One of the biggest Uzbek clubs, the current leader Navbahor, ended Sogdiana's eight-game unbeaten streak in the championship and the Cup last weekend (2:1).
Ivan Bošković, however, does not regret the defeat so much - he saw a framed team, roughly what he wanted when the leaders of Zimus club gave him a completely free hand in the transfer window to select the team and lead it to the upper house of the Uzbekistan championship.
- I don't regret the defeat, I only regret the fact that it was perhaps the best game we played in the season so far. We had possession, chances, we conceded goals practically from the only shots. But, when we play well, I'm sure that it will come back to us in a future match - we stabilized our form, became firmer in defense, calmer with the ball. Maybe it's all logical, a lot of new players came, it took time for everyone to adjust and adapt - Bošković told "Vijesti" from Uzbekistan.
The 42-year-old coach leads a true Montenegrin colony in Jizak, a city in the very east of Uzbekistan. Rade Petrović is his right hand on the bench, and Vladimir Jovović and Zoran Petrović are "extended" on the field. And the two of them came in January, when the season starts in this Asian country.
And the Montenegrins are doing well, both on the bench and on the field - primarily because the popular Bole, in a relatively short time, made a name for himself as a coach in Uzbekistan.
It all started in September 2022, when Bošković, once a proven goal scorer for Sutjeska, Budućnost, Grblj, Nasaf, and clubs in Thailand, suddenly took over the bench of Bunshovej, the five-time champion of Uzbekistan.
Suddenly, because it was his senior coaching debut, but a surprise only for those who followed things from afar.
- For three years before that, I was a coach in the Bunsvojkov academy, leading the B team, and when the club's management decided to change the coach of the first team due to bad results, I was ready to wait for the chance. As a player, I spent two years in Uzbekistan, in Nasaf, and got to know the local football and mentality, so the club leaders didn't risk too much when they gave a chance to a coach with no experience in senior football, as I was - says Bošković confidently.
The results also showed it: Bunshove brought a calm harbor, brought the season to an end. Then - same country, new roads.
- The management of the club changed, new people came, but precisely because I was well prepared for the coaching call, I didn't wait long for a new chance. The invitation from Sogdijana arrived, many teams want fresh blood, coaches from Europe are especially attracted to them, and I accepted the offer of the sports director who worked with me in Bunsvojevo, and we started the second season on the bench. It's going well - Bošković is satisfied.
Seven rounds have passed, Sogdiana is sixth, but with only one point less than the leading three - Navbahor, Andijan and Nasaf.
- Sogdiana is a good club, it has a history, maybe not some spectacular results in the past, but it was also second in the table. Our ambitions are to be in the Top 5, it's not easy, but I think we have the quality. I significantly influenced the selection, I had the freedom to try to bring in the players I wanted, so there is nothing to complain about - it's up to me, we have a lot of work ahead of us. We can play with everyone, we beat Pahtakor twice in a short period, which Sogdiana has not done in 29 years. We made it to the second round of the Cup, and that's a chance to try to qualify for the Asian Champions League - says Bošković.
Rade Petrović joined him later - in June last year, when he finished a good job in Jezera.
- Rade had good results in Montenegro, I believe that this will be a springboard for him, that he will become independent, because people here are really interested in coaches from Europe.
Striker Zoran Petrović arrived in the winter from Budućnost, Vladimir Jovović at the same time from Jablonec in the Czech Republic.
- They struggled with injuries, but that is in the past, they are already adapting, everyone here can see how good they are.
And all of them are not alone in Uzbekistan: Vesko Stešević is the coach of Metalurg, Nenad Vukčević helps him, Marko Miličković and Boban Đorđević are on the field.
- Vesko may not have such a high-quality team as we have, but they value and respect him extremely, and the fact that he signed a three-year contract is no accident. I hope he will have a good rest of the season - concludes Ivan Bošković.
The Soviet way of working belongs to the past
Why do Uzbeks like coaches from Europe?
- It seems to me that we look a little wider than them as far as football is concerned, there are still traces of the old, Soviet way of working here, but that is also changing, especially in the last five years, football is progressing at lightning speed - says Bošković.
The Uzbek junior selections have repeatedly taught real lessons to the Montenegrin selections, celebrating convincing victories, even in Podgorica.
- A lot is being invested, I have the impression that a lot has changed in the last five years. I think that compared to Montenegro, the main difference is in quantity - after all, this is a country of 30 million inhabitants. And when you invest and work properly, as has been the case in the last five years, then it is inevitable that quality will come out of such quantity - says Bole.
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