THE Luka Jovic spoke about his choice to play for AEK, after a career at Europe’s top teams such as Real Madrid and Milan, noting his contribution Marko Nikolic.
In an interview with Serbian Mozzart Sport, Luka Jovic emphasized that he did not want to go to a team that is not contending for titles, while he showed enthusiasm for the AEK and Marko Nikolic.
Jovic’s statements
As for whether he will start scoring like he used to: “This has weighed on me my whole life and is basically my biggest problem. I’m not someone who only looks at how to score. I’m not a player who will wait in the area. I prefer to be in the game. For example, at previous clubs, some coaches didn’t understand me and that didn’t suit me, because I don’t like to stand in the area and wait for a ball to come to the net. I’m more of a ‘reserved’ player and for that reason, I like to play with two strikers, so I have the freedom to move between the lines as a second, participate in the game, while there is someone else to score.”
For working with a Serbian coach, after many years but abroad: “I like it for sure. Marco is an excellent coach and I believe he will achieve many successes in his career. I have played in big clubs, I have worked with many coaches and I am convinced that o Nikolic he has the serious ability to do something great. I’m waiting for that too. For now, as far as we are concerned, I think we should do e.glowera”.
On whether he thinks he’ll score double-digit goals this year: “Yes, although this year we haven’t scored many goals yet, we haven’t fully adapted. There are a lot of games and we are also a little tired. I came in at the beginning of August, I didn’t go through preparation, so this initial period was a bit more difficult for me than for the rest of the players. I’m constantly having some problems with injuries, pains and tension, but hopefully in the process this will pass and I’ll be able to play at my best and help the team achieve their goals her“.
For the reason he chose AEK and not Veliko Paunovic’s Oviedo: “This summer, for the first time in my career, I had the opportunity to be free and I can say that I liked it a bit, because I was able to live without thinking about when the preparation will start or when I have to start training and getting ready. Because of last year in Milan, I was a bit mentally tired because things didn’t go as I expected.
Then everything normalized, I started playing, I also had an operation, so I had a difficult season behind me, from a psychological point of view. Then I talked to Marco. Of course, like any freelancer, I had several suggestions, but none seemed right. To be honest, I was