Željko Janović is one of those players who "connected" probably the greatest generations in the history of Buducnost.
He shared the field and the locker room with Anthem i Janko Miročević, Mojaš Radonjić, Slavko Vlahović... and then with Dejan Savićević, Pedjo Mijatovic, With love i Branko Brnović, With Željko Petrović...
He learned from some (“I remember when we Mojas Radonjic", while he was still playing, explaining in training how to set up and head shots"), creating playing partnerships and lifelong friendships with others.
That's why he decided that only the players he played with would be in the competition to choose his ideal team.
“To make it easier for myself,” he admits.
"Because it's really difficult to choose the top 11 of all time, especially when I remember so many great players, true legends, who were football role models for all of us."
Janović is a child of Buducnost, and he backs up the difficult path from a talented boy and young man to a first-team player with an example:
"My generation of youth players was a finalist in the 1981 SFRY Cup, losing to Red Star, and a year later they won that competition - by winning the final against Partizan, in which they played Mance, Cava Dimitrijevic, Vermezovic... And from that Buducnost team, only Dragoljub Brnović and I made it to the first team."
Janović is, without a doubt, one of the greatest goal scorers that Buducnost has had - a classic number nine, a true center forward.
"I wore number nine from the beginning to the end of my career. No other, wherever I played."
That number has always been a symbol for goals, and Janović scored over 50 first-league goals for Buducnost, in the seven years he was a regular first-team player...
"I'm glad I justified the blue and white number nine, because before me, and after me, great strikers wore that number - Bajica Martinovic, Mojas Radonjic, Zaro Vukcevic, Vasko Jovanovic...", emphasizes Janović.
So many great players, but something was always missing for Buducnost as a team, and as a club, to emerge from the status of an unpleasant rival, a mine for favorites - trophies, the European scene were missing. Why?
"I think the conditions for training and playing were our biggest problem," Janović points out.
"We trained mostly behind the goals at the stadium under Gorica, near the Gymnasium... We never complained, no one ever objected to it - we were honored to be Buducnost players, we all loved Buducnost, we had a huge motivation to play for Buducnost and gave everything we had. But, motivation is often not enough in football, unfortunately."
Training was one of two problems - the other was the field.
"Only in the first two or three matches of the season, the pitch was flat and green. The first rains fell and turned it into mud, then the north 'cracked' and there was no machine that could fix it. And we had great players, technically sophisticated, we simply couldn't show everything we could," says Janović and concludes:
"And it's part of the Future, part of our youth and a period of life that brought us many beautiful memories. I'm proud to have been a part of that story."
Željko Janović scored goals for all the "big four" clubs, his two goals against Red Star Belgrade are remembered (he "scored" three for Red Star under Gorica), but he especially remembers his first one - on his debut, against Dinamo in Titograd, in the 1982/83 season.
“It was my debut in the first team of Buducnost. Dinamo was the reigning champion, a great team with Ćiro Blažević on the bench, and I'm a debutant. And I get a strong blow, I remember he gave it to me Srecko Bogdan, čvrst štoper, kao i svi u to vrijeme. Tražio sam zamjenu, ali lopta nikako da izađe van terena, čini mi se 5-6 minuta. Odjednom, centaršut, a ja sa jedne noge u skok i glavom u mrežu. Jedan od ljepših golova u karijeri, i to prvi. Odmah nakon gola sam izašao iz igre”, sjeća se Janović.
From Tonko to "Chileans", Dejo ranks among the greatest of all time
In Janović's ideal team, Dragoje Leković took the goal position.
"A top goalkeeper, and also a great professional. Hardworking, dedicated to football. We had many great goalkeepers, but Leković was a 'Chilean', a representative of the SFRY and FRY at the world championships."
The tandem of defenders - on the right Željko Petrović, on the left Dragoljub Brnović.
"Both were modern players, they could play in multiple positions - footballers with their characteristics are still relevant today, although football has changed a lot. Both Petrović and Brnović could, without a problem, be in the best team in the midfielder positions."
In the central part of the defense - Miodrag Božović.
"A striking figure on the field, both in play and attitude."
And next to him is Niša Saveljić.
"He was impressive with his toughness, he had a great header, he was a brave player. It's no wonder he had a good career in France."
In midfield, like the former "four", Branko Brnović.
"A reliable player, a true midfielder who plays both with and without the ball. Every big team should have a profile like that. There's no need to talk about his career - world gold in Chile, senior national team player, Espanyol."
And then the tandem from the beginning of Janović's career in the first team.
"Petar Caco Ljumović - a great expert, with the right solutions in a small space. Ante Miročević - I was especially impressed by the fact that he showed great qualities both in the mud and on ideal terrain. A great master and a great star."
And in attack - the central position goes to Predrag Mijatović.
"What can I say about Peđa - a brilliant player, a great talent, but also a great 'worker'. He has supplemented his natural talent with really hard work and reached great heights."
But, in an ideal team - a classic center forward.
"Exactly. Pedja wasn't a number nine, but he was a striker, and a good one at that," says Janović, but he points out one striker who wasn't in the running for his selection, due to the "restriction" of only selecting those he played with in the first team.
"Anto Drobnjak was a top striker and out of all the classic strikers at Buducnost, he had the best career. I completely understand why. But, due to a combination of circumstances, we were not on the team at the same time. When he came to Buducnost, I went to the army. When I returned, he left and then our paths diverged. Anto was and remains a striker whom I greatly respect."
There are two places left.
"Dragan Vujović. He returned from the USA and immediately fit in with us younger players. We respected him, he brought us more quality in a season in which we played perhaps the most beautiful football in Yugoslavia, with Živadinović as coach. Unforgettable days."
And finally - of course, Dejan Savićević.
"To say something new about him that no one else has - it's really difficult. He was an inexplicably spectacular player. He had something that only special people have - like Messi, Maradona... Something that cannot be described in words, but is just enjoyable to watch."
Janović's two teams of players he played with
Željko Janović decided that the only players he played with in the competition for his ideal team would be the players he played with.
First team: Dragoje Lekovic - Zeljko Petrovic, Miodrag Bozovic, Nisa Saveljic, Dragoljub Brnovic - Branko Brnovic, Petar Ljumovic, Ante Mirocevic - Dragan Vujovic, Dejan Savicevic, Predrag Mijatovic.
Second team: Branislav Djukanovic - Dusko Vlaisavljevic, Branislav Drobnjak, Slavko Vlahovic, Zoran Vorotovic - Janko Mirocevic, Momir Bakrac, Zoran Batrovic - Mirko Radinovic, Darko Mugosa - Mojas Radonjic.
Bonus video:
