Terzić: The title is the goal, we want a championship jubilee

To begin with, Terzic addressed the players.

- I welcome Dulsi, and everyone but him has listened to this many times. Operations director Marko Petrović says that this is the year of jubilee and he is right, we are celebrating the club's 80th birthday. In March 2025, we will make a big celebration and watch it be a championship one. That on that 4th of March we will be the first and everything will be as it should be. You know your duties and what the jersey and coat of arms are. The responsibilities are great and it is not easy to be a Zvezda player. It requires special DNA and genetics. You have old and experienced aces there to help you get into the groove. I know some of you are even cadets, but you see that Jamal, who is your age, plays for the Spanish national team in the starting line-up. Do not be afraid, because if you are afraid, then you are not for Zvezda. You are experienced, you lead Zvezda, we will fill in and listen to the boss you grew up with. I have no doubt that this will be quite the year. The only goal is the championship title, and everything else is a disaster. We have to be champions. Preparations follow, first Zlatibor, then Russia, and that double match on August 20 and 27 in the playoffs of the Champions League is very important to us. And that is the goal, but more on that later. I wish you good health and be responsible for your obligations. Good luck - said Terzic, and then headed to the gym together with media representatives where he answered all the questions.

- We are bringing the Medico block to an end, we will have excellent conditions for training. You can see for yourself what this all looks like, the field with artificial grass and green cork, which is the most modern in Europe, has also been completed. I am glad that we are holding this mini-conference right here. We wished the players welcome and that their health serves them, and that they approach their duties in the right way. The obligations are great and I hope that we will continue the series of success with the titles, especially since this is the jubilee year for us. The players have a special responsibility to be first in the table on March 4, 2025 and to make the celebration in a good atmosphere

The first topic was Nemanja Radonjić.

- The position is that we do not comment on players who have not signed. Nemanja is interesting to us, but we also have Olanjinka. Earlier I said that Zvezda's door is always open to Radonjic. However, Majorca is still wondering, they have a couple of days to make a statement, they also solved the issue of the coach. His priority is to stay in Spain.

He also spoke about the positions where Zvezda has already strengthened.

- We saved the team from last year. Dragović has left and I would like to take this opportunity to thank him for everything he did for Zvezda in the previous three years. Stojić arrived as a replacement, from whom we expect a lot this season. Bukari also left, and in a day or two we will announce which player will take his place. Stamenić left, and as Milojević's express wish, Dalsio arrived in his place, from whom there are also high expectations. There is also Ilić, our child whom we brought back. That's the profile of the player we needed. He has an outstanding left foot, a break, sense of the game and knows well what Zvezda is. Luka is different from the one who left Zvezda in 2018. He's been through a lot, he's more experienced and I think he's in his prime now.

Terzic did not want to reveal the name of the player who should replace Bukari.

- We will announce his name tomorrow. We are bringing the work to an end and there are little things left. I don't want to run ahead of the curve, but I think we brought in exactly the type of player we were looking for and that we will be better on that right wing than last season.

Hwang's status is as follows...

- The great wish of all of us is for him to stay. We don't have to sell him because of the financial situation, but we have an agreement with him, that if a club from the "league of five" appears, and he is satisfied, that Zvezda will not cause him a problem, of course with specified compensation. We will respect his wish related to the sports motive, but yes, there is a possibility that he will stay. We will do everything in our power to keep him. We will see if potentially the Champions League can change that, but we will focus on Hwang staying at least until August 27 with us. Then we will know if we are playing in the Champions League.

Borjan is not returning to Zvezda as a player, but...

- We talked with him a few days ago and offered him certain options. He has a contract for two more years and we are obliged to pay him. We offered him a transfer from his playing career to another position. Personally, I would like him to stay in that position at the club. Glazer imposed himself as a solution and Borjan has no need to compete for the first team. Borjan is certainly bound by a contract with Slovan until June 30, so he has two more weeks to see what and how.

Zvezda rejected several offers for Glazer.

- We had serious offers for Glazer, but I think we have to have a younger goalkeeper in the future who will be able to replace him. We have to bring in that goalkeeper. When it comes to Glazer's departure, the issue is not the amount of compensation, but that he has to stay. With him we have stability from the back line and he is very well accepted in the dressing room. He inspires confidence in the whole team and he cannot go, because it is very difficult to find a replacement for him. Glazer is a professional who accepted it all correctly, aware that Zvezda has done a lot for him. He respects that we want to keep him.

Journalists were also interested in how far they have come with reinforcements for the left back positions.

- We are bringing that work to an end and we will finally have a custom-made left back. There was controversy surrounding Rodić, but he has been fantastic these seven years. However, Rodić can't do it alone, because we have between 54 and 56 games a year. We need two good solutions in each position, and Rodić was a bit stuck there. It's not easy to find a left-back though, you saw England play Trippier last night as a pronounced right-back in that position. I hope we sign a left back soon, you all guess who it is, but I won't say before the official promotion.

