The Zabjelo Football Club continues to build a story that has been driven for decades by the energy of a special Podgorica region, with the dedication of the players, coaching team, and especially the fans.
All of them, from the third-ranked competition, the FSCG Centar Club Association league, dream of returning to the place that the club traditionally belongs to.
Coach Zabjelo Igor Burzanović, legend of Podgorica and Montenegrin football, He tells "Vijesti" that this club and its neighborhood have a strong football tradition, a spirit of togetherness, and a desire to make a breakthrough, but without the pressure of results.
Zabjelo is convincingly leading Group A, in a league that is divided into two divisions due to the number of clubs. So, the first step towards returning to the Second League has already been taken.
- I knew even before I came what tradition the club has, as well as the settlement it is located in. How many great footballers have come from Zabjelo, what is the chemistry between the club, the neighbourhood and the loyal fans. The club has not been a member of the Second Montenegrin League for a long time, and that is what a club deserves, where names like Dražen Pantović, Dražen Rakočević and many others... For all of that, I gladly accepted the invitation - Burzanović emphasized.
Since he took over the team this summer, things have gradually fallen into place, he says.
- The beginning was neither great nor easy, but now there is positive energy, mutual respect, when everyone knows their task, then nothing is difficult. New players have been brought in, we have a wide roster and between 23 and 25 players are regularly present at training. This is a wonderful group of guys with whom it is possible to work well.
Burzanović says that his players train very seriously for the amateur level of competition - many of them, in fact, also have business obligations off the field.
- We train five times a week, plus games, and at an intensity that is equal to that of the second division. Offensive football is what we strive for, but a lot of it is not just about desire and enthusiasm. However, thanks to the dedication of the entire team, including my assistant Tihomir Martinović, which is an indispensable part of our success, we manage to harmonize all of this.
When it comes to ambitions, Burzanović remains realistic and down to earth.
- Desires are one thing, possibilities are another. We have a common goal, but we are not playing under an imperative. If we get into the Second League it will be fantastic, but if we don't, it's not the end of the world. What is certain is that we will give our best, especially in the playoffs that await us after the end of the league season, and we close the season this weekend against Čelik.
In the end, the message is clear - Zabjelo has everything a club needs: support, identity and a shared spirit.
- We play good football, we have the motivation, desire and support of the people of Zabjelo. We play without pressure and we will do our best to return FK Zabjelo to where it belongs - concluded Igor Burzanović, the scorer of the first winning goal in the history of the Montenegrin national team: 2:1 against Hungary, on March 24, 2007.
He is a legend of Buducnost, where he was born and whose jersey he wore on four occasions, and he also played for Red Star Belgrade, Japanese Nagoya, Thai Buriram, Kazakh Irtysh and Chinese Hunan, and finally for Petrovac and Iskra.
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