went ice cold in the summer, not scoring a goal in the hottest time of the year.
Once the weather began to change, Nikolic was back. At the turn of the month to September, he scored 2 goals in the first 3 games of the month. In the same bottom corner fashion, Nikolic added two more goals on a trip to San Jose. On October 15th, he registered his first MLS hat trick in the penultimate match. It took him less than 3 minutes to open the scoring. Nikolic equalized with a penalty, before scoring his 24th goal of the season on a signature placed finish into the bottom right. Nemanja Nikolic took the 2017 MLS Golden Boot with 24 goals, David Villa came second with 22. The Chicago Fire finished third place in the Eastern Conference. They lost 4-0 to the Red Bulls in the first round. Nikolic was named to the 2017 Best XI, as well as the All-Star Team, then won the 2018 ESPY Award for the Best MLS Player for the 2017 season.
Nemanja Nikolic set the bar so high in 2017 that he made it impossible to reach in 2018, but he was not too far off. He scored 15 more goals for a much less productive Chicago Fire team that finished second to last in the East. Things looked pretty dangerous as Nikolic scored a brace in the very opening match of the season against SKC, forcing one in at the back post, then smashing home a Brandon Vincent cross after 82'. Chicago would lose 4-3 despite taking the 3-2 lead with that goal. It foreshadowed their campaign. Though, the Fire did make a little run in the Open Cup. Nikolic scored four times, including two in the Round of 32. Chicago would lose 3-0 to Philly in the Semis.
Around the beginning of July, Nikolic scored in three straight games, including another calm breakaway finish in a win versus NYCFC. He then scored a brace against Orlando City in a home match in September. Nikolic converted something of an "and one" on the first goal, taking the contact from the goalkeeper while scoring. He was just fine, scoring another easy finish goal later on. Chicago of course missed the playoffs this time around, but Nikolic enjoyed another year of scoring many goals.
In 2019, Nikolic's numbers dropped slightly further, but he remained at 12 goals or more in all of his three seasons with the club. He played his final season with Chicago in 2019. In April, he scored a fourth of his goals in a three game span. He scored a header off a pretty cross in a victory against Colorado. The start to the season was not all that bad for the Fire, but it just did not last for them. After scoring twice on Matt Turner in a 5-0 win over a faltering New England side, Nikolic and Chicago had playoff aspirations. While there was real hope, the Fire ended up missing the playoffs by three points, behind that same Revolution side. Scoring did not become abundant again until August, where he scored 5 goals in 4 matches, reminiscent of his 2017 campaign. In a brace on Andre Blake's Union, he snuck one home at the near post, then added a penalty. He scored one last time on September 14th, a first-time shot that beat Dallas in a 4-0 victory.
In 2020, Nemanja Nikolic decided to leave Chicago upon the expiry of his contract. He returned to Hungary to play for Fehervar. He scored 30 goals there in his second stint with the club formerly known as Videoton. Nikolic is the leading scorer for the club, with 150 goals. He ranks second in Chicago Fire history, behind Ante Razov. On June 11, 2023, Nikolic officially retired from professional soccer at the age of 35. After scoring 300 career goals, with 51 in MLS, it was quite the career for the forward. Nemanja Nikolic took MLS by storm in his three seasons, he ranks at #58 on the list.
YEAR | CLUB | MINUTES | GOALS | ASSISTS |
2019 | CHI | 2,003 | 12 | 0 |
2018 | CHI | 2,443 | 15 | 2 |
2017 | CHI | 2,946 | 24 | 4 |
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