The assistant coach of Vojvodina FC, Nemanja Krtolica and the player Slobodan Medojević are convinced that the team will show the right reaction in the derby against Partizan on Sunday.

Players of the Old Lady are playing against Partizan on Sunday in the derby of the 7th round of Mozzart Bet Superleague of Serbia, and Krtolica will lead the team against this big rival, as the current member of the staff of Vojvodina FC.

  • I would like to say with no malicious back-thoughts, that it is a great honor to have this privilege to sit here with you, and then on Sunday on the bench of Vojvodina in the derby with Partizan. One of the things we have been working on in these last four days, which we will try to improve is the character, which we are most concerned about. We are not worried so much about the reputation, but the character, of ourselves and our players, because character is what makes us, and reputation is what others think about us. We will truly do everything, both the staff and the players, as much as we can to win against Partizan – Krtolica said.

 

Slobodan Medojević agreed that this match is the right moment for Vojvodina to show their strength.

  • Everyone in the club is aware of the current situation, and that the results at the beginning of the championship are not what we hoped for. However, right people always find a solution to get out of the problem, and I am convinced that we are the right people, and that we will find a way out of this situation, and return where we belong. We are all aware of the greatness of this club, this crest, and jersey, and that is it a great privilege to be a player of Vojvoidna, without any additional words or promises, it is up to us to show that at the match against Partizan. We need a lot of passion, emotions, intelligence, desire and persistence, as the coach said, to give our all and go for the win – Slobodan Medojević said.

He added that he is looking forward to the fact that the next rival of Vojvodina is this big rival – Partizan.

  • If I could choose, I would always choose to play against Partizan. Regardless of the results and the situation they are in, Partizan will always be Partizan. I am happy that we are playing against them now. As someone who started in this club, I know what it means to our fans and people in Novi Sad, to play these matches against Partizan and Red Star. We have to give our maximum, there is no doubt about it, and that is in our heads, because we want to change the situation we are in – Medojević added.

 

Krtolica highlighted that he believes in these boys, and that they are currently the best for Vojvodina.

  • Currently, we have the best staff and the best players, we have it all. What are the chances of us winning – 100%, 50% or 1%, it means they exist, and that is the attitude we must bring to the pitch. We have to show this city and the fans, that in two weeks when we return to Karađorđe, there is an audience on the stands. We had four days to train, we have to improve ourselves each day, and work on ourselves. I hope everyone will see that on Sunday – Krtolica highlighted.

He also answered the question about the turning point at the start of this season.

  • I didn’t have time to analyze it in depth, but the turning point was definitely the match against Maribor. We had the desire to pass, and we defended that for 120 minutes. We had 120 minutes for everyone to see that we really want that, and that was the turning point. What requires a deeper analysis is what happened in the continuation of the championship. We played every match as guests, and that is also really important – Krtolica pinpointed.

 

Medojević agreed that the defeat against Maribor was hard on the team, but that they have to show the right reaction, and the only relevant thing is what you show on the pitch.

  • Everyone, the entire city, Vojvodina, we all invested all our efforts to enter the group stage of UEFA competitions. We had chances against Ajax as well, we showed resistance to Maribor, and in the end were out of luck. We didn’t pass, and football is a lot about the psychology, and when you invest your entire self into a project and it falls apart like it did to us, it also reflects on the mental level. That defeat shook up the team, because Europe was our focus. Then the results were missing and that affected the team, even though we played well. We have a lot of young players, some it affects differently, but that is football, and that’s life. Falls are a normal part of life, I had plenty of them, and I will probably have more, but what matters is what happens after you fall. The most important thing is to get up and show the right reaction on the pitch. I can talk for hours, but the pitch is what counts. In these last few days, I saw a good reaction of the entire team, where there is energy and motivation to make a good result, and that pleases me as a more experienced player. It is up to us to show what we do on the pitch. Everyone should start from themselves, and invested themselves entirely, and that is when the result will come – Medojević said.

Krtolica doesn’t hide that Mihailo Ivanović leaving will be a problem because of the rules about bonus players.

  • We will probably have some issues, but now that you mentioned Mihailo, this is an opportunity to wish him luck in his future club. He is a good example for the young players, that work wins against talent, only when talent doesn’t work enough. We have the bonuses that we have, they are the best that we have, and will give their maximum, I have no doubt about it. Also, I would like to use this chance to congratulate our brother club Borac from Banjaluka on their placement to the Conference League – Krtolica said.

In the end, he revealed that he invited all the coaches from the Youth Academy to participate and help the A team in their preparations, because Voša’s slogan is ‘’We are one, that is our strength’’.

  • I invited the coaches of the youth academy to experience this, and maybe get some extra motivation and ambition to be in my place one day. Enthusiasm, energy, ambition of the Club’s president, Dragoljub Zbiljić is huge, and if someone doesn’t know how to use that to progress, then they took a wrong turn and got lost. The resources that were available two years ago and today are hard to compare – Krtolica concluded.

 

The match between Partizan and Vojvodina is scheduled for Sunday at 9:05 pm with the live broadcast on Arena Premium 1.