INTERNATIONAL TOURNAMENT “MILJAN MILJANIĆ” | SERBIA IS THE WINNER, WIN AGAINST MONTENEGRO FOR THE FIRST PLACE, AWARDS TO THE BEST

Serbian national U-16 team won in the match with their peers from Montenegro with 2:0 (1:0) and the first place at the 9th International Tournament “Miljan Miljanić”, which is traditionally held every year on the football pitches of the FAS Sports Centre in Stara Pazova, and all in memory of the legendary football expert.

Serbia took the lead after only 3 minutes in the game, thanks to a great individual action by Aleksa Vasilić. As soon as they started from the centre, Montenegro team could make it to the draw, but a serious rush of Matija Nikčević was stopped by the timely intervention of our captain Jovan Miladinović. In the 24th minute, Maksim Kličković was another one to attempt a shot, a guy who scored a nice goal in the semi-final match against North Macedonia and paved the way to our team’s win. The same player found himself in a favourable position at the end of the first half, but the guest team goalkeeper Đurović was up to the task again.

Team of the acting head-coach, Jovan Damjanović dictated the pace of the rest of the match, patiently waiting for the opportunity to settle the issue of the winner with a second score. They lacked luck in certain situations, like at the end of an hour of the match when Vasilić, in the mood for playing, hit the goal post after the best action our team had in this match.

Serbia scored their second goal in the 71st minute of the match. Filipović passed on the right side of the pitch and sent a strong centre shot in the penalty box of Montenegro, where Stefan Mladenović handled it well and sent the ball into the net with the tip of his boot, right between the legs of the opponent defender. Our team could have achieved a more convincing win, if the substitutions Andrija Miladonović and Ilija Tadić had been a bit more composed in two great goal chances, while Stefan Mladenović’s great shot was stopped by the goalkeeper Đukanović in the last moments of the match. By winning the final, Serbia defended the “Miljan Miljanić” trophy, won last year, and made a good intro for the first competitive challenges in the autumn qualification period.

A year older colleagues, the U-17 team, cheered them on from the stands, staying in Stara Pazova from Thursday and together with the head-coach Luković started their preparatory period for the European U-17 Championship in Hungary (17th May – 2nd June). In the third-place match, Bulgaria won North Macedonia 2:0.

Serbian team player Adem Avdić won the best player of the tournament award, Bulgarian Steven Gerrard Gaote won the best scorer title, and the best goalkeeper of the tournament award went to another member of our team, Jovan Miladinović. Awards were presented by Nikola Lazetić, Vladimir Petrović Pižon, Stanislav Karasi, Marko Zdravković (Belgrade FA) and Igor Matić, while the transitional trophywas presented to the winning team captain, Jovan Miladinović by Miljan Miljanić’s youngest grandson, Vuk Miljanić.

SERBIA vs MONTENEGRO