Anyone who has been following football in Montenegro for a while knows what kind of talent Đorđe Ćetković was. They will say that he was an extraordinary...
His playing career was, perhaps not in line with his potential, but very notable, with his peak in the Bundesliga, in the Hansa jersey.
Ćetković is now, one could say, a talented coach with great ambitions, because he "lives football 24 hours a day".
Is it perhaps time for Montenegro football to get to know him in a different role...
"It would be a challenge to return as a coach to where my journey began," says Ćetković, who has built his coaching career in Serbia, at Partizan.
Somewhat unusually, he literally went through all the steps - he was the coach of the black and white pioneers, cadets and youth teams, an assistant in the senior team's coaching staff, and occasionally, in the most difficult moments, the first coach of the first team.
"I have been at Partizan since 2019, but previously I worked as a volunteer coach at Buducnost with Vasko Dulović, when Risto Lakić was the sports director, and then as a coach at Stari Aerodrom," recalls Ćetković.
"I think that also shows how fulfilling coaching is to me."
Working in Partizan's academy, the 43-year-old from Podgorica has gained a reputation as one of the best coaches of junior teams in Serbia.
He won trophies – he was a three-time champion – but he also created players who are both the present and the future of the club and Serbian football. Vanja Dragojević, Ognjen Ugrešić, Bogdan Kostić, Matija Popović, Nikola Simić, among others, passed through his "filter".
"They were boys, now they are first-team and national team players at the age of 19-20," Ćetković points out.
The generations he led also had successes on the international stage.
"Partizan's class of 2006 won the prestigious tournament in Italy – Nereo Rocco, we beat, for example, Milan 3:0, in the final Empoli 6:0. I was named the best coach. I led the generation of 2007 at the Ajax tournament in Amsterdam, we were second, and beat Manchester City 2:0, Anderlecht 2:0, played 1:1 with Ajax...".
And the logical path was to move to a higher level, to the Partizan first team.
"Aleksandar Stanojević invited me to the coaching staff ahead of the 2024/25 season, and I was then an associate of Savo Milošević and Srđan Blagojević. There were great moments, there were difficult ones - and in those difficult moments, when coaches were changed, Marko Jovanović and I took over and led the team. I think we did a good job in moments of crisis. It seems to me, in fact, that in a short period of time I have really gone through everything, or almost everything - from successes to failures, from great victories to crises, and every situation is a new, very important experience in the complex job of coaching."
Ćetković is recognized in Serbia as a young, talented coach, it is no surprise that there is interest in him, Super League team Radnik Surdulica is mentioned...
"My desire is to work, because I love to work and I am ready for the next step in both Serbia and Montenegro. I am attracted to Montenegrin football. It would be nice to open another chapter at home. This is my country, this is where I fell in love with football and took my first steps as a player."
Ćetković also completed his UEFA A coaching license in Montenegro at the FSCG Coach Education Center, which he says he thanks for the "great education" and for enabling him to continue his education for the Pro license in Serbia...
He is, therefore, very much connected to the Montenegrin football scene, which, he points out, is familiar to him...
"The league is demanding, the coaching job in Montenegrin clubs is quite complex. What I noticed is that there is a lack of intensity in the game and that the problem is playing without the ball. There is no shortage of talent, as there would be in a country that has produced so many top players. It would be a challenge for me as a young coach to try to implement the things I learned in a system like Partizan's and through everyday education in Montenegro," concluded Ćetković.
Football etiquette
Apart from his results in Partizan's youth teams, Ćetković attracted public attention with his approach towards young players...
His lesson to the black and white boys, who overdid their celebrations after winning the 2022 derby against Red Star Belgrade, is an example of football etiquette.
"It's very ugly when you win and comment that 'we've never lost here'. Don't ever let me hear you say that again, you have to respect some things. You win, be a gentleman and leave. Likewise - you lose and leave like a gentleman," Ćetković told the players at the time.
"The most important thing is that football players have sporting and life values, and that is taught from the first days. I always told the boys I coached that they must never neglect their education, because the path to football is unpredictable, and the path to becoming a professional football player is a real marathon. The role of the coach is to draw their attention to these things."
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