Marko Bakić, a guy who has worn the jersey of the Montenegrin national team 36 times, does not hide that the defeat against the Faroe Islands began the most difficult period in his career.
Montenegro welcomes Liechtenstein in a friendly match on Monday (18 p.m.), but answers are still being sought to the question of what the future of our football is...
"These are the hardest days of my career. The defeat in Torshavn was extremely hard on me because, as one of the most experienced, one of the players with the longest tenure in the national team, I did not provide what was needed. I bear responsibility - I was not up to par, and as a team we did not meet expectations and tasks, even though everything was explained to us in detail," said Bakić.
He stood up for young players who had just stepped into the senior team.
"They are the future of the national team and they should not bear the burden of this defeat. It is up to us older players to step up and take all the blows and consequences of such a defeat. To show character in this way, because that is crucial in situations like this. New victories can be born from such defeats, let the match in the Faroe Islands be a starting point, not the point of our downfall, because this national team certainly has quality and a great future."
What are the next steps, what needs to change...
DON'T MISS IT
"There is only one way - dedicated and hard work. What is needed most now is the support of all who love the national team from the bottom of their hearts. Montenegrin football is in an extremely difficult situation, I hope everyone understands that and that people will understand my sincerity because I speak from the heart. I have been through more or less everything with this national team and I expect the work to come to light. I also expect us to lower our heads and be humble," says the Iranian Persepolis midfielder.
Montenegro is moving further and further away from the middle class of European and world football.
"It's hard to accept. The coach used the right word for what we need - modesty. It's human to hope, but time has shown that we had no justification for big words, ambitions and desires. Let's change the rhetoric now, and humbly and modestly start from a lower point and try to reach greater heights. Smaller national teams than us have also achieved success, some bigger ones have not, and we need to find our measure in which we will be able to progress," concluded Bakić.
Bonus video:
