Quick Facts
Biography
Nick Robert Dasovic (born December 5, 1968) is a retired professional Canadian soccer player of Croatian descent.
Club career
A 6'1, 180 lbs central defensive midfielder, Dasovic began his career in the Yugoslav First League and later the Croatian First League playing for Croatian club NK Dinamo Zagreb, renamed Croatia Zagreb during the 1990s. The team also featured important players like Mario Stanić and Goran Vlaović.
He began playing in Canada professionally with the North York Rockets, of the former Canadian Soccer League, for whom he played the 1991 and 1992 seasons. Dasovic played the 1993 and 1994 seasons in the American Professional Soccer League with the Montreal Impact.
Dasovic played for Stade Briochin in the French Ligue 3 in 1995 and for Swedish Allsvenskan side Trelleborgs FF in 1996.
St. Johnstone
In November 1996, Dasovic signed for Scottish club St Johnstone. His first season in Perth saw the Saints win promotion from the First Division to the Premier League. Dasovic has been quoted as saying his fondest memory of his pro career was being named man-of-the-match in the 1998 Scottish League Cup Final in which he scored, a 2-1 defeat against Rangers F.C. Saints went on to finish third behind Rangers and Celtic in the Scottish Premier League that season, qualifying for the 1999–2000 UEFA Cup. Dasovic's only league goal was also memorable; it was the only goal in a 1-0 win away at Celtic in September 1998.
He finished his playing career as player/manager of the Vancouver Whitecaps.
International career
He made his senior debut for Canada in an April 1992 friendly match against China and went on to earn 63 caps, scoring twice. He represented Canada in 14 World Cup qualifiers and played at the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup.
His final international game was a January 2004 friendly match against Barbados.
International goals
- Scores and results list Canada's goal tally first.
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 July 1993 | Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico |  Costa Rica | 1-0 | 1-1 | 1993 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
| 2 | 13 October 1996 | Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton, Canada |  Cuba | 2-0 | 2-0 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Coaching career
Known for his vocal antics on the touchline, Nick Dasovic led Canada's under-23 side through Olympic qualification in 2008, drawing Mexico 1-1 in the group stage and helping to eliminate the heavily favored Mexican team in the process. After a highly promising 5-0 win over Guatemala, on a night when Mexico had to better that result against Haiti but could only win 5-1, Canada fell to the United States 3-0 in the semifinal, losing out on a spot in Beijing at the summer Olympics. Canada recovered to defeat Guatemala in the third-place playoff, a rematch of their first round game, winning on penalties (5-3) after a scoreless draw through 120 minutes.
On May 6, 2008, Dasovic joined MLS club Toronto FC as TFC Academy head coach and second assistant to the first team. He became first assistant when manager John Carver left the club in 2009 and was replaced by his understudy Chris Cummins as interim coach. In September 2010, he became interim head coach of Toronto FC after the firing of Preki, a position he held until January 2011 when Aron Winter became the head coach. On December 2, 2011 Dasovic was named head coach of Canada U-20 national team.
Nick Dasovic was hired as an assistant coach by the San Jose Earthquakes on June 18, 2013. Dasovic was relieved of coaching duties at San Jose along with head coach Mark Watson on October 15, 2014.
Broadcasting
In 2015 Dasovic joined the MLS on TSN crew and is used selected weeks as a studio or game analyst.