Former Croatia midfielder Nikola Pokrivač dies in car accident at age 39
Former Croatia midfielder Nikola Pokrivač dies in car accident at age 39/node/2597686/sport
Former Croatia midfielder Nikola Pokrivač dies in car accident at age 39
Salzburg’s Nikola Pokrivac, left, and Sturm’s Peter Hlinka challenge for the ball during the Austrian league match between Red Bull Salzburg and Sturm Graz, in Salzburg, in 2009. (AP/File)
Former Croatia midfielder Nikola Pokrivač dies in car accident at age 39
The federation announced that Pokrivač died Friday night in a car accident
Pokrivač made 15 appearances for Croatia’s national team
Updated 19 April 2025
AP
ZAGREB: Nikola Pokrivač, a former Croatia national team midfielder who played at the 2008 European Championship, has died in a car accident, his country’s soccer federation said. He was 39.
The federation announced that Pokrivač died Friday night in a car accident in the city of Karlovac.
Pokrivač played for Dinamo Zagreb, Monaco and Salzburg before being diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma in 2015.
Former Croatian national team player Nikola Pokrivač has tragically died in a car accident pic.twitter.com/lEF8ryu8VX
Pokrivač made 15 appearances for Croatia’s national team.
Marijan Kustić, president of the Croatian Football Federation, called Pokrivač a “great football player” who “showed great courage in life by overcoming a terrible disease.” He offered condolences to Pokrivač’s family.
Dinamo said in a statement that Pokrivač was a talented midfielder who played 69 times for the team and participated in four championship titles.
Sabalenka debuts engagement ring during Indian Wells win
World number one sported the striking oval-cut diamond ring for the first time in competition after getting engaged to Georgios Frangulis late on Tuesday
Updated 4 sec ago
Reuters
INDIAN WELLS, California: Aryna Sabalenka’s performance in a 6-4 6-2 second-round win over Japan’s Himeno Sakatsume was not the only thing that dazzled at Indian Wells on Friday, with the world number one also showing off her shiny new engagement ring. The 27-year-old sported the striking oval-cut diamond ring for the first time in competition after getting engaged to Georgios Frangulis late on Tuesday. “It feels super comfortable and shiny,” she told reporters. “We double-checked if there was a possibility to lose the diamond, and there was none. I was pretty confident wearing it, hoping it might even distract my opponent.” Sabalenka, who has made the final of the WTA 1000 event twice in the last three years, said that while the proposal came as a complete surprise to her, the entire team was in on the engagement secret. “I saw Georgios and I was crying half of the time, because I thought that I looked ugly, not prepared, and this is such a beautiful moment,” she said. “I stopped everything, and I asked the videographer and the photographer to make sure that my face was not (in the pictures), just the ring, and side views and from the back, just so you guys wouldn’t be shocked by the way I looked. “But it was a beautiful moment.” Sabalenka was asked what she has learned about Frangulis, the CEO of global health-food brand OakBerry, and what he has learned about her since they began dating in 2024. “What I have learned about him? He likes Oakberry a lot,” the four-times Grand Slam champion said. “What he has learned about me? That I’m crazy,” she added with a laugh.