John Lukic

Lukic signed for Leeds United as a schoolboy. He learnt from David Harvey and replaced him, initially in a UEFA Cup Round One, Second Leg, tie against Valletta 3 October 1979, and then in the League at Brighton & Hove Albion on 13 October 1979 and went on to play 165 games for the Elland Road side. After making a transfer request, Lukic moved to Arsenal in July 1983 for £75,000, as a long-term replacement for Pat Jennings. In March 1984 Jennings was injured playing against Coventry City at Highfield Road and Lukic came into the side for four games, making his debut on 7 April 1984 against Stoke City at Highbury in a 3–1 win. The following season, 1984–85, on 31 October 1984, Jennings played poorly against Oxford United away in the League Cup, where Arsenal were beaten 3–2, and Jennings was dropped for one game and Lukic came in to replace him, and though Jennings returned for the next three games, Lukic came back into the side and played every game for the rest of the season, nailing down the number one keepers spot. In 1985–86 Lukic missed just three games in all competitions and in 1986–87 he clinched his first winners medal and won the League Cup Final against Liverpool. In 1987–88 Lukic was ever present playing in all 52 matches Arsenal played that season including the return trip to Wembley against Luton Town to defend the League Cup, but Arsenal lost. However, there were better days to come for Lukic and Arsenal in 1988–89, where Arsenal won the title in the last…

By the 1980s Lukic had attracted the attention of the then Yugoslavia side who approached him about playing for them. He declined to pursue England selection. Though Lukic played for England at youth and under-21 level, he never won a cap for the senior team. He was twice in the full England squad, but was an unused sub in 1981 friendlies at Wembley against Spain and Brazil. On 11 December 1990 he was called up to the England "B" squad to play Algeria in Algiers and he kept a clean-sheet in a 0–0 draw against the Algerian top team as he came on as a half-time replacement for Nigel Martyn, who was with Crystal Palace at the time. It was to be his last representative appearance.

Club

Lukic was born in Chesterfield to Yugoslavian parents; an urban legend states that Lukic's mother survived the Munich air disaster while pregnant with him; this is untrue, as the crash happened in February 1958, more than two years before Lukic was born. There was a Mrs Lukić on board the plane, who did survive (along with her young daughter) after being saved by Manchester United goalkeeper Harry Gregg. Lukic has a son, also called John and also a goalkeeper, who was a youth player at Nottingham Forest until 2005; he signed professional terms with Grimsby Town in June 2005 to act as understudy to Steve Mildenhall for the 2005–06 season. However, he was released at the end of the season and briefly signed for Barnsley before withdrawing from competitive football. As of 2011, Lukic worked as a freelance goalkeeping coach.