Today, Nenad Lalatović was officially presented as the new head of staff of Vojvodina FC.

This is his third mandate on the bench of Vojvodina, and in his last in 2020 he won the trophy of the Serbian Cup.

Aside from the head of staff, the president of the club Dragoljub Zbiljić, and the sports director Marko Jovanović also spoke for the media, and welcomed Lalatović’s return to the place of success.

President Zbiljić was the first to address the media, and he thanked the management of Mladost Lučani, and Nenad Lalatović on his great desire to return to Vojvodina FC.

  • I would first like to thank and give my compliments to Neško Milovanović, who once again showed us how important timing is in sports, and for hiring the right strategist at the right moment. I congratulate them on their third place, and everything they had done in the previous period, and want to wish them plenty of success in the continuation of the championship. The negotiations were not easy, but the desire of Nenad Lalatović overcame everything, because his love for Vojvodina was great, after which we managed to strike a deal with Neško. As for Vojvodina FC, you know that we entered the summer transfer period offensively. For 5.000.069 euros we had exit transfers, and for 2.630.000 euros we had the entry transfers. Vojvodina grew as a club, it is financially stable, very well organized when it comes to staff, and legally on the level of a European club. What we are missing are the results on the pitch. I was pleased with that match in Amsterdam, after which we got lost somehow. I don’t want to interfere with the expert opinion, but I didn’t like the discipline of the game, and our aggression on the pitch, and I am certain that Nenad Lalatović will quickly organize that. He possesses a huge energy, a winner’s mentality. I would like to thank Božidar Bandović, who did an excellent job, but at one point he lost control, and we had to react. This is practically the first change of head of staff, we look at the work of Nemanja Krtolica as an educational segment, we supported him as the coach of our school, whom we knew didn’t have the licence to be the head of staff, and that wasn’t the official change of the head of staff. We used the period in between two international breaks to give him a chance to see what it was like to work in senior football. The club is still supporting him, and together we will work on him getting the coaching licence, and once again be of help to the club. That’s what I have to say for the starters, and Nenad, welcome home. We expect great results – Dragoljub Zbiljić said.

The sports director Marko Jovanović also thanked Božidar Bandović and Nemanja Krtolica.

  • I would also like to thank Nemanja Krtolica, the help was mutual, and he will stay with us. Also, I would like to thank Božidar Bandović, who led the team well, but something happened after that match against Ajax, but those things happen in football. Also, I would like to welcome Nenad Lalatović back into the club, and I already had the opportunity to cooperate with him, and I am certain that this is our best move, and that he will bring us what we need – Marko Jovanović said.

Nenad Lalatović didn’t hide the excitement for his return to Vojvodina FC.

  • I would first like to thank the president Zbiljić, and the sports director Marko, as well as Mr. Bajatović, who wanted me to come back. My biggest desire when I left Vojvodina was to come back, and actually I never really left and I felt that I belonged here. I waited for the return home; I am back now and currently no one is happier than me. I would also like to thank Neško Milovanović with whom I had an excellent cooperation, and also my ex-players whom I appreciated greatly, and who helped me with their game to return where I belong. I am sorry, but that is life, and I wish them plenty of luck in the continuation of the championship, but also, I wish to surpass them with Vojvodina, and bring Vojvodina back to the place it deserves. My big desire right now is to achieve the second place on the scoreboard, to win a trophy, and in the following years hopefully win a title. Once again, I would like to thank the management for bringing me here, it is a great privilege to be the coach of Vojvodina for the third time. I think that I am the only coach who came here, and didn’t read the contract. That also speaks a lot about the club’s president, and how much I trust them. When they sent the contract, I said that I didn’t want to read it, I signed it with my eyes closed, and I think no one ever did it in such a manner. I would also like to greet our fans, and invite them to come to support us in Ub, and then against OFK Beograd, I expect the full stadium – Lalatović began.

He then revealed how the first conversation with Dragoljub Zbiljić went on.

  • When Mr. Zbiljić called me, I dreamed about that and hoped. After the good results in Lučani, I was happy to hear his voice. He and I cooperated once before, we were in the second place that time, and I left together with him. However, I know that he is good at his job, I know how much he loves Vojvodina, and how ambitious he is. We made a deal in one minute – Lalatović underlined.

