Less than a week before the crucial game for Bosnia and Herzegovina on the road to the EURO 2024, when the Bosnian team will play against Ukraine, head coach Savo Milosevic spoke to N1 about this topic, his own career as a football player and coach, and other related subjects. Pročitaj više

Milosevic told N1's Semir Mustafic he constantly communicates with players.

“Of course I am in touch with Dzeko (Edin Dzeko, the team captain), and not only him but all other players can't wait to come here. I already said this but it needs to be said again. We have had a few situations over the past month and a half, some players didn't play for their clubs because of minor injuries, thus putting the interest of the national team as a priority. This rarely happens, not only in our team. The play-off is very important for them, and this shows they are aware about what is lying ahead of us, they know the importance of the match and the play-off. They can't wait to be here. I believe these two games are going to be a lot different from what Bosnia and Herzegovina had in the past period. Many things will be different, but these are the clear signs the boys are coming here fully motivated,” he said.

Milosevic is known as someone who does not delve too much into statistic data, but responding to the remark that the Ukrainian team is 330 million euro worth on the market, while the Bosnians ‘cost’ 123 million euro, and asked how to stop the enthusiastic Ukrainians, he said:

“Don't let me go into details, because I would need to go into the details of tactics. You can stop those players with individual qualities only if you play as a team. This is what we will try to do.”

He further elaborated on how the teams that are worth a lot are not necessarily winning competitions.

“The only criteria is on the pitch, and there are many things I could tell on this topic but I won't this time. We hear many humiliating comments, and I like that. We will respond to everyone on the pitch,” said Milosevic.

The head coach of the Bosnian national team also spoke about his favourite players throughout the history. The best one from Bosnia and Herzegovina, he deems, is Safet Susic – a former head coach, who took the Bosnian team to the World Cup in Brasil in 2014 – the only world competition the Bosnian football team took part in.

Asked why Susic, he said there is no ‘why’.

“Because he is simply the best. If we were to compare him with others, we could lie about it, but us who played football at a serious level just know it. Explaining why would take some time, but I do know it is Pape,” he said, referring to Susic using his nickname.

Susic, according to Milosevic, would be among top 3-4 best players ever in former Yugoslavia too.

Speaking about his own career as a football player, he emphasised the period when he played for Aston Villa.

“That was a major change in my life. The England league of today is essentially the league where the European football rules. In 1995, when I arrived there, I think it was one of two transfers, mine and that of Dennis Bergkamp who signed for Arsenal. That's when the expansion of foreign and non-European players started in England. At that time, the English football was only English,” he said.

Milosevic went on speaking of how he adjusted in the club and how his club of that period advanced in the league.

“We were constantly topping the list at that time,” he stressed.

In the 1996 Football League Cup final Milosevic scored the first goal for his team, which eventually win the competition.

“The goal was nice, but that Wembley was really something. The other day I watched the Football League Cup final from the new stadium but that's not it. The old Wembley was something completely different. I remember when we crossed onto the pitch, it was the shrine of football,” Milsoevic recalled.

He then left for Spain, to play in Zaragoza, where he scored against teams such as Real Madrid or Barcelona.

“It is a great feeling, but scoring against great teams is the easiest. They leave you the room. It is much harder to score against Oviedo,” he noted, adding that he scored against Inter, Milan, Real, but also against the teams who play tough football.

His favourite goal?

“The many will remember the goal to Czech Republic scored during the extra time. That's when we went to EURO, and the Czech team of that time was brutal. That goal is something that people like the most, but I scored many. It is hard to reach a big competition, and scoring in EURO for me is a special emotion,” Milosevic said.

The largest transfer of his career was going to Parma for 25 million euro.

“We were then the most expensive team in the world,” according to him.

Milosevic, who was born in Bijeljina, a Bosnian northeastern town, said he was fond of music and likes to sing.

“I don't like to boast, but it is in DNA of the Bosnians. I like to sing, I think I am good. I will leave it to others to say it but I love music,” he said.

If the Bosnian national team win against Ukraine, he promised he would sing to the players.