BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. ā Nemanja Nikolic likes the position heās in heading to the final two weeks of the regular season, with the Chicago Firelocked into a playoff berth and himself atop the Golden Boot standings.
Thereās no more chasing ā only holding on to his top spot and helping the Fire secure a playoff home game as they head into Sundayās match against Philadelphia (5 pm ET; MLS LIVE).
āThe bad thing is when you need to look in front of you who is there and you need to follow him, follow his game and also to focus on your game,ā Nikolic said Wednesday. āNow in this moment I again donāt need to look [at] nobody in front of me, I have everything in my hand.
āWe have an important game against Philly, for me individually and for the team. And like always I will try to score a goal and to try to win the Golden Boot. It would be amazing if I will in my first year win this kind of title, but like always I donāt think just about the Golden Boot, for me the most important is to win against Philly.ā
Nikolic began the season on record-breaking pace, netting 16 goals in the first 18 games of his MLS career. During the Fireās midsummer lull, however, Nikolic went a full nine games without finding the back of the net.
As the goalless streak stretched on, Nikolic fell off the record pace and slipped from atop the Golden Boot standings, with Portlandās Diego Valeri, NYCFCās David Villa and Atlanta Unitedās Josef Martinez charging up the list.
Nikolic broke his drought with a tying goal against the New York Red Bulls on Sept. 9 and has scored four more in four games since. With 21 goals on the season he has already broken the club record for most goals in a campaign.
Back on top of the Golden Boot table, Nikolic praised those chasing him, saying he thinks āa couple players deserve to win this Golden Boot in this year because the competition is really tight.ā
Nikolic said the chase wouldnāt be the same if the Fire werenāt also winning.
āIf the team they donāt have nothing from my goals, it doesnāt mean nothing for me, so the main thing is to be on the same page and try to help the team,ā Nikolic said. āOf course this is my first year here, my first season, a lot of people they donāt know me before, also the good thing is I put my name now in MLS and I have a long contract here and I hope that I will score a lot of goals.
āThe season is not over, I didnāt win nothing yet, so these two games it will be a really long 180 minutes for me and the other players who want to win this Golden Boot. I think more people deserve to win this because a lot of good strikers have had a good season, but in these two games we need to decide who will be first.ā
Teammate Arturo Alvarez said Nikolicās chase isnāt discussed too often within the squad, aside from some occasional ribbing.
āMe personally, I want Niko to win the Golden Boot and if we can help him get there, then we will,ā Alvarez said. āObviously we kind of joke around like āHey this guy is putting pressure on youā but other than that, at the end of the day we want him to win it.ā
Itās obvious that Nikolic, who has won top-scorer accolades at previous stops in his career, takes it seriously, calling it āNo joke.ā
āOf course, for every striker I think in the beginning of the season the collective and everything is the most important, but strikers lives from the goals and in the end of the day everybody is watching who was the best striker in the league,ā Nikolic said. āA couple times I win these kind of titles so I know the feeling, how itās good, how proud can be the player when he finishes first.ā
Despite leading the Golden Boot race and helping drive the leagueās most improved team into the playoffs, Nikolic seems to be an afterthought at best, or overlooked completely, in discussions about the race for the Landon Donovan MVP award.
āItās not really up to us, his teammates, I think heās obviously a very important player to our team, to our club and I think he should definitely be in the talk for the MVP,ā Alvarez said. āYou know, important players and obviously Golden Boot leaders are always in the talks so I donāt see why Niko shouldnāt be on it. I think some players go throughout the season with ups and downs and Niko and I think everyone else has and thatās normal. But someone that scored 21 goals, I donāt see how heās definitely not in that talk.ā
Fire head coach Veljko Paunovic was fine with Nikolic not getting any more outside praise or attention at this point.
āNo. I donāt think he should get more attention,ā Paunovic said. āI want Niko like he is now, focused on the team and scoring goals, and then when the season is over everyone will get what he deserved. I just want Niko to be like he is, humble, working hard for the team, and I donāt really care if somebody is paying attention to that or not. I think the most important is our team and Nikoās role and performance in our team, which was great so far.ā