Milojević: Victory for the Serbian people, the Maracana is incredible

- I was overwhelmed by emotions, because I love Zvezda immensely. Zvezda gave me everything... It's normal that I want to achieve everything possible here. The Champions League was our goal, and we struggled with many problems. Many injuries, only Ilić was at the preparations from the reinforcements. Today, the boys left their hearts on the field and tactically respected everything we achieved. Good for the players, but also my coaching staff. Serbian football suffers a lot of criticism, but I think people are not realistic. We are a country that does not have many representatives, and until now we had four or five representatives in Europe. Serbia has a representative in the Champions League. The star is here, with the giants, with the elite of European football. Thanks also to the management for a fantastic job and that we just need to take care of the field. We have all the conditions from them. I also congratulate the citizens of Serbia, Republika Srpska, Kosovo and Metohija. I know they will continue to follow us. Zvezda is a serious brand and I am glad that we made the Serbian people happy. It is not a success like the one from the Olympics, but when every athlete goes abroad, he represents his country. I'm too proud - Milojević began.

In Belgrade, a completely different game was played compared to Norway.

- We consciously went there to "shorten" the space, because we knew that the expert did not suit us. People don't realize how difficult the terrain is, and they are maximally adapted to it all. The temperature was low, it was very strange for us. We went for a positive result and knew that Bode would play identically at the Maracana and that they don't change their style of play. Thanks to Nikola Trajković and Zoran Popović for the information we received about the Bode team. They were all right. We did a pretty good press on the back line, we didn't let them develop the game. Bode has power, but they didn't have a shot on goal for us for 60 minutes. I also congratulated their coach, because we can learn a lot from that system.

Milojević began his presentation to the media by analyzing the match.

- It's nice to qualify for the fourth time, that is, the third through the Champions League qualifiers. I am proud of my players and the entire coaching staff. I think we did a very good job. We played against a phenomenal team, you could see that today. When we drew Bode in the draw, I didn't care, I knew it was a great team, but the impression of the Serbian public was that it wasn't such a good team, and that we were lucky in the draw. We all have to understand that there are no easy opponents today. It's a phenomenal team, from which we learned a lot. I have followed them all these years. We played in Norway in the only way we could play against them, so that we could have a good result before the second leg in Belgrade. However, again there were critics. Every team that attacked them suffered. Playing on artificial grass is very difficult, as are the dimensions of the field, because we are not used to it. However, after that result, we were preparing all these days to play a good game. We knew our fans would cheer us on. We also had a lot of playing problems. I just want to emphasize that it is extremely difficult to pass Bode, they have already played 22 games in the championship and are at the peak of the season, the best momentum. They can't play badly, and on the other hand, we have a lot of players who haven't adapted, come from injuries or haven't gone through preparations. We changed the game systems, we tried a lot of things. We had problems before this game, with Glazer, Endia, Milson. I congratulate everyone from the bottom of my heart, they still don't understand everything, but I think the other players have explained it to them. They have never played in front of such a large number of fans, such a big and important game in their career. We made a big success, probably this will also be "undone". Feel free to write to Miloje, the "bunker" has fortunately passed once again. I like it very much, it doesn't bother me. I am happy for our fans, citizens of Republika Srpska and from the area of Kosovo and Metohija, as well as the entire diaspora, we gave them a great thing, and that is Red Star. Serbian football is going through "media mud", it can be discussed whether it is justified or not. I am glad that we will be able to represent Serbia in the best possible way. We are playing in the new format of the Champions League, that was our big goal. I congratulate my players, all the honest stars and all the people on this victory. You saw from my reaction how much everything meant to me on the great Orthodox holiday - the Great Lady. I received many calls and today I spoke with the abbot of Hilandar, whom I love very much. A big greeting for all believers, I can say that this passage is my favorite because we passed on a great Christian holiday. Let's move on, we turn to the draw and the domestic championship.

Milojević referred to the participation in the new format of the Champions League and the upcoming representative break.

- We can still make a lot of progress. We have a lot of players, the transfer window is not over yet, there will certainly be departures and arrivals. We played with a team that has been in its system since 2017. They have the ability to bring players of the same type. I hope it will be even better, but we already have a representative break and we will not have a full pool of players in training. We have a lot of representatives, that caused us difficulties during the summer preparations, because they were not with us. At the games in Russia, we introduced those guys. When it comes to the championship, we play competitive games as if they were preparations. I'm still getting to know the players, they also need to get to know each other, so we can get the most out of them. In the end, it ended up being the best for the club, as it should have been. Crvena zvezda deserved this, this is a great success for Serbian football. Let's move on, I hope that we will be better from game to game. Right from the start I say that we are outsiders, we want to be outsiders who are the best, the bravest and the most beautiful. I would like to bring the best clubs to Belgrade, play against them and enjoy the Champions League. It's something you live for, the biggest thing you can achieve is to play for the national team and in the Champions League. It is the most beautiful thing you can experience. As far as I am concerned, as a coach, I will have the opportunity to learn a lot more, because opposite me there will be colleagues who manage big European clubs. We are also expecting a new format, we will see how it will all look like, but we will surely have a lot of games and it will be interesting. We want to represent our club, city and country in the best possible way, I hope everything will be as it should be.

