2023-09-01 04:15:00
He assures that he had never dared to take a culin. “Only once, with Pelayo (Merediz, Sporting’s physiotherapist). This will be the second,” he says. Uros Djurdjevic (Obrenovac, Serbia, 1994). Challenges go to him and he accepts without hesitation in his meeting in Mareo with LA NUEVA ESPAÑA. He speaks for the first time after his return to the Montenegro team, a reason that will lead him to miss the derby. Also from a few last hours of the market that he will live “with the phone in airplane mode” to avoid surprises like last year. He admits to keeping an eye out for the striker he can get to. He wants and hopes that the club closes a new attacker. “I like competition,” he stresses. This is Djuka, always looking for challenges.
–He debuts captaincy, he is seen playing with an extra dose of vitamin when he wears the bracelet.
–It is a pride to be the captain of a team like Sporting. I have been here for many years, I know that this club is very big and does not deserve to be in the Second Division. With the fans we have, this club should be in the First Division. In addition to pride, yes, it is vitamin. You have to set an example on the field.
–Have you played before in another club?
-No. Only in the Serbian under-21 team.
How was the selection process?
–Through a vote among the players. Thus the four captains were chosen.
–Now you can talk more with the referee.
-(Smile). Yes. And that they take me fewer yellow cards this year. It’s just that the referees can’t seem to talk to them. This season it seems that they are even more strict with that. At least, that’s what I’ve seen in the first days, so you still have to try not to talk so much. It’s almost better not to talk because you lose energy and then it’s hard for me to concentrate again.
What should a good captain have?
–Character, winning mentality… Since I don’t talk much, I am lucky to have Cali, who likes to talk a lot (smiles). When Cali speaks, it motivates me a lot. He always finishes and tells me: “Now you speak.” I answer him: “No, no, it’s you who motivates me the most” (he laughs). Cali is a true leader and captain.
Will they pray in the locker room again?
We haven’t discussed it yet among the captains. It is an issue that is pending. For me there would be no problem (he is an orthodox Catholic). We already did it with Baraja.
How do you rate the start of the season?
–We know that the season is very long and even. We have already seen that recently relegated teams like Elche or Valladolid have already lost at home. Burgos is up, a difficult opponent, we already played against them in preseason. With our people, I hope there are a lot of them, like the other day, I am confident of a victory in El Molinón.
Is there a better team?
–The signings are good and good people. They will help us a lot. Rubén (Yáñez) gives security; Róber (Pier) brings experience, Hassan… All the signings are good.
So is there a better team?
-Yeah. There is more competition and that also helps the team. Twenty-five of us are one hundred percent, all plugged in.
–Hassan comes from standing out in Ferrol.
–He is the best in the category in one against one. Is different. It takes a little more time to adapt. In attack he has everything, but in Second Division you have to defend as well. He is working and giving it his all. He will help us a lot.
–Sporting hopes to sign a striker in these last hours of the market. How do you rate it?
I like competition. Anything that comes to add up and help achieve the objectives, welcome. I hope they sign a forward because the club and the coaching staff have said that it is needed. It will be welcome.
–What type of profile would you like if you could choose?
I adapt to almost everything. I get along very well with Fran Villalba, but I also got along with Otero the other day. I feel good when I have another striker close by, because when I’m alone, with the centre-backs, it’s very jod… to fight in the Second Division. With two points, and one that goes well with the head, like Juan (Otero) better. If I could choose, he would be different from me.
“You stay, don’t you?”
–That’s what I thought last summer and in the end Valladolid appeared on the last day. Look, on August 28 I had changed my house (in Gijón) and on the 31st my representative called me and told me about Valladolid. You never know with the market, but I’m calm. I have already discussed it with the club. My wish is to stay here.
Will there be no surprise?
-No. This time I’m going to put the phone in airplane mode (laughs).
–This summer have you spoken with the club about any option for your departure?
-No. I saw that there was a lot of news about going to Mexico, but we didn’t talk about it. Neither of any other. Before I went on vacation I already told the club that I wanted to stay and they thought the same.
– What role does your family play in continuing in Gijón?
“It’s hard for them to have to move us. I was always in other clubs for a year, or a year and a half. Here are six years. They are happy in Gijón, but they always tell me that they are happy where I am happy. In addition to my wife and my children (Andrea, 6 years old and Tadej, 3 years old), these are things that I talk about with my parents and the rest of my family. In the end, it’s my turn to choose and I choose to stay here.
– Go back to the selection.
It’s a motivation. The last few times I couldn’t go, firstly, due to the injury, and then because they were friendlies in which I spoke with the coach and it was better to rest a bit because I had just recovered from the injury. It’s a plus for the club and also for me because we have good chances to play in the Eurocup.
-The bad thing is that the derby is lost.
-Yeah. It is the bad thing, because being an international window in the First Division is not played and in the Second Division there is always a good game, like the derby. I hope to beat Bulgaria and Lithuania with Montenegro and that we also beat Oviedo.
How will the derby continue?
–On the Ipad, in the concentration hotel. We play on Sunday, so I will be able to see it. I will speak before the game with my teammates. We have a (wasap) group so I’ll leave a message there too. He already knows, like all derbies: a warm heart and a cool head. He touches us because we come from not winning the last. There will be an incredible atmosphere at the Tartiere, there will surely be our fans supporting us. You have to give one hundred percent and get the three points.
-A result.
–0-1, it works for me. Or 4-5 (he laughs), but we add three points. Goal scorer? Nacho Mendez. He is training very well, he is eager. I see him scoring a goal.
What is the goal this year?
–Every year it is the same objective: we have and we want to be at the top to fight for something beautiful, for what the club deserves. We come from two years in which we did things very badly. This year we have to have a good year. With the whole club, with this coaching staff, with all the improvement works that are being done in Mareo, something that many teams don’t have in the Second Division, we have to give one hundred percent every day. You have to leave your skin every Sunday for this shield. The rest, we have everything. Now it’s up to us, the players, to have a good year.
–This summer we tried to avoid the word promotion. Did setting that goal hurt you in other years?
– Yes, anyway. We have to go game by game, step by step. In Second the classification is almost better not to look at it until April.
Do you think that the step by step will be understood by the fans?
–They want to win every game, of course, like us, but they have to be patient. With their help, at home and abroad… El Molinón was spectacular the other day. We all really enjoyed that day. I wish every week at El Molinón was like this (as against Mirandés).
I know you don’t like to talk about the number of goals, but have you scored any number?
-No. The important thing is that the team is in good shape and we get the maximum number of points. The goals will come when you least expect it. The other day (against Mirandés) I shot without thinking. I was enjoying El Molinón so much that I put it in. When you think a lot, when I become obsessed with the goal, it is when it is more difficult to score it. Even the easiest, does not enter. I hope to score many more than last year.
–How do you work not to be obsessed with the goal?
–With the coach, Imanol (Ibarrondo). I talk to him a lot. We had two talks with him in Mareo all the players and also the captains. Aid. If you have scored goals all your life, that is not forgotten. You have to know how to handle your head, when you’re on a roll, and when you don’t put it in.
#Djurdjevic #striker #competition