Zoran Zeljković sets high goals ahead of European baptism: ‘Klaksvik is the opponent Olimpija must beat’
Source of photo: NK Olimpija Ljubljana
Zoran Zeljković should not complain about the “action” in his life. Just a week ago, he was quietly leading the team Koper. On Thursday, he will face his first ever group stage match in a European Cup. As coach of Olimpija, of course. Zoran Zeljković will lead the Dragons, who are still without a point after two games, for the first time in Europe in the remote Faroe Islands, where they will face Klaksvik. An opponent that Olimpija has to beat, stressed Zoran Zeljković.
“I will never be satisfied if we only win a point against such an opponent. This is a quality opponent, no team has won here this season, not even those with bigger budgets and on paper better than us. We have to follow our plan, then I believe we will win. Then we will see where it takes us,” Sportclub relayed Zeljkovic’s statements from the official press conference in Torshavn, where the playing conditions will be anything but wonderful.
Low temperatures, thick clouds, wind, rain, you just can’t do without it. But an even bigger problem for Olimpija will be the local semi-professionals who go to work in the morning and train in the afternoon. But that’s no obstacle to them making football history in the Faroe Islands and being the first to qualify for the group stage of one of the European Cups.
And they did it in spectacular fashion: this season, Klaksvik has not lost on home soil even once! Not even French top-flight side Lille found a way to kick him…
Zoran Zeljkovic: “Very dangerous during interruptions”
Despite all this, Zoran Zeljković is optimistic. “This is an opponent that Olimpija has to beat,” stressed the Ljubljana player and continued.I am convinced that Olimpija is capable of beating much bigger teams. Provided we fix some things. We have analysed the game against Domžale and if we correct some things, we can hope for success tomorrow. It hasn’t been a long time, but I believe in the boys. They are intelligent, technically very good. Once we tell them certain things, they are able to do it. The more we repeat this, the better.”
Regardless, Zoran Zeljković knows that the islanders will be a tough nut to crack, because they play a specific type of football that many people are not comfortable with. “They are very dangerous when interrupted, and they also throw very far from the car. I believe we will be well prepared for this. We have to be patient, they are also dangerous on counter-attacks. But we should not be surprised if they step up. We need to play our game, keep possession of the ball as much as possible and control the game. I am convinced that we have the quality to create opportunities. Even before we lose the ball, we need to think about how we stand. If we make the same mistakes we made against Domžale, we will be punished for it,” said 43-year-old Zoran Zeljkovic, who hopes to be able to count on Timi Max Elšnik and Agustin Doff, who have been struggling with injuries.
This text was automatically translated using AI.
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