Bajević faces Crvena Zvezda demons

Dušan Bajević admitted to being "not so happy" to lead his Aris Thessaloniki FC side against FK Crvena Zvezda after leaving Belgrade under a cloud last season.

Unhappy accident
Not for the first time in his career, the Mostar-born coach walked out on the Belgrade giants during a match, never to return, after relations with the teams' supporters hit rock bottom and he was hardly thrilled to be drawn against Crvena Zvezda in this season's UEFA Cup with his new club. "I was not happy, I must be honest," he said. "Mixed emotions are not nice, but at least we are playing them in Thessalonika."

Greek successes
Twice a league champion and once a cup winner as a player with AEK Athens FC in the late 1970s, Bajević has also spent most of his coaching career in Greece. AEK were the first to benefit from his expertise as he led them to four league titles between 1989 and 1994 before controversially leaving them for Olympiacos CFP.

AEK comeback
Bajević led Olympiacos to their first title in ten years in 1997, but was dismissed in 1999 with club president Socratis Kokkalis citing poor UEFA Champions League results. He then took over at PAOK FC, winning the Greek Cup before returning to AEK in 2002. However, those who felt betrayed when he left the club for Olympiacos in 1996 were to make his second spell a miserable one.

Shock exit
Abused by sections of the crowd, he left the club in dramatic fashion, leaving the pitch midway through the first half of a league game against Iraklis FC and never coming back. He returned to Olympiacos in 2004 and won another title but more hostility from the terraces prompted another exit – and a dramatic change of scenery.

Belgrade calling
Taking over at Crvena Zvezda at the start of the 2006/07 season, he built up a 14-point lead going into the winter break, but things unravelled quickly in the new year. Three games into the spring, with his side trailing at home against FK Vojvodina after 70 minutes and fans barracking him, he left the bench – as he had in AEK's game against Iraklis a few years earlier – never to return.

Angry tirade
"I do not want to give anybody a chance to abuse me," he fumed afterwards. "I have to protect my good name, my footballing reputation and all the other important things. I am leaving. I do not want to stay where some people at the club are not satisfied with my work." His assistant Boško Djurovski duly replaced him and led Crvena Zvezda to a domestic double.

Special meeting
Appointed at Aris in September this season, Bajević may have been after a quieter life, but now he is hoping his past does not come back to haunt him in too dramatic a style as he meets Crvena Zvezda tonight. "This is a special match for me, given my spell at Crvena Zvezda," he admitted. "But as professionals, we must all leave our personal feelings aside."