The attacker of Budućnosti Milan Vukotić marked the autumn half-season on the Meridianbet 1st Montenegrin football league grounds, a big surprise should happen if in two weeks, in the survey of the Football Association, he is not chosen as the best player of the domestic championship.
Saturday's game with Petrovac, in which he scored his ninth goal this season and stood out at the top of the scorers' list, is probably, however, his last in the blue jersey. Or the last championship, considering that the autumn champion has a match in the Cup with Iskra on Wednesday.
Vukotić, a child of Budućnost, who in 2020 as a great talent went to Zagreb's Dinamo and tried out in one of the best teams in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Zrinjski, is on his way to his second departure from Podgorica.
As he says, this is also the agreement with the club - his contract expires in the summer, and if Budućnost sells him in January, he has a chance to earn something. And he has such an advantage at the top (12 points) that he can afford the departure of the best player.
"I'm ready for the next step. It wouldn't even be right if I stay until the summer, when I'm free, and in the spring I take a place in the team, someone younger, and Budućnost has a lot of talented players," says Vukotić.
It is written about Partizan, which has been interested for a long time and there should be no problem to realize the transfer of the guy who made his debut for the national team of Montenegro this fall, and last month was the starter in the red jersey for the first time in the victory over Turkey.
"There is talk about Partizan, and that's fine, I can't say that I don't like it. I can only say that Partizan is not the only one, there are other interesting clubs that are mentioned and we will see how everything will end. Everything is a matter of negotiations , I have to be patient," says Vukotić.
He gave a lot to Buducnost, especially this fall, but Buducnost also gave to him. She welcomed him back with open arms when he returned to the blue jersey in the summer of 2023.
"I wanted to come back and it was definitely the right decision. And it took me time to get back into the rhythm of competition, to get back to football in the right way, because for almost a year and a half I didn't have a real match, I didn't have a competition. trainings, whatever they are, with whatever players - and there were big ones, especially in Dinamo, it's another thing when you play games every week. This is best seen in my case, everything came into its own this fall," says Vukotić.
He was only 17 years old when he went to Dinamo. Before that, he had only one match in the Budućnosti jersey, and several on dual registration in Iskra.
"That departure happened too soon, I was definitely not ready for such a transition, so young. Dinamo is a big club, not only in the regional framework, it especially excels in working with young players. It was not bad to feel such an environment, such a work system, playing I was in the second team, I was on the bench twice in the first team, there were Lovro Majer, Ivanušec, all Croatian national team players, bronze medalists from the World Cup, but I didn't have any games and that was the main problem Zrinjsko, where I stagnated because Dinamo and the club from Mostar could not agree on certain percentages. I just kept quiet and worked, and I played very little," says Vukotić.
Five years after the first departure, the situation changes drastically. Vukotić is in a position to choose. And he broke through the barrier.
"I didn't make it to Dinamo, I came back home, I had to be mentally strong. I think I was".
There is no doubt that Budućnost will win the title even without him. She will definitely be his too, wherever he is in May.
"The quality, the atmosphere in the team, that's what sets us apart. When you still have the right approach to the games, when you take every rival seriously, then victories and points difference are normal," concludes Milan Vukotić.
The national team is something special
In October, Milan Vukotić came on at the very end of the match against Turkey in Samsun and made his debut for the Montenegrin national team.
The "real" debut, however, arrived last month, in a match against the Turks in Nikšić. Robert Prosinečki gave him a chance from the start, in a 3:1 victory.
- It is a special experience, I am glad that I participated in the triumph against one of the best national teams in Europe. I can't wait for March and the next gathering, I hope that with the games I will deserve to be invited again. The atmosphere in the national team is really special, an extraordinary combination of experienced and young players. We younger people have someone to learn from - concluded Vukotić.
Bonus video:
