Spasoje NIKOLIC

Spasoje Nikolic was a Macedonian midfielder, who would start his playing career in Serbia before being brought to France by RC Paris in 1945. He wouldn't see much action in his early days at the club, and despite being technically gifted, he didn't manage to become a first-choice member of the starting line-up until his last season in Paris (1948/1949) when he would win the French Cup. The following season saw him move to Italy, signing for Venice, with whom he experienced relegation to Serie B, at the end of the 1949/1950 campaign. He would still stay there for two seasons before returning to France, where he joined Stade Rennais in 1951. He made it into the starting line-up for the first time on Matchday 7 in the 1951/1952 Division 1 season, and he established himself as a regular starter in the number 8 shirt, notably alongside attackers Grumellon and Le Gall. In the subsequent season, he would suffer an injury after a few games, and then struggled to reclaim his place, faced with stiff competition from the likes of Abautret and Vaast for his shirt, but he would also suffer from the quotas put in place on overseas players that could appear on the pitch at the same time. He was thus used sparingly that season, and would leave the club (without hard feelings towards the club) to head South, signing for Aix-en-Provence, where he would ultimately hang up his boots. After retiring, he became a naturalised French citizen, and became manager with Creil, Aix and Béziers.