Oka Nikolov has decided to sign with Fort Lauderdale Strikers from the North American Soccer League.
Eintracht Frankfurt’s legend Oka Nikolov was announced today as the latest signing of NASL’s Fort Lauderdale Strikers. The team is based in the state of Florida and competes in the second highest tier of professional football (soccer) in the United States. Interestingly, their official website does not grant access to visitors from Macedonia, but the club has also confirmed the transfer on their official Twitter account.
Nikolov spent 22 years in Eintracht Frankfurt and is rightfully considered a club legend by the supporters. Earlier this season, he was honored a with a sending off by the club. Below is a video of that moment.
Short video of Nikolov’s farewell choreography made by Eintracht’s fans
After his original departure from Eintracht, Nikolov initially moved to Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the United States. However, he did not got much playing time there and shortly left the club. He will now move to Fort Lauderdale Strikers as a free agent. Nikolov stated after he left Eintracht that he wanted to play in America.
“I am very happy to sign with the club,” Nikolov was quoted as saying. He further continued, “The Fort Lauderdale Strikers have a great history, having seen some great German players such as Gerd Müller play with the club. I want to help the team with my experience and look forward to joining them for their Spring campaign.”
Club official Tim Robbie praised Nikolov by noting: “When you have an opportunity to sign a goalkeeper of Nikolov’s stature, you jump on it. We’re very excited to have him join our club. He will be a tremendous asset not only to the Strikers, but to the entire NASL as well.”
Nikolov was born in Germany and holds German nationality. Due to laws in Germany, he was unable to obtain Macedonian documents unless he dropped he dropped his German passport. That is why he played just 5 times for the Macedonian national team, all coming in friendly matches.