Stamenić will not strengthen Coventry, but he will definitely leave Zvezda.

- We have agreed on everything with Coventry, but we have not signed anything. Stamenić did not want to go to the Championship, but only to the Premier League. The club from there contacted us, we negotiated and I think we will sign the transfer tomorrow for a compensation of 5.5 million euros.

Terzić believes that Kraso can do much more than what he has shown.

- It remains for now, he has started preparations, but he is an eternal enigma. It is an enigma for you - journalists, and for us. A player who excites with a move and lifts the entire stadium to its feet. He is truly a master and we see how he works in training. I hope that ages of preparation will pass and that we will benefit a lot from his creativity. He's got a knack for combinatorics, he's intelligent, he's a technician, and I don't think he's shown anything in terms of what he can do.

The representatives of the media alluded to another potential reinforcement, and it is about the cadet representative of Serbia.

- We want that player, I know who you mean. Our wish is that everything worth having is in Zvezda. We have agreed everything with his club regarding the amount of compensation, so what remains is to reach an agreement with the player and his family. On that side, there are some complications within the family, but we are patient and understanding. We will see in the coming days, we have plenty of time.

Prucev and Kangwa will have the opportunity to impose themselves on Milojević.

- Today is June 17, and the transition period does not begin until June 29. We will see how anyone will impose themselves and what Milojević will say. Prucev had a great season in Slovenia, was one of the best players and won the title in key games. Much is expected of him, but young people must understand that Zvezda is difficult. Chances are given by the spoonful and must be used, as Nedeljković, Mijatović, and now Mimović did.

Terzić believes that the right solution for Serbian football is to increase the number of bonuses on the field to two.

- I expect that to happen. When you have two bonuses in the starting lineup, you need at least three more on the bench. The youth will have much more playing time than before, and that can encourage everyone who is interested in Serbian football. If there was no such regulation, the question is how many young people would play in other clubs, and this way we will have 32 bonuses on the field every weekend. A young player has to endure, and the Serbian league is definitely developing, if it wants to be competitive and financially justified. It is a step backwards for Serbian football that the clubs that are financed by the local self-government have players over 30 years old. I am encouraged by the FSS proposal to increase the number of bonuses to two. It is often commented that these young players should be better and impose themselves, but it is a clear calculation of the coach who is burdened by the result that he will rather put someone experienced in the game who will bring him an instant result, without looking at the bigger picture and thinking about Serbian football.

Terzić also referred to the match between Serbia and England.

- I am proud of how we played. We overestimated them a bit and in the first half hour we didn't have a single pass forward, but later on we got better and better. The goal hung in the air for the last half hour, and it is a game that can encourage us. England didn't create many chances for us, but we have to beat Slovenia on Thursday. That is a prerequisite. There is a match ball against Denmark, but they did not excite me with Slovenia. Serbia has good players, strong on the ball and if it is packaged properly, it can be a problem for any rival.

Spajić is the new captain of Zvezda.

- That was agreed upon when Dragović told us he was going. Spajić was a leader alongside Dragović both in the dressing room and on the field, and there was no doubt. He came back from injury, kept getting better and now he deservedly received an invitation to the European Championship.

Villarreal will send an offer for Leković.

- Leković is bound by a contract with them until June 30, so he cannot train with us. Villarreal has until then to make a statement, but they contacted us today and said that they will send an offer tomorrow. They have the possibility to buy him for 4 million euros, and if they do not bring him, he is welcome to return. We will wait until tomorrow, talk to Leković and see, but as soon as they said that they will send an offer, it means that they did not accept to buy him for that compensation, but to look for other solutions, with some bonuses.

Another talented stopper - Đurić - returned from his loan.

- We will see what concerns him. It all depends on what impression it leaves on Milojević. We have a representative tandem on the stoppers - Spajić and Stojić, as well as Điga with a Serbian passport. There is also Leković if he returns, and Degenek when he recovers from his injury. That's five great stoppers, so it's too early for final decisions. The transfer window is a living thing and the situation changes from day to day. People have a habit of saying that Terzić, Milojević or Marin said one thing, and after a month or two something else, but they have to understand that the situation changes from day to day.

Finally, he said that there will be no special form of cooperation with OFK Belgrade.

- Zvezda and OFK Belgrade do not have any cooperation that is different from any that we have with other clubs from Serbia. We certainly have many players on loan and it will be the same now. Many people call us because they need young players, which suits us, because talents will be able to develop there, but there will be no special cooperation with OFK Belgrade. They do their job and we do ours. Of course, if they need help, we will meet them, like everyone else - emphasized Terzić.