In the genes! Vlasic determined not to be outshone by sister
EVERTON’S Nikola Vlasic was never going to be overawed by playing alongside a legend like Wayne Rooney -— his sister has been the biggest female track and athlete star in the world.
6ft3ins former world champion high jumper Blanka Vlasic gave her sport mass appeal in the same way Maria Sharapova did for tennis and it’s helped her younger 19-year-old brother learn to cope with all the attention that comes with being a Premier League footballer.
‘When I was a kid they always said he’s the brother of Blanka Vlasic and that was a little annoying,’ he admits.
‘I didn’t want just to be the brother of some girl. I wanted her to be my sister. When I started to play for Hajduk Split I had my own name, I didn’t feel I was only her brother.
‘She knows all about being a superstar and also about when you’re down and when you need to struggle.
‘She gives me advice all the time. When things are bad she’s there to help me and when things are good she’s there to keep my feet on the ground. I’m very grateful to her.
‘Neither of us could stand to lose when we were little. We’d both cry. Now you realise it is part of sport.’
Blanka has twice been world champion and also won two Olympic medals, following in a line of sporting greats from the Croatian city of Split that includes former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic.
Now she’s passing on the family baton to Nikola who is pushing for a start against Burnley today after coming off the bench to score in midweek against Apollon Limassol in the Europa League.
He was signed by Everton boss Ronald Koeman after impressing for Hajduk against Everton in a Europa League qualifier in August. The tie was memorable for a goal from the halfway line by Gylfi Sigurdsson that took the Merseysiders through. ‘When I signed, I told him that he’d killed us,’ said Vlasic.
Everton’s form has gone off the boil since then, though two goals from substitute Oumar Niasse gave them a much-needed win against Bournemouth last week. Liverpool is a famous sporting city that has produced Rooney and many others but Split regards itself as the best finishing school given its population of a little under 200,000. They have produced dozens of Olympic champions including seven at London 2012, NBA star Toni Kukoc and current West Ham manager Slaven Bilic. ‘It has magic,’ smiles Vlasic.