Botev's scouts from Plovdiv had a "good eye" - one of the best Bulgarian clubs offered the youngster from the Montenegrin championship a three-year contract, and Aleksa Maraš confirmed his trust.
The former Mladost Donja Gorica striker, a scorer of 14 goals in the last season of the Meridianbet 1st Montenegrin League, fought his way into first-team status in Botev and scored in every competition he appeared in during the first six months of playing for his new club.
The 23-year-old, sturdy striker has seven goals to his name, and the Plovdiv club is in the play-off zone for a place in Europe in the First League table. However, after a great autumn, Botev has had a bad start to the spring season, and their winless streak has now lasted six games.
"We have a very important game coming up, we are fourth in the table and Arda is fifth and we have to avoid those individual mistakes that caused us to lose points. It's not a question of a crisis in the game, because we are performing just as well on the field as during big winning streaks, but it seems like the focus is falling on individual players in defense. We hope that will end against Arda," said the 193-centimeter tall Botev striker.
Maraš was the scorer in Sofia in the loss to Slavia (3:2) in the last match, with the equalizer, but the team from the capital managed to score for the triumph.
"Goals are my job, and I can't be dissatisfied, but the team has high goals that we set with good autumn results. Also, qualifying for the European Cups is something that additionally contributes to each of us on the field. I felt the magic of playing in Europe, we beat Zrinjski in the Conference League qualifiers with my goal 2:1, but an early red card eliminated us in the second leg in Mostar. We lost 2:0. It was also my debut and my first goal in Botev, I came off the bench. That's how it was in the first few games, but with work and dedication I quickly managed to impose myself and earn the status of a first-team player. I also scored four goals in the championship, and I scored against Ludogorets in the Bulgarian Super Cup, where we lost with a goal in the final for 3:2, and I also scored a goal against Lokomotiva in the Cup," Maraš sums up.
For Botev, the championship is now his only way into Europe, as he was eliminated from the Cup on penalties in Razgrad by the "reigning" Bulgarian champion Ludogorets.
"We played great, but Ludogorets have players with multi-million contracts. In the end, that individual quality comes to the fore. We managed to take the game to a penalty shootout, I scored a goal, but none of their players made a mistake. Ludogorets is a quality all its own, and we must be proud of the resistance we are giving them, because they have tied 15 Bulgarian championship titles."
Feel at home in Plovdiv
Although he did not play for the junior national teams, Aleksa Maraš's potential was noticed by Dečić and he was recruited from the ranks of the second-league team Igalo. However, Maraš's real recognition came in Mladost DG, when he scored 2023 goals in the 2024/1 season in the Meridianbet 14st Montenegrin Football League.
"The games for the club from Donja Gorica and the goals recommended me to Botev, and the adjustment period was not easy. I came in from the bench, worked and looked for a chance and now I can say that I made a great choice, because I feel at home in Plovdiv. The club has great infrastructure, its own training camp and canteen, as well as a new 19.000-seat stadium," says Aleksa.
"I have established myself in the first team and I hope that the next step will be to qualify for European competitions. Through them, you further gain a reputation. Under the expert supervision of coach Dušan Kerkez, I am working on all aspects of improving my game. I have speed, I play great with both feet, and with my head too. Fortunately, I have no problems with injuries. It is important that I continue to score goals, because that is the only way I can achieve the club's goals, but also my personal goals, because I want to assert myself for a call-up to the Montenegrin national team," Maraš points out.
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