He knew that he would no longer wear the jersey of the team from Rijevica this season, no one expected him to play against Lille before the trip to Mexico, but Andrija Vukčević did not want to leave his teammates and the club where he spent the previous two years just like that.
The Montenegrin representative unexpectedly appeared in Rijeka's lineup in the rematch of the playoff for the Conference League against Lille. He played from the 46th minute and perhaps in the end he failed to help the Adriatic reach the European autumn (Rijeka lost 3:2 on aggregate), but he received a deep bow from his teammates and the coaching staff.
"That was his last game for Rijeka. We talked to him, the guy was supposed to fly out yesterday, but he decided to stay and help," Rijeka coach Željko Sopić explained, as reported by the "Index" portal.
He continued in a similar vein…
"We gave him a well-deserved round of applause this morning, he showed how much he loves this city. He didn't even think about his health at all, and we know he's going to Mexico," said Sopić.
Croatian media write that the name of the club from Mexico that will strengthen Vukćević is not yet known.
The Montenegrin left back is soon expected to play with the Falcons in the qualifiers for the European Championship against Lithuania (September 7) and Bulgaria (September 10).
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