Tošić starts Army Men's march on Dublin
Friday, September 17, 2010
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Serbian international Zoran Tošić said PFC CSKA Mosva's 3-0 win at Swiss second division side FC Lausanne-Sport is merely the start as he sets sights on UEFA Europa League glory.
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New signing Zoran Tošić is hoping that PFC CSKA Mosva's 3-0 win at FC Lausanne-Sport is an early staging post on the way to UEFA Europa League glory.
The Serbian international, brought in from Manchester United FC to replace Juventus-bound compatriot Miloš Krasić, showed plenty of class on the right wing in his side's Group F opener, with his free-kick setting up Sergei Ignashevich to head the Army Men's second against the Swiss second division side.
"We were focused and wanted to start well – to win the first game and take some confidence for the rest of the group," said the 23-year-old. "We scored early on and that helped a lot – after that it was not so hard. Once we were 2-0 up we didn't need to attack. We held firm waiting for a chance to counterattack and scored again. We could have scored more, but 3-0 is a good result."
After such a fine start, Tošić's aim is clear: "I always play to win the competition". He is already looking ahead to the next challenge, at home against a AC Sparta Praha side that beat US Città di Palermo 3-2 in the Czech Republic in their opening fixture. "They beat Palermo so they must be a serious team," he said. "But we can only focus on ourselves. We'll be at home and when we play at home we are dangerous."
Lausanne, meanwhile, will look to kick-start their campaign against Palermo in Sicily. "We really want to win against Palermo," said their captain, former Swiss international midfielder Fabio Celestini. "We're not banking on qualifying, but we will try to win every match. That's what we did in qualifying and here we are in the group stage."
The locally-born 34-year-old, who played for Olympique de Marseille and Getafe CF before returning home, added: "We will go to Palermo in search of a win, and will probably play with three or four forwards; if the football Gods gives us a little luck, maybe we will come back with three points.
"We created chances [against CSKA]," he added. "The crowd appreciated our efforts and they stayed on at the end to applaud us off because they saw a team with a soul, and a desire to play the game."
