Tragic fate: ex-national player (†39) beats cancer several times but dies in car accident
Zagreb (Croatia) - Great sadness for a former national player! Nikola Pokrivac beat cancer three times, but fate ultimately did not reward him for his bravery. Now the former professional footballer has died in a car accident at the age of just 39.
This was confirmed by the Croatian Football Association (HNS) in a statement late on Friday evening.
"In this shocking and unimaginably sad moment, in which we have lost a young life, there are no words of consolation to be found," association president Marijan Kustic (50) was quoted as saying.
"Nikola was a great footballer who lived for soccer until his last moment in this world and showed great courage in overcoming a terrible illness," added the 50-year-old. He expressed his "deepest condolences" to the family and relatives.
As reported by the Croatian daily newspaper 24 sata, among others, Pokrivac was on his way home from training with three team-mates on Friday evening when there was a serious accident involving several vehicles in Karlovac, south-west of the capital Zagreb.
According to the report, his three teammates were also seriously injured and another person died.
Nikola Pokrivac played for AS Monaco, RB Salzburg and Dinamo Zagreb
The defensive midfielder came from the youth ranks of NK Varazdin and joined Croatian record champions Dinamo Zagreb in 2007.
He immediately became a regular there and also attracted the interest of top European clubs during the CL qualifiers and the UEFA Cup, which is why AS Monaco snapped him up for €3.5 million after just one year.
The big breakthrough in France and then at RB Salzburg in Austria failed to materialize, but Pokrivac made 15 appearances for the Croatian national team during this time before returning to Dinamo in 2011.
In 2015, however, the all-rounder had to hang up his soccer boots early because he was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma - a rare type of cancer.
According to reports, the disease returned twice during his treatment, but the left-footer fought - and won.
He was finally able to return to the pitch in 2021, and at the time of his death he was still playing at amateur level for fourth-division club NK Vojnic 95.