Veljko Paunović, the new head coach of the Serbian national football team, spoke for the first time after taking charge of the “Eagles.”
Paunović was recently officially appointed as the coach of the Serbian national team, and this was his first public statement as the head of the national squad’s coaching staff.
“Since the end of 2015, it’s been almost ten years since I was last at the Sports Center in Stara Pazova. I feel just as comfortable now as I did then. A lot of beautiful memories… I’m a bit emotional. I’m glad to see people at the Sports Center whom I worked with back then, who are still part of the Federation, and that we now have the opportunity to once again be part of a shared mission and a new challenge,” Paunović said for the website of the Football Association of Serbia.
“Opportunities don’t choose the moment, but this one appeared right when the position of the national team coach became vacant. I had just finished one project, and the possibility opened up. There wasn’t much time; the decision had to be made quickly. The pieces fit together. It was my duty to respond to the call as quickly as possible, to come to Belgrade and make myself available to the national team.”
Paunović led Serbia’s U20 national team to the World Cup title in New Zealand in 2015. He revealed how he felt when he received the call from the Football Association of Serbia.
“Opportunities don’t choose the moment, but this one appeared right when the position of the national team coach became vacant. I had just finished one project, and the possibility opened up. There wasn’t much time; the decision had to be made quickly. The pieces fit together. It was my duty to respond to the call as quickly as possible, to come to Belgrade and make myself available to the national team. All that, to a certain extent. Since childhood, I’ve been devoted to the national team. I was a player, a national team member, but I never fulfilled my dream of playing as many matches for the national team as I wanted. As a coach and selector, that feeling returns. Especially because of these guys who are in the photo behind us – from New Zealand. Maybe this is the last opportunity to once again be together on a shared mission, like ten years ago. I couldn’t afford to miss it. In the eyes of the public, this is a difficult task, but I know there is a group of players who know how to win and how to navigate through these turbulent waters. That gives me confidence that we’ll create unity and everything needed for success. We’re going in with all our hearts.”
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Source:Nova.rs; Foto: ATA Images