Damir Krznar explains why he put Josip Iličić on ice: ‘He is not physically fit to help the team right now’
Maribor is preparing to host Koper, and at Friday’s press conference, the Viole’ coach Damir Krznar also answered the hottest topic in Slovenian football at the moment. The Croatian expert explained why he has put the cold shoulder on star player Josip Iličić, who will no longer play for Maribor until further notice. The former national team player has been kicked out of the team and Damir Krznar claims that the only reason for this drastic decision is related to his poor physical condition.
“Josip Iličić is not physically fit to help the team at the moment. My decision is that he now trains individually, as he has not reached the level we expect from him through training with the first team. That is the main reason he is not with us. There are other factors, but they are not decisive,“, Damir Krznar said at a press conference in Ljudski vrt.
Damir Krznar: “Let’s be sane”
The former Dinamo Zagreb coach continued: “This is a decision I took and communicated to him in front of the whole team. Iličić accepted the decision and after that there were no further specifics. He started training on a self-directed programme with our coaches and there are no problems. My intention was not to send a message to the other players, but I simply want Josip to get to a level where he can help us on the pitch. This is good for us and good for him. I believe that others will see this as motivation for all of us to do our best, because that is the only way to get out of the current situation.”
At the same time, Damir Krznar firmly rejected suggestions that he had set a condition for the club’s management: it was either him or Josip Iličić: “I would like to finish with this topic. Let’s be logical, let’s be sane. What kind of position is a coach in to give ultimatums if he doesn’t win five games and loses the last two?”
This text was automatically translated using AI.