The head of the profession did not want to single out the best individuals of tonight's game.

- Don't ask me such questions. That's like asking me which child I love the most. I love them all in my own way. Everyone always does their best. One player does not make a team. The team always singles out an individual, that's the essence of football and that's nice.

Milojević also answered the question about the transition period, which is still ongoing.

- I am focused on my players. The transfer window is in full swing and departures and arrivals can be expected, which does not mean that there will be any for sure. I don't know that. The market is "alive" for sure and things change quickly, but at the moment I can't tell you anything concrete about that issue.

Vladan Milojević presented the analysis of defender Jung Woo Seol's game.

- Seol is a player who has played a few games. He did not train with the team for three months, and it started with the match against Tekstilac. He is a phenomenal player, who can play on both sides, that's why we brought him. It's a privilege. He can also play with very good motor skills. He is a great professional. We expect a lot more from him. He had an intervention on his shoulder and did nothing for three months. He is one of the players who is not in rhythm, that is, competitive form. I try to train the players to play in as many positions as possible, sometimes he will have to play in another position, but for now he is doing well in both back positions.

The experienced strategist pointed out what he was thinking about at the end of the game.

- I thought about my club, about everything that is happening. We are challenged a lot. An atmosphere has been created that we are a state project, that bothers me a lot, these stories that the president is giving us something. In the end, you can see that we are the ones who take the "chestnuts out of the fire". We got to the point where we have four or five teams playing in Europe. I don't know if anyone is aware of that. Two or three of those teams play in the group stages. It was such a moment, because I really wanted to pass. If we hadn't passed today, we would have had the group stage again, but the Champions League is something special, that was our goal. I saw in the eyes of my players, that they wanted a lot. I have a phenomenal coaching staff, we train twice a day, I don't leave the stadium all day. I perceive the placement as a reward and satisfaction for further work. I think Crvena zvezda is a brand and I'm not saying that someone who doesn't like us should support us, that's quite normal for us. There are as many hypocrites and hypocrites here as you want. On the other hand, when you look at our Olympians from Novak Djokovic to water polo players, basketball players, archers who bring so much joy to this country. I am not saying that we are at that level, but we will represent Serbia, Belgrade, our people in difficult times. When we make such a big result, we like it much more. I love Red Star very much, as for me, I can leave tomorrow and not be here. They all know that "Miloje" can stay as long as they want if the club wants, after all, even when I leave, they will always know that they can call me, I will come. It's the most beautiful thing for me, playing in the Champions League is something fantastic. We may not be happy yet, but we will be very soon.

Milojević also spoke about how he wanted his team to look in the rematch against Boda Glimt.

- Here the stake is a passage further. People have said that football is the only sport that connects a result with a good game. It doesn't exist in any other sport. In basketball, there is no such thing as playing well and losing the game. When you look at the water polo players, they won with a defensive game. We played against a team that has an incredible system, our idea was just not to let them play their game. In our opinion, we wanted to press the last line of the rivals, to force them to get out of their comfort zone. In the second half, we lost our strength, the opponent started to take risks, but we cannot dominate for 90 minutes. That's how it will be in the Champions League when the "dragons" come to play against us. We would like to press, but if we can't then the well-known "Miloje bunker" will be closed. Since "Miloje" is a difficult bunkerer, sometimes the players go up on their own.

Media representatives were interested in who Vladan Milojević would like to compete with in the Champions League.

- I would like it, it was my wish even before this game to bring the galacticos to Belgrade and only bravely.

Finally, the strategist of our club pointed out that Zvezda, with its new entry into the Champions League, got the opportunity for the club to grow even more in all fields.

- We know how much it means to enter the Champions and Leagues, organizationally and for the club and financially at the end. The club lives on money from UEFA and I think that the club should be praised at this moment, because I was also a coach at the Youth School, I know what it was like on those fields, I know where I trained, I know what I did with those boys and I know how it is today it seems after so many years. At this moment I am very proud, because we will soon have a phenomenal Medico block, which will be available to us very soon. That's top notch. We expect a lot of investment in infrastructure. We will also play in the Youth Champions League, which is extremely important for the club. Our youngsters will play in the group stage, they are super talented kids, in which the club invests a lot of money. They will have the opportunity to compete with the best kids in Europe, it's a great privilege. On the other hand, when you play the Champions League qualifiers, when you pass one round, you know that you can go to the Europa League or the Conference League. We knew that no matter what happens, we have the group stage of the Europa League and it is a very nice competition. Thank God that we qualified for the Champions League on today's Christian holiday - that's how Milojević ended his presentation to the media.

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