The Montenegrin Cup final, scheduled for May 28th, will, in addition to the fight for the trophy between Mornar and Dečić, mark the end of the great career of one of the most recognizable names in domestic football - Draško Božović.
For four more games in the Decic jersey, Montenegrin football fans will have the opportunity to follow the maestro in midfield with the number seven on his back, who will remain in football in a different role after that.
Young players have already had the opportunity to learn from Draško Božović, and the 37-year-old midfielder will continue his football development.
The football professor and midfield conductor will be taking the UEFA “A” license exam at the FSCG Coach Education Center in the coming period.
"Every footballer feels at some point that the time has come for the end, so it's a natural course of events. I've always tried my best, for every club I've played for. Sometimes it was successful, sometimes less successful, but now when I look back I know that at that moment I gave my best. My plans are still related to football. I want to enter the coaching world, I've already passed the "B" license, and I hope to successfully complete my further education at the Coach Education Center of the Football Association of Montenegro in the coming years," Draško Božović told Meridian sports.
He began his career as a 17-year-old in the Buducnost jersey against Red Star at the "Marakana", and from March 25, 2006 to the present day, he has played over 400 games for Montenegrin clubs.
In addition to Buducnost, he wore the jersey of Mogren, Sutjeska, Lovćen, Rudar and Dečić, while he had short "excursions" outside the borders of our country, playing for Hapoel Beer Sheva, Pristina and Domžale.
Draško Božović played 13 matches for the national team, and in the last match of his career he will have the opportunity to win his 13th trophy.
If he wins the Cup trophy with Dečić, he will have more trophies in Montenegro than the most successful Montenegrin club - Buducnost.
He started out in the Buducnost jersey, and at the City Stadium in Podgorica he brought Lovćen its first trophy, when he scored against Podgorica's Mladost (today's OFK Titograd) in the Cup final for the team from Cetinje, in 2014, when Lovćen was celebrating the club's 100th birthday.
The final works in Cetinje are nearing completion, so there is a possibility that the long-awaited stadium will open with the Cup final match between Dečić and Mornar, while, otherwise, the most beautiful match on the domestic scene will be played at the City Stadium in Podgorica.
Great emotions bind him to both Cetinje and Podgorica, and wherever the final is played, it will be a special match.
"It would be nice if the final was played in Cetinje, but I think it will still be played in Podgorica, which I am also glad about, because it is the stadium where I grew up. It was certainly my wish at the beginning of the season that the Cup final would be my farewell match. That wish came true, and now all that remains is the icing on the cake. Winning the trophy would be the best way to end my active playing career," said Božović.
He has been voted the league's best player three times, and during a previous interview for our portal, he singled out Andrija Kaluđerović as one of the toughest opponents in the league.
Kaluđerović will be on the other side of the field in the Montenegrin Cup final, wearing the captain's armband in the Mornar jersey.
The five-year-old midfielder from Mornar lost the Cup final last season, so he will be especially motivated to lift a new trophy in this competition on May 28th.
"Andrija is certainly a top professional, whom I have known since he made his debut for Lovćen as a beardless boy. It is no coincidence that Mornar has achieved such results in the past two or three years, if we know that he is the captain. We played together in Rudar, so everything I am saying is not out of courtesy, but an honest opinion. I am not sure that my motive is greater, both teams want this trophy, but I sincerely hope that in the end we will be the ones to rejoice. I want them to win the title, because I think they deserve it."
When asked who we could expect to be his successor among the current players in our league, he singled out several young footballers.
"I wouldn't compare them, but I think we have a lot of talented players who I think have extraordinary potential. Mark Đokaj, Lazar Maraš, Andrej Bajović and Balša Radusinović are the players who play with me in Dečić. They have great potential and I sincerely hope that they will have much better careers than me. There are also a lot of good young players in Buducnost, especially these guys who have qualified for the European and World Championships. It's up to all of them to work, listen to the coaches and be maximally dedicated. With such an approach, most of them will surely have great careers," said Božović.
It is difficult to limit Draško Božović's rich career to one particular moment.
From debut matches to double crowns and trophy goals. Although he hasn't said the last word yet...
"There are many moments that I will remember. Certainly among them are my debut at the age of 17 for Buducnost against Red Star, my debut for the national team under the late Cic Kranjcar against Northern Ireland, the double crown with my home club, goals for Lovćen in the Cup final, a goal for Dečić in Nikšić against Sutjeska... There are many more, but these are some that are especially dear to me," said Draško Božović in an interview for our portal.
An essential topic is the crisis of the most trophy-winning Montenegrin club and the possible solution that, as a club legend, he sees for overcoming the problem.
"It's certainly not easy for me to watch all this happening around and within my club. I think that Budućnost is currently run by incompetent people, who don't know the greatness and don't have a sense of the club like we who originated there and who come from Podgorica. I'm not saying that the president has to be from Podgorica, so that no one gets me wrong, I just think that the people who are currently in the club are there because they have to, and not because they have a desire to do something good," said Draško Božović and continued:
"I know that all of this will fall into place, because Buducnost can never fail, we will not allow that. I am in favor of privatization, but I do not know how feasible it is at this moment. I am more in favor of the model that is now in KK Buducnost. Of course, the priority is to have capable football people in the club's management, who deal with sports issues."
The future let him go easily, and he gave a lot to Dečić in the last five years.
"I came to Dečić unexpectedly, after I was literally kicked out of Buducnost, after winning the double crown and a season in which I was by far the team's best player and top scorer. I ended up staying in Tuzi for five years. I can say that it went by very quickly, which means it was wonderful. I was accepted from the first day as if I had been there for ten years, by my teammates, the management, all the people from the club and the fans. I will be eternally grateful to them."
A historic title, the Cup Winners' Cup, and now they have a chance for another trophy.
"I am glad that I participated in the historic moments in the club. We won the first title in the club's long history, the first Montenegrin Cup, and now we have a chance to defend the trophy. I hope that we will do that and end this season in the best possible way," concluded Draško Božović in an interview with Meridian Sport.
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