Victor Sikora

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Victor Sikora
Personnel
Surname Victor Tadeusz Sikora
birthday April 11, 1978
place of birth Deventer ,  Netherlands
size 172 cm
position Midfielder and winger
Juniors
Years station
Roda Deventer
0000-1995 Go Ahead Eagles
Men's
Years station Games (goals) 1
1994-1999 Go Ahead Eagles 107 (34)
1999-2002 Vitesse Arnhem 84 (20)
2002-2006 Ajax Amsterdam 44 0(7)
2004-2005 →  SC Heerenveen  (loan) 19 0(1)
2005 →  NAC Breda  (loan) 13 0(0)
2006-2008 NAC Breda 30 0(3)
2008 FC Dallas 5 0(1)
2008-2009 →  Perth Glory  (loan) 5 0(0)
2009–2012 Perth Glory 18 0(4)
National team
Years selection Games (goals)
Netherlands U-16
Netherlands U18
Netherlands U-21
2001-2002 Netherlands 6 0(0)
1 Only league games are given.

Victor Tadeusz Sikora (born April 11, 1978 in Deventer ) is a former Dutch football player of Polish descent, who was used both as an attacking midfielder and as a winger .

Club career

Early years with the Go Ahead Eagles

Sikora, who was born in Deventer in the province of Overijssel , began his active career as a football player with his home club, Roda Deventer , who played in the lower class , from whom he moved to the Go Ahead Eagles when he was a youngster . At the club, which is also based in Deventer, he was active in the various youth teams until 1995 and made the leap to the professional team in the 1994/95 season , which at that time was already playing in the Eredivisie , the highest football league of the Landes, had. In the same season, the then just 16-year-old made his professional debut when he came on for Gijs Steinmann in the 69th minute of the 2-1 away defeat by RKC Waalwijk on February 15, 1995 . After a mixed season, in which the professional team of the club only came to the penultimate place in the table, the team was only able to secure the further stay in the first class by winning the promotion or relegation playoff at the end of the season.

After relegating Sikora came in the 1995/96 season already more often for the professional team and brought it to a total of 14 league appearances by the end of the season, in which he also scored his first professional league goal. As in the previous season, the team could not convince in 1995/96 and was at the end of the season with 22 points and 34 games in the last place in the table and had to start relegation to the Dutch second division . There, however, the trained man advanced to a regular player and by the end of the 1996/97 season even made 32 championship appearances, in which he scored eight goals. He was next to Erik Tammer (23 goals) the second most successful goalscorer of his team. Although they then participated in the playoffs, the planned promotion could not take place due to the lower goal difference of the Go Ahead Eagles and the team had to remain in the Eerste Divisie.

With the Go Ahead Eagles through the second class

Not much should change in the following 1997/98 season . After 34 games played, the team only achieved a place in the middle of the table and had to be content with remaining in the second highest Dutch football league. Sikora was used in 31 games and acted alongside players like Erik Tammer (17 goals) and Jan Michels (12 goals) with twelve goals as one of the team's top scorers. After another, for him personally, very strong season 1998/99 , in which he scored 13 goals in 29 completed league games, but again failed to make it into the relegation playoffs with the team, some clubs were on the attacking midfielder, who to this During the time, he was often used as a striker . The biggest success with the team this season was the entry into the round of 32 of the KNVB Cup in the 1998/99 season , where they then lost to FC Zwolle 2: 5. In the years before, Sikora and the team were mostly eliminated from the current competition shortly after the group stage in the first knockout round.

Return to the Eredivisie

Due to his offensive talent , Sikora, who in his final season at the Go Ahead Eagles with his 13 goals placed second behind Bram Marbus (14 hits), was finally signed by the Dutch first division club Vitesse Arnheim . At the club from the city ​​of Arnhem on the Lower Rhine , Sikora quickly fought for a regular place in the attacking midfield and was in his first season with the new club in 28 championship games in which he scored eight goals. In the league, too, things went better for Sikora than in previous years. With Vitesse Arnheim he immediately made it to the top of the table and was again eligible for participation in the UEFA Cup with the team . After he was able to gain his first experience in this competition in 1999/2000 when he was used in a single UEFA Cup match, he made two more appearances after his good placement in the 1999/2000 season in the 2000/01 UEFA Cup .

In the league, it was similar to the previous season for the right-wing offensive player. Sikora was used in 27 championship games in the 2000/01 season , in which he scored nine goals. However, this season it was barely enough for a place in the UEFA Cup of the following season. In the KNVB Cup, too, there was no great success and, as in 1999/2000 , the team was eliminated in the semifinals of the current competition in the 2000/01 season . With the following 2001/02 season , in which he again reached a UEFA Cup starting place with the team, Sikora's hit rate also fell, with he scored three times in 29 completed league games. Despite all that, the reigning Dutch champions Ajax Amsterdam at the time expressed interest in the trained midfielder and brought him to the Dutch capital for a rumored transfer fee of around 4.5 million euros. In addition to the move to Ajax Amsterdam, there was also a transfer to England to Fulham in the room.

Champion and runner-up with Ajax Amsterdam

It was there that the then 24-year-old began his most successful career to date, although he was unable to establish himself as a regular player, especially in his first season at the capital city club, and so had to pause part of the 2003/04 season due to injury. In this he was used in 17 league games in which he scored twice and won with the team, among other things, the Johan Cruyff Schaal of the year 2002. In addition, Sikora gained first experience in the UEFA Champions League , where he was for the reigning Dutch champions Ajax Amsterdam were used in four games (including against Olympique Lyon , Inter Milan or AS Roma ) and the team made it to the quarter-finals of the competition , where the eventual Champions League winners AC Milan, however, narrowly met with one Total score of 2: 3 from the first and second leg lost. In the championship, the 1.72 m tall midfielder made it to second place in the table, one point behind PSV Eindhoven , which meant that they were eligible for participation in the third qualifying round for the 2003/04 Champions League .

After a narrow progression in the qualification (total score: 2: 3 against the Grazer AK ), in the subsequent group phase of the competition, the last of Group H was eliminated early on from the current competition and was able to concentrate fully on the current championship. Sikora, who played in both CL qualifiers and in two of his team's six group games in the Champions League, also advanced to become one of the regular players in midfield at Ajax Amsterdam within the league. The Polish-born Sikora, who was often used in defensive midfield at Ajax, made a total of 27 championship appearances and five goals and was thus instrumental in the 29th championship title in the club's history.

As a loan player to Heerenveen and Breda

Although the success he celebrated with Ajax, the club management decided to pass on Sikora as a loan player. His first loan station was here the SC Heerenveen , for which he should be used throughout the 2004/05 season, but brought it to only 19 missions and one hit by the end of the season. After a fifth place in the final ranking and the return to his actual home club in the capital, the now defensive midfielder was awarded a second time. This time he went to Breda , where he should gain a foothold at NAC Breda , which was active there, but only made 13 league appearances over the entire 2005/06 season , in which he also remained goalless. Although he could not really establish himself in his loan season with Breda, they still put trust in him and brought him as a permanent newcomer to the team for the 2006/07 season .

As a regular at NAC Breda

Plagued by injuries, Sikora could not really assert himself even after his permanent commitment to the football club from Breda and only played nine championship games by the end of the season, in which he scored one goal. In addition, there was a bad season placement of the team in the final table of the Eredivisie, where the team even had to participate in the relegation playoff, but was able to secure the remaining in the first class there. There the 1.72 m tall, versatile midfielder and winger made 21 league appearances and two goals in the 2007/08 season , but was still unable to match the performances of recent years and decided to leave the Dutch House of Lords after his contract expired .

Moving overseas

He was soon drawn to the United States , where he signed a lucrative contract with FC Dallas with a base salary of $ 144,000 and a guaranteed severance pay of just over $ 163,000. But even with the Americans, Sikora was not spared the bad luck with injuries and after only two league games he was out for several weeks after a meniscus tear in his right knee. Even after his return after just under a month and a half, Sikora could not really join the team and at the end of the season he completed another three league games, in which he was again unable to play and had to be replaced early. Among other things, he succeeded in the final game of the season, a 2-2 away draw against LA Galaxy , a goal that the long-time Mexican international Duilio Davino presented to him. After a trial session at his former club, the Go Ahead Eagles , Sikora was awarded as a guest player to Australia at Perth Glory during the winter break before the new season . There he was supposed to replace the Brazilian Amaral , who was out due to an injury. In his first season, the midfielder was used in five championship games, in which he remained goalless.

A permanent addition to Perth Glory

It took only two months before Sikora was once again in contract negotiations with the Perth club and subsequently signed by the club for another year. Before that, the Dutchman had already been in renewed contact with his former training club, the Go Ahead Eagles , where he also completed trial training units, but was ultimately unable to convince. After his return to Australia, Sikora quickly became a regular on the club's professional team. He was used in 17 championship games until December 2009 and scored four goals. After that, however, he was thrown back again by injuries that prevented Sikora from being used in a competitive game by Perth Glory to date (as of October 28, 2010). There were many reasons for this. Sometimes it was strains and injuries to the thigh that set Sikora back for a week or two, but then there were also hip problems that made the trained midfielder absent for several weeks. In addition, there were also injuries to the knee, which Sikora had already had an operation on in June 2009. After he had only made one appearance in the 2010/11 and 2011/12 seasons, he announced his retirement from professional sport in mid-2012.

National team career

Siktora gained his first international experience in the 1990s when, among other things, he took part in qualifying for the U-16 European Championship in 1994 with the Dutch U-16 team and on March 8, 1994 (1-0 defeat against England U-16) made his debut in his first competitive game. Further missions for the U-18 and U-21 national teams of his home country followed in the following years.

His first call-up to the senior national team of his home country followed in February 2001, when he was nominated for a friendly international match against Turkey , and on February 28, 2001 also made his debut in this. Until his last international appearance on May 19, 2002 in a 2-0 win over the USA , Sikora was used in a total of six international matches in the Netherlands. Among other things, he also played two games in the course of qualifying for the 2002 World Cup , where he was used in the 2-2 draw against Portugal and the 4-0 win over Cyprus .

successes

with Ajax Amsterdam

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Ajax pip Fulham to Sikora signature , accessed October 28, 2010.
  2. ↑ a b Galásek sleept Ajax door voorronde (Dutch), accessed on October 26, 2010.
  3. ^ Sikora leaves Ajax , accessed October 28, 2010.
  4. ↑ 2008 MLS Player Salaries: October 7, 2008: Alphabetical ( Memento from July 24, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) (pdf file; p. 7; English; 34 kB), accessed on October 26, 2010.
  5. ↑ FCD sign Sikora, acquire Cunningham , accessed on October 26, 2010.
  6. ↑ FCD's Sikora Out 4-6 Weeks (English), accessed on October 26, 2010.
  7. ↑ Season Ends With 2-2 Draw; Landon Wins Golden Boot , accessed October 28, 2010.
  8. ↑ Sikora terug bij Go Ahead Eagles ( Memento from September 4, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) (Dutch), accessed on October 26, 2010.
  9. ↑ a b Dutch International heading for Glory ( Memento of February 25, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) (English), accessed on October 28, 2010.
  10. ↑ a b Sikora signs for Glory ( Memento from February 19, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) (English), accessed on October 28, 2010.
  11. ↑ Semi-final showdown ( Memento of March 4, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) (English), accessed on October 28, 2010.
  12. ↑ http://perthglory.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=34500 (link not available)
  13. ↑ http://perthglory.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=34785 (link not available)
  14. ↑ Sikora sidelined ( Memento of February 19, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) (English), accessed on October 28, 2010.
  15. ↑ Portugal - Netherlands (2: 2) (English), accessed on October 28, 2010.
  16. ↑ Netherlands - Cyprus (4: 0) (English), accessed on October 28, 2010.
personal data
SURNAME Sikora, Victor
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Sikora, Victor Tadeusz (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Dutch soccer player
DATE OF BIRTH April 11, 1978
PLACE OF BIRTH Deventer , Netherlands