The coach of Vojvodina FC, Nenad Lalatović believes that his team is ready for the duel with the Red Star in the upcoming derby of the 14th round of Mozzart Bet Superleague of Serbia.

The players of the Old Lady are playing against the Red Star on Saturday, and Lalatović is convinced that his boys will give their maximum.

  • We are going to Marakana to play against a rival who competes in the Champions Leaue and who won so many titles in a row. They are a team which as a wide range of players, they have many quality players at every position, but we shouldn’t be afraid of them. At Marakana, they are always favorites, but as long as I am the coach, at matches with Vojvodina there are no favorites. We are going to present ourselves in the best possible light, and give our all and try to achieve a positive result. We analyzed them, we know they are in the mood to score goals, but they cannot surprise us, just as we cannot surprise them, because we know each other well. In such derbies everything is possible, and for us returning undefeated from Belgrade would be a positive result. I am sorry that we cannot count on Korać and Petrović, because they are very important for us. I still don’t know who will replace them, but whomever it is, I will ask of them to believe in themselves, and to know what it means to wear the jersey of Vojvodina, and defend the club crest. I believe they can do a lot. I would invite the fans to come in large numbers. Against OKF Belgrade they were our 12th player, and everything is much easier with their support. I expect the stands to be full tomorrow, and that is why I want a nice match, and the better team will win. I hope that we will have a better moment and be in a better mood after 8 pm, on our way to Novi Sad – Lalatović said.

He confessed that he was not pleased with the performance of his team since he arrived, but he is convinced that everything will fall into place.

  • The team is not on the level that I want. The only thing that was good was when we changed the formation to 4-4-2 in Ub, and after the first 15 minutes against OFK, while in the Cup match, I am satisfied only with the result, but certainly not with the performance. We rested some players, but the Cup is a specific competition, I am pleased that we passed into the next round. The players must realize where they are and that we need to be in the top 3 teams at the end of the season, and fight for the trophies. Vojvodina is a great club, and here you always have to play for the victory. The players must show greater desire to win. I was angry because of that attitude against Radnički, because we must be better. For that, you need preparations, to pass them together, and that is perhaps the biggest problem, that physical readiness, because they cannot complete my demands until we complete the preparations together. I am certain that in the future everything will be ok – Lalatović underlined.

He is still not sure about the lineup against the Red Star.

  • Today we will complete a tactical training, we will try to change some things. Because, if you enter the match against the Red Star relaxed, you can easily receive 5 goals. Tekstilac received seven, Radnički and Spartak 5, and that is why we have to be a strong competitor. I can’t promise anything, but we will give our all to play one match at a European level. If I was on the pitch, I would know how I would play that game. I would play with my heart, because these are the matches where you can run for two days. I believe that next year, we could make a team that will be able to compete with the Red Star in the chase for the title, but we have to do as much as possible to reach that level – Lalatović said.

In the end, Lalatović highlighted that he would be the happiest if Vojvodina would break a row of defeats against the Red Star with him on the bench. A small reminder – precisely with him on the bench Vojvodina achieved their last victory against the Red Star in 2016.

  • I live in Novi Sad, I have a house here, and you know that I like to say that Vojvodina is my coaching mother, even though I was a player and a captain of the Red Star. I have never felt happier than here in Novi Sad and in Vojvodina, and I would be over the moon if we could once against defeat the Red Star and bring happiness to our fans – Lalatović concluded.

The match against the Red Star and Vojvodina is scheduled for Saturday at 6 pm with a live broadcast on Arena Premium 1.