Terzić: We have no competition in Serbia, we are equal to Europe

- Ambitions are high, as every year. We are aware of the obligation to satisfy the ambitions of a big club like Zvezda. The goals are to win a new championship title, to record as many victories as possible and to leave the best possible impression in the Champions League. Today is exactly nine years since I joined Zvezda, and I remember that once in the past we expected a draw for the first round of qualifications. Today, the focus is on September 19 and the first game in the Champions League. We introduced Barak Bahar and his professional staff and I hope that the cooperation with him will be successful, that he will respect the demands of both the club and the fans, which are not small. I wish them happiness and health and that injuries bypass us. Also, we are aware that an era of Red Star is coming to an end and that we need fresh blood and new energy, that there will be new players, I announced about six, seven reinforcements in the first 11. I hope that in the next few days we will finish those players and that we will have a complete team on the bus to Zlatibor on Thursday. "Never before and more successfully has a transition period been done ," Terzić began.

Zvezda's policy is not to talk about names until the players are officially presented.

- We avoid talking about names, if we haven't signed a player, because we don't want to put ourselves in an unenviable negotiating position, but everything is going according to plan. We will be stronger, faster, younger and more energetic. We are nearing the end of the positions that need to be strengthened and everything that has been written in the media these days about reinforcements is correct. We signed Stamenić, a defensive midfielder who played in the Champions League with Copenhagen and who has a Serbian passport and was born in 2002, as well as Olanjenko, the captain of Slavia Prague. We are close to finalizing the goalkeeper, the defensive midfielder and the two forwards, but I won't talk about the names until we promote them.

The recent captain Milan Borjan is leaving the club.

- Last summer, we signed a new four-year contract with Borjan and showed how much we value him, so I'm not referring to him when I say that an era of Zvezda is coming to an end. I am personally attached to him, I brought him six years ago from Ludogorets, gave him a strip, a new contract and we really had long-term plans with him, but professional football has different rules. Bahar wanted a different goalkeeper profile and we granted him his wish. Borjan has a lot to give to Zvezda, the door is open for him, he went on loan and will surely return and find his place in the club, in management or leadership, because he is smart and a leader.

About Dragović and Eraković...

- I spoke with Dragović and the joint position of the Board of Directors and the management of the club, as well as the coaching staff, is that we need him, that he is a leader in the dressing room and that he should stay at all costs. We will see if there will be a new captain, we still need to discuss it within the club. When it comes to Erakovic, we have an offer for him and we are still in a dilemma whether to let him go. We are sure that we will have those offers in December after six games in the Champions League, along with appearances for the national team, so for now he is closer to staying. I congratulate him on his debut in the Serbian jersey.

Cooperation with Bahar is going great.

- Everything in life is an agreement and a conversation, and there is no coach in the world who explicitly makes a wish list and brings it to the club, however, we talk. We have a goal, and that is to be the best possible Zvezda. We are normal people, in this month, Bahar has shown a high level of cooperation, and we are ready for it. As I said, today I have been at the club for nine years, and after a long period you become unrealistic for some players, subjective, watching them emotionally, so it is not bad that now there is someone from the side who will see it with different eyes. I am sure that his arrival, as well as his observation of the team and individuals, will bring quality to Zvezda. Also, we have never brought the transfer window to an end before. Today is June 19, the beginning of preparations, and we have completed 90 percent of the team. The preparatory period, training sessions and extremely high-quality friendly matches that await us will show who Bahar is most seriously counting on, and accordingly we will conduct our policy regarding the transfer window.

Zvezda's biggest signing in this transfer window is Jovan Šljivić.

- The biggest reinforcement is definitely Šljivić, who signed the contract after the misunderstandings in the past months that we had in that relationship. To our mutual satisfaction, we signed the contract. He is the most talented player we have in the Youth School, and I expect him to be in the first 13, 14 players, and I think the public will be surprised by the possibilities of that boy.

A lot of players have returned from loans.

- We have 12, 13 players who are products of our Youth School and who made their mark through Grafičar and Superliga. They are there, maybe we don't see them with good eyes, maybe Bahar sees it differently. Bahar will make a cut about who stays and who goes on new loans.

Terzić also spoke about young Ratkov, who was linked to Zvezda.

- There is no player we want, but we haven't brought him. We thought about Ratkov, but he would be a backup option. He is talented, we prepared two million euros, TSC sold him for a much higher amount, but it was not realistic to play in the Champions League with him. We wanted to bring him and wait, and we can afford to pay the player two million and let him get used to the high demands. That's a problem with us, because other clubs can force young people, and with us everything revolves around winning. In another club when I worked, I forced young people. We follow the forums and comments that TSC did a good job, but don't forget that we sold Lazetić to Milan for the same amount, after one goal in the first team. Ratkov will be a great player, but we would have to wait for him. We are a specific club where there is a lot of pressure and responsibility, we have won six titles, we want a seventh, and we require players who can respond to that.

Terzić believes that Zvezda has no competition in the Superliga.

- We have advanced so much in every respect to everyone in Serbia that I don't see who can be our competition. It's not sporty to say that, but it's realistic. Sports-wise, organizationally, financially, no one can match us. This year, we will earn 55 million euros, of which 50 million will come from abroad. We are phenomenally organized, we have trained ourselves to earn a lot of money from abroad. We have a sustainable system and nobody in Serbia can follow that. We have 30 million from the Champions League, five million from tickets, five million from Gazprom, five million from TV rights and we expect 10 million from transfers. If we want, it can be more, but by selling the best players, we eat our own substance, and we are not a trading company, but a football club, and our goal is to win titles. Also, our goal is not to reduce expenditure, but to increase income. If we want to be serious in the Champions League, we have to raise the income to 80, 90 million. Currently, we have the smallest budget in the Champions League - Terzić pointed out.