Vojvodina FC officially presented their new Head of Staff, Božidar Bandović at today’s press conference held at SC Vujadin Boškov.

Aside from the new coach, the speakers at the conference were also Ljubomir Apro, a member of the Management Board, and Marko Jovanović, the club’s sports director, who was the first to introduce the coach Božidar Bandović.

  • Before I present the new coach, I would like to thank Ranko Popović once again officially, and wish him all the best in his future endeavours. The moment has come to introduce you to our new coach, Božidar Bandović. I am very happy that he is here with us, and that he accepted to continue the work we have started. I have been following his work for a long time, from the period when he was still working in Olympiacos, where he remained for 5 years, which proves that we are talking about a top-notch coach. What also contributed to our decision is the fact that after he had arrived to Buriram United as Ranko’s successor, he won two titles with the club. I wish him to once again succeed Ranko successfully, and repeat those achievements – Marko Jovanović said.

Ljubomir Apro, a member of the Management Board stated that Bandović is a coach in line with the reputation and the greatness of the club like Vojvodina.

  • Božidar Bandović arrived to Vojvodina, the oldest city club, aside from Red Star and Partizan, and a club with a lot of trophies. The expectations are always great, and we expect the new staff members to fulfil the ambitions of Vojvodina. I would like to highlight that the suggestion of the sports director was accepted unanimously, and the reason for that was primarily his successful career. We expect him to continue on the road Ranko Popović has paved and to lead Vojvodina to success. This year our goal is the third place in the championship, the fight for the trophy in the Cup of Serbia, and the qualifications for Europe, which belong to us as the oldest city club – Ljubomir Apro said.

After him, the new coach addressed those present, and thanked the sports director and the Management Board members for their trust.

  • I would like to thank the President, the Management board and the Sports director for the trust they have given me. It was my great wish to come to a club this big, because this is big challenge for me. Together with my staff I will do everything to bring Vojvodina back to the place where it belongs. You always have to prove yourself in football, the pressure is high, but I don’t have a problem with that because my experience is extensive. I want us to make Vojvodina strong and stable at all levels. As for the goals, I never run away from those biggest goals. In agreement with the club, the management, and the fans, I want us to all go together in the same direction. I would like us to show that desire on the pitch, which I believe the fans will recognize. The staff remains the same, aside from one new addition, my colleague Srđan Stojčevski who joined me in Vojvodina, and who is a dedicated professional, loves his job and has the necessary qualifications to do that job, just like everyone who worked with Ranko. In the last couple of days, I talked a lot with everyone, and I am very pleased. Now it is time to work, we have four weeks of preparations ahead of us, and we will definitely try to enhance the communication between the players, and establish some principles, and of course, to try and raise the physical shape to the highest level possible. That requires time, and I hope that through work we will see a much better game, and the results so that we can stay as longer as possible. I would like to thank everyone once again, now it is time to work, with dedication, persistence, discipline and desire until we achieve the results that the club deserves – Bandović pointed out.

The new coach of Vojvodina FC then responded to the constatation that the only three coaches in the 21st century remained at the bench of the ’’old lady’’ for the entire year.

  • I was not familiar with that information, but do not feel pressured by it. I am ready to be here today and to live day by day, to be ready to make progress in the club, to enhance the team and the players, and that is my job. Numbers are not relevant. I want to leave a mark in the club and I will give my maximum to show that I deserve to be here. I am focused on the pitch, on the players and working with them, and I think that is the most important thing – Bandović pointed out.

 

He then reflected on the potential transfers in the winter transfer period, which he had already discussed with the Management and the sports director.

  • From the first time we had a meeting with Marko, my impression was positive and I was not thinking about the finances. We watched the game, talked, I also talked to Ranko and I have insight into the team and the game, and we know exactly what we need to improve through training sessions. Regardless of the person at this position, whether it is me, or Ranko or someone else, Vojvodina always has to be better and advance. As for the players, I think we have a quality team, but we are looking for reinforcements in all lines, so that we can have a strong competition. My teams never depended on one player, and it is our goal to make a team independent of individual players. It is not important how many minutes one has played, but whether he was helpful to the team during the time he played. I always start from myself, the games are the standard, and that is how it will be for the players too – Bandović highlighted.

 

The sports director agreed that during their discussions they analyzed the potential reinforcements, with the note that the Club’s made a decision not to sell players in this transfer period.

  • We talked about the matches and what we were missing, and we are looking at certain positions, and negotiating with a few players, and there will definitely be changes. Our goal is to bring someone before we go to the preparations on Cyprus, so that we can have a whole team as soon as possible. We will not bring players just for the sake of bringing someone new. We want to bring quality reinforcements that will enhance the team. In this transfer period we had a lot of offers, namely we received concrete offers for three of our players, but the decision of the president and the Management board is not to sell the players now, and to remain together, and try to enhance the team. Only if some crazy good offer is brought to the table, then we might negotiate. So far, we have rejected each offer, because we only want to bring reinforcements – Jovanović said.

This was followed by the question o whether Vojvodina FC received a reparation for Ranko Popović’s leave, which was never the case before.

  • It is the first time in the recent history of the club that Vojvodina received reparation after a coach left, and that is a big deal. It also shows how big a coach Ranko was in Vojvodina, and I wish him all the best in the future – Ljubomir Apro responded.

To conclude, Bandović revealed what kind of team he would like.

  • The players will have my full support. I want them to risk and make mistakes, as long as they give their maximum from the 1st until the last minute of the match, I will be there to take full responsibility for everything that happens on the pitch. But in order for it to be it, we need them to work hard at training sessions. Without risk, and with a fear of mistakes, we cannot advance. It is not easy, it requires patience and a lot of work, because if you are always in a hurry, you cannot make success. The training sessions will have high intensity, we want the players to be able to sprint during the entire 90 minutes. I know Ranko’s coaching style, I cooperated with him before, and I know that he would definitely continue in that rhythm. We need it not only to get ready for the Super League championship, but to be prepared for Europe – Bandović highlighted.