OUR PLAYERS AND COACHES ABROAD | A SEASON OF TROPHIES, INDIVIDUAL AWARDS AND NEW CONTRACTS
Our players and coaches have been mostly successful in this season that is coming to an end, the season that had to be prolonged in many leagues due to COVID-19 pandemic. Out of won trophies, individual awards and increased demand on the market as a result of a good season, Serbian players and coaches usually have a good reputation and open doors to those who have overcome national limits by their knowledge and talent.
A great number of our national team players have a good season behind them, but first thing first. It is definitely good to see that one Serb is the best scorer in the first five leagues of England, i.e. Aleksandar Mitrović with 26 goals in the Championship. All that is left for us to do is to wish him success in the future play-offs of Fulham for the Premier League.
Branisal Ivanović, Serbian caps record holder, also has a good season behind him. With Zenit, he won the title, eminent Russian newspaper Sport put him in the Championship ideal team, and he has also been offered a new contract by the club.
A new contract for great play has also been offered to Nemanja Matić, together with Manchester United awaiting the Championship League qualification. That is a confirmation speaking for itself about how much one of our team captains is respected in the UK. The same goes for Luka Milivojević, Crystal Palace captain, who played very well, as well as the whole team, till the coronavirus pandemic, and timely secured status in the most elite English competition.
Predrag Rajković can be also praised for his great performance; he was excellent in his debut season of the French championship, keeping the goal of Reims. League 1 was completed prematurely because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the championship was stopped, and our national team players deserved a place in the championship ideal team, which is a great reward. Strasbourg captain, Stefan Mitrović also had a good season.
This has also been a good season for Nikola Maksimović, who won the Italia Cup with Napoli, and was one who deserved that trophy, so longed for, the most. Serie A saw constantly good Aleksandar Kolarov in Roma, Nikola Milenković in Fiorentina, Darko Lazović in Verona, Filip Đuričić in Sassuolo and young Dušan Vlahović, who did his best for Italians to remember him from the start. he scored a few times for the Florence club, and everybody remembers that fantastic score realization in the match against Inter, when the young national team player was faster that the referee whistle. Praises also go to Sergej Miliniković-Savić, first violin of Lazzio. Sergej was great in the most important matches, and was one of those who sent Lazzio to the Champions League after 13 years.
Our Luka Jović’s Real won the Spanish title, and another former youth European and world champion (besides the “Italian”, Sergej Milinković-Savić), Nemanja Maksimović, showed that Primera cannot do without Serbs. With goalkeeper Marko Dmitrović in Eibar, Maksimović was a standard member of Getafe, Champions League candidate for a moment. Former Serbia national team player, Darko Brašanac, has also played some good game in Osasuna, as well as Nemanja Gudelj in Sevilla and Ljubomir Fejsa in Alaves.
Turkey has a new champion, Istanbul Basaksehir, and our Danijel Aleksić contributed a lot. Adem Ljajić in Besiktas was also good with scores and assistances.
Good reputation in Bundeliga also has Filip Kostić, the best player of the season according to the supporters, and Mijat Gaćinović, his teammate in the national team, also played some good game.
As for coaches, it is worth emphasizing that Marko Nikolić managed to qualify in the Champions League with Lokomotiv, after a turbulent period in this Moscow club. Successes of Siniša Mihajlović with Bologna are known to the world, and Poland is admiring young Serbian coach Aleksandar Vuković who made Legia the best team. Vladimir Ivić has been doing the same with Maccabi of Tel Aviv. After great success in England, with Watford and Fulham qualified in the Premier League, Slaviša Jokanović is now in Qatar, trying to get in the Asian Championship League.