He also highlighted that this time he won’t be speaking about the relationships inside the club, and his previous mandate, but will only be focused on the game and the pitch.

  • I was younger then, and sometimes I said things that I hadn’t thought through, and I would like to apologize now for some of my statements. Now, I am only interested in the sports part, the players, the matches, and that is how it will be this time. The conferences will be a lot calmer, because the club is on a high level, everything is precise, and everyone is pleased, and I have to say to the players that they will have to fight harder for the emblem of Vojvodina. I will tell them what Vojvodina means today at our first training session, and that it will be as powerful as it once was. The results have to be better – Lalatović highlighted.

The coach of Vojvodina FC is also thrilled with the players.

  • The transfer period was amazing. This is a team of champions. I was surprised when Zbiljić and Jovanović managed to get such quality players. If we don’t make results with this team, it will be my fault. I watched every game, I know the quality, and from today on, I take the full responsibility. I don’t like to use the alibi that I didn’t make this team, it is as if I was making it. I am entirely more than happy with the potential quality and the bonus players. Perhaps, during the winter transfer period we will bring two more players, maybe one bonus, but in general I am pleased – Lalatović said.

In his last two mandates, Lalatović didn’t have such a large number of foreign players, but he said that it proved how much Vojvodina progressed, and that it won’t be a problem for him.

  • Vojvodina is now the most organized team ever since I was a coach. Such powerful foreign players cannot be an obstacle, on the contrary, it is an honor to have them. In the past I had one or two players, but proved to be my good choice. I certainly made mistakes with some players, and I admit my mistakes, but my results show that I also did a good job with the domestic players. One proof of that is that I had the most victories in Vojvodina’s history, which doesn’t mean that I am the best, because the club had so many great coaches. But out of four trophies throughout the history, I won one, that is, the players did. It is my plan to break the record and with nine more games become the coach with the largest number of games on the bench of Vojvodina FC. Foreign players won’t be a problem for me, only those who deserve will play, no matter their name and last name. Vojvodina is above us all, and the players need to realize how big this emblem is, and that is why at each game they have to give not 100%, but 200%. The path to the second place and the trophy this season is difficult, but if they care as much as we do, and if we leave our heart and minds on the pitch, the results will come – Lalatović said.

The competition for the second place on the scoreboard is pretty strong.

  • There are great teams, the league has never been this strong. Our competition are Partizan, Čukarički, TSC, Radnički 1923, Mladost, but I believe that quality-wise we are the best, and that we deserve that second place – Lalatović pinpointed.

He highlighted that Vojvodina will always go for the victory with him, but that at this point it is unrealistic to promise the fight for the title.

  • I don’t care what someone’s name is, even if we play against Real Madrid, we will fight for victory. That is how it will be against the Red Star at Marakana. The fans have to expect that we will go for the victory against all rivals, as long as I am the coach. Both the president and I are ambitious. When I left, I won the Cup of Serbia. Now I can say it like this, I would give five years of my life to win the title with Vojvodina. This second. That is my biggest wish, and if I had to choose a club to do it with, it would be Vojvodina. When you work with a president like Zbiljić, then we believe that we will achieve that goal. Our realistic goal now is the second place, and it would be inappropriate to say that we are attacking the title – Lalatović highlighted.

In the end, Dragoljub Zbiljić closed the conference by reflecting on the fall after the UEFA competition.

  • We started to dream big European dreams too early, and we saw the support for that at the match in Amsterdam. We simply all believed that we could pass Ajax. Now when you look at the active result that we had until the 87th minute in both matches, and later on we suffered a big psychological fall. We played excellently against Maribor as well, but again the conditions didn’t allow us to play in Novi Sad, and it affected the result. I also have to say that we were missing Aleksa Vukanović a lot, because he has the character of a true winner, and it was not easy to find a replacement for him. I also think that Nenad will find it hard to replace him, not as an attacker, but as the leader on the pitch. I would like to congratulate the team on their victory in Subotica, and I believe that with discipline the results will come before the end of the season – Dragoljub Zbiljić concluded.