| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1974-05-25) 25 May 1974 (age 50) | ||
| Place of birth | Erbach im Odenwald, West Germany | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Los Angeles FC (goalkeeping) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1981–1989 | SG Sandbach | ||
| 1989–1991 | Darmstadt 98 | ||
| 1991–1993 | Eintracht Frankfurt | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1992–1996 | Eintracht Frankfurt II | 73 | (0) |
| 1995–2013 | Eintracht Frankfurt | 379 | (0) |
| 2013 | Philadelphia Union | 0 | (0) |
| 2014 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 8 | (0) |
| Total | 460 | (0) | |
| International career | |||
| 1998–2001 | Macedonia | 5 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2014 | Germany U-19 (goalkeeping) | ||
| 2015 | Macedonia (goalkeeping) | ||
| 2016–2017 | Philadelphia Union (assistant) | ||
| 2018 | LA Galaxy (assistant) | ||
| 2019–2020 | Philadelphia Union (assistant) | ||
| 2021 | D.C. United (assistant) | ||
| 2022– | Los Angeles FC (goalkeeping) | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Orhej "Oka" Nikolov (German pronunciation: [ˈɔɐ̯hɛɪ ˈʔɔkaː ˈniːkolɔf]; Macedonian: Орхеј『Ока』Николов [ˈɔrxɛj ˈɔka niˈkɔɫɔf]; born 25 May 1974) is a retired professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He serves as assistant coach for Los Angeles FCinMajor League Soccer. He spent nineteen seasons with Eintracht Frankfurt, appearing in 413 official games over the course of 13 Bundesliga seasons.[1][2] Born in Germany, he represented Macedonia at international level.
Born Erbach im Odenwald, Hessen, West Germany, Nikolov grew up in Sandbach in Hessen, starting playing football with local SG Sandbach.[citation needed]
Nikolov started his senior career at Eintracht Frankfurt as backup, first to Uli Stein and then Andreas Köpke.[citation needed] After the latter left the team in June 1996 following the team's relegation from the Bundesliga he became first-choice, losing that status in early 2002 to newly-signed Dirk Heinen; he made his debut in the top division on 9 September 1995, playing the full 90 minutes in a 3–1 home win against 1. FC Kaiserslautern.[citation needed]
In the following years Nikolov played in every season.[citation needed] In February 2007, after Pröll received a rib injury, he was reinstated by manager Friedhelm Funkel, contributing with 20 games during the team's 2006–07 season.[3]
In January 2010, it was announced that the 35-year-old Nikolov would not renew his contract with Eintracht that was due to expire in the summer, but he eventually signed a new deal until 2012, and later until 2013.[4] In June 2013, Eintracht revealed that the goalkeeper's contract would be cancelled, effective immediately to allow Nikolov to fulfill his lifelong dream to play in the United States.[5]
On 19 June 2013, Nikolov signed with the Philadelphia UnionofMajor League Soccer.[6] He made his first start as a Union player on 30 July 2013 in a friendly against Stoke City playing 45 minutes.[citation needed]
Nikolov signed with Fort Lauderdale Strikers on 19 February 2014 on a contract for the nine-game Spring season.[citation needed] Nikolov started and played eight matches in goal for the Strikers, posting two clean sheets. The team ended up as runners-ups.[3]
Nikolov joined the coaching staff of Los Angeles FC in February 2022.[8]
Nikolov chose to represent the country of his ancestors, going on to win five caps for Macedonia in four years. He made his debut in a September 1998 friendly match against Egypt but since he also possessed German citizenship he couldn't acquire a Macedonian passport and therefore was unable to play in official games under FIFA.[citation needed] His five appearances were in friendlies.[9]
His final international was a match in November 2001 against Hungary.[10]
Eintracht Frankfurt
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Los Angeles FC – current squad
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