Serbia coach Dragan Stojković on his playing days, Aleksandar Mitrović and Dušan Vlahović – interview
Wednesday, June 5, 2024
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"We've certainly achieved something big," says coach Dragan Stojković ahead of Serbia's first EURO as an independent nation.
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An all-time great at Crvena zvezda, Dragan Stojković was touted as the Maradona of the Balkans during an injury-hampered playing career, which included a European Cup final appearance with Marseille in 1991.
Captain of the Yugoslavia side that competed at UEFA EURO 2000, 'Piksi' took charge of the national team in 2021 after spells with clubs in Japan and China. Having steered Serbia to their first EURO as an independent nation, he is looking forward to seeing what his charges can do in Germany.
On what football means to Serbians
Football is definitely the number one sport in Serbia. Serbia is a country that loves its athletes, which we have proven many times so far when it comes to all sports. But everyone here loves football, and it is the most popular sport [in the country].
On himself as a player
I loved football, and I still love it to this day. What can I say about myself as a football player? I liked to train a lot and I was a hard-working player; I achieved success through hard work, and I had a professional attitude.
As a player, I wore the No10 shirt. Back then, [players who wore] the No10 jersey [...] were masters of football. Even today, the shirt with that number has its importance. I was in love with the jersey with that number and it gave me a special pleasure to wear it.
On playing at EURO 2000 with Yugoslavia
We had a quality generation of players. We then managed to qualify for the European Championship, which, in itself, is the most important thing. The goal for each national team is to participate in the final tournament. Obviously, they had to wait for me to take Serbia to the European Championship again after so many years. I'm joking, but the fact is that at that time, I was the captain of the national team and the leader of the team on the pitch.
Now, after more than two decades, I have the task and the privilege of leading the Serbian national team to the European Championship as a coach, and I am glad. It is a great pleasure for me that I participated in the European Championship as a player, and now again as national team coach. It is indeed a great achievement.
On Aleksandar Mitrović and Dušan Vlahović
Aleksandar Mitrović has shown numerous times how devoted he is to the Serbian jersey. He is showing that same devotion for the clubs he plays for. He's a lad whom you can trust. That's an important quality. Those are pretty big things as forwards can sometimes be pretty selfish or they can just look to be that one player who scores and decides the match.
Dušan Vlahović is, in my opinion, one of the most talented forwards in Europe. He's still very young. What he has achieved in the last two or three years, when he made the breakthrough and signed for a club as big as Juventus, is all the result of his great dedication and the goals he scored. As a person he's a very humble lad, which is very important. I like his character and I love how devoted he is.
On looking forward to the finals in Germany
We've certainly achieved something big. This qualification to the EURO has been long awaited. There were many missed opportunities [to qualify] in the past. But this time, the goal that I have set for myself as a head coach – and which was set by the Serbian FA as the authority – has been fulfilled.
It was quite... I wouldn't say dramatic, but a rather tough [journey]. The road to success is never easy. But, in this time for Serbian football, for our country, nation and the fans – and everyone who loves this game – I think qualifying in itself was a huge step forward and an achievement.
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