The season in Europe ended ingloriously in the Faroe Islands, and Sutjeska is already expecting a very important match tomorrow (20 p.m.) in the Meridianbet First Montenegrin Football League. The current champion welcomes Jezero in Nikšić, and after a setback at the premiere against Jedinstva (1:1) in Bijelo Polje, they must not allow themselves another bad result.
Sutjeska was a disappointment in Europe, the fans are dissatisfied, because more was expected, especially after the previous season when the Nikšić team faced Maccabi from Tel Aviv in the same competition, a stronger and better opponent than Klaksivka, and then strolled to the title in the domestic championship. But the reality is different...
"We know how many fans we had during the year when we won the title. Also, we know how many fans came to boo and boo when we won the title. We know that in Montenegro everything is related to some non-football matters and to some moves by various people who want, I don't know what kind of influence. That's all normal here, it's not a surprise for me or anyone. As far as I'm concerned - if someone thinks I'm the problem, and I'm the smallest problem, that's easy to solve. It is known how it is solved and who solves it. But the facts say otherwise. What do I have to answer for? For winning the title? What did I do to so many national team members? Why are so many young players involved in the team? Is that something that is negative in all this we have been doing for a year? What someone thinks - while sitting in a bar and analyzing it by rote and lump sum - is his assessment, but it is not relevant and not important, nor will he be treated and think about it," Sutjeska's coach Milija Savović said at the conference before the match with Jezera.
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It is Savović, after the elimination in the Faroe Islands, who is the target of criticism the most.
"I neither read, nor follow, nor do I want to be burdened by the evaluations of anyone, except for those people whom I know know something about football and are worth something and can help. I'm here to listen to anyone worth listening to and to learn. We all learn from defeat. Victories often blind, slow down the development process. Everything has its positives. It cannot be more difficult for anyone than me, the players and the coaching staff, because the defeat is certainly difficult. We wanted to prove that we are better than the Faroe Islands. I still think we have more quality than them, but many things affect the performance on the pitch. The team was offensive in both matches - everyone who knows our players knows that they are offensive footballers both in midfield and forward. "Our desire was not to be subordinate, we did not want to be defensive, but we are not the only ones wondering," explained Savović.
During both matches, Sutjeska was too defensive and too subordinate. Only in the second leg, when she conceded a goal, did she move forward, create chances, and then it was clear that the Montenegrin champion could match her rival. But it was too late.
"There is also an opponent who does something and also trains. The Faroe Islands have two representatives in the third round, Malta three - and they are small, so a lot goes wrong, but always looking for the wrong culprits. Victims are always sought individually and nothing is corrected. That's 15 years - we're literally going backwards. Those who think well of football can use their wits and do something to help. Those who think they are sitting in a bar and commenting on others, but they don't know what we face, what we do, or how we do it, they can't help us. And time passes, we sink lower and lower and lose generations and generations who can emerge and do something more significant in their careers and respond to the needs of clubs and the national team."
The match with Jezera follows, but Klaksvik is still on his mind.
"The moment is a little difficult and awkward. We are still collecting impressions about the match in the Faroe Islands. We will have to forget the meeting with Klaksvik as soon as possible. We have to turn to the championship, consolidate and return to last season's track. It is not easy to do, considering what happens to all our clubs from year to year - our reality is that we build a team for a year, we fight, we win the title and in the end we play with another team the most important matches that we all live for. Until all these lessons are learned, it will not be possible to make the breakthrough that we all desire. We all have to be aware of all things and realistically make some plans."
Savović referred to football in Montenegro in general.
"Obviously, football in Montenegro has no plans, it goes from year to year. We are struggling and getting into a situation where we are inferior against teams that we once did not consider as competitors. At the moment we are not competitive with anyone and that is a fact. The results show it. Not only ours and not only this year, but all the previous years. It cannot be a problem in one man, nor in two men, nor in one club. It is a much bigger and more serious problem. All of us who play football know that. We know what is needed, but we cannot get into a situation where we find people who will see it all through and dedicate themselves to football in the right way, the way it should be and to bring football and the players to a level that it deserves," Savović said. .
He commented on the situation that before the start of the season, footballers who played a big role and were among the most deserving of winning the title and dominating the Montenegrin league left Sutjeska - Božo Marković (Arsenal Tivat), Vladimir Jovović (Jablonec), Nikola Janjić (Osijek), Vladan Bubanja (Lokomotiva Zagreb), Darko Nikač (Iskra), Marko Vučić (Novi Pazar), Augusto (Petrovac) and Meldin Drešković (Debrecin). Marko Zoćević (without club), Filip Mitrović (Iskra), Balša Dubljević (Petrovac) also left, young Danijel Nikolić moved to Mornar.
"You work and create something for a year and you expect to see the fruits of that work at matches like this. I am convinced that the team that played last year, if they had stayed together, could have coped with Ludogorets, and especially with Klaksvik. We simply cannot do such a thing. This is known to everyone who plays football. Our opponents have been playing together for four or five years. This team is 80 percent the same as five years ago. And Ludogorets and Klaksvik. You saw that this year all our clubs were left without almost the entire team. Then all eyes are on us and players and coaches are expected to create a team in 15 or 17 training sessions, which will qualify for the group round of a competition. It is impossible. We try to get the most out of it, to motivate the players and to convince them that it is possible to do something that is realistically impossible. It repeats itself year after year."
The problem, says Savović, is much bigger.
"It's a much bigger and deeper problem, things that individuals can't solve. We don't have stable clubs - for us, from year to year, the season depends on how we place in the table. If you win Europe, you have a certain amount that comes from European competitions and that money is spent on wages. If you are champions, you have a little more, so you will bring in better players and that's it. But essentially nothing changes. You cannot afford to sign a player for three years. And of course the footballers will to go. Last year we played a phenomenal season, made a fantastic team, literally breathed as a team that produced a result. You could see how much it resonated. Sutjeska had three new national team members - Drešković, Eraković and Janjić made their debuts. You saw that many players went abroad. These were not transfers from club to club in Montenegro."
Coach Sutjeska believes that more time is needed for the newcomers to fit into the new environment and for the team to find last season's rhythm.
"We need time to find the right team, to find a system with these players we hired in the transfer window. We tried to take a step further, so we signed some players for two and three years so that we wouldn't end up in a situation where a new team is being formed next year. We hired young, talented players, who were young national team members, some still are, some will be A national team members. But to combine all that in 15 days against a team that has been playing together for four or five years and to match and be better and go further, that is very difficult. This team has potential and quality. There were probably some players who could have provided more. But they also need time. You come from the side, you need to find your way and fit in quickly and make a difference. It is not characteristic of everyone, it is not possible and it is simply a process that must be endured in order to derive some benefit. We lost to a team that always wins, not us, but in general the Faroe Islands always win against Montenegro. Nothing spectacular happened," Savović said at the conference.
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