Denis Popović, captain of Celje, is critical of the younger players: ‘Today, everyone thinks they’re like Messi and Ronaldo, but they need to prove themselves on the field’
Photo: Nik Moder / Sportida
Recently, the football club from Celje launched its own podcast. The first guest was the captain of the Celje team and former Slovenian national team player, Denis Popović. In the inaugural episode of the podcast titled My Podcast, My Club, Popović shared a wealth of interesting insights about his career. He also compared what he believes to be a completely different perception of football between his early days and the beginnings of today’s young footballers.
“Today, everyone thinks they are like Messi and Ronaldo, I don’t know what else. ‘Master,’ you first have to prove yourself in the Slovenian league. And it doesn’t matter which club you play for. First, play, I don’t know, maybe 100 matches at a truly high level, then you can start thinking about playing abroad. But today, if they don’t play, there’s an immediate sense of dissatisfaction, they immediately want to change clubs. On top of that, their heads are filled by agents and parents, saying they are the best,” criticized the 34-year-old Denis Popović.
Popović: “Šeško Played in the Second Austrian League Too”
The footballer, who played six matches for the Slovenian national team, continued: “The only measure is the field. Go onto the pitch and show what you can do. If you’re really good, someone will notice you. Some go abroad at fifteen, and by nineteen they’re back in Slovenia. Not everyone realizes that being Benjamin Šeško is rare. That someone so good is born once in who knows how many years. Even Šeško fought his way into the scene in the second Austrian league… Today, he’s rightfully where he is. Many get offers from Italy and go there with high expectations, but end up playing in the Primavera. It’s the same as playing youth league here with us,” critiqued Denis Popović about some moves of the younger generation today. He, among other experiences, played in Greece, Poland, Russia, Switzerland, China, and in Celje.
Summarizing Popović’s undoubtedly sharp thoughts, the breakthrough to a normal football level was much more stringent in the past. Today, everything often starts and ends with money. The young quickly go abroad, overestimating themselves after just a few good matches. Then, many return to the Slovenian league, where due to a lack of development, they find themselves lagging behind and unable to truly showcase their talents… Certainly, words that should make the young think… (mš)
This text was automatically translated using AI.
Author: editorial Football Planet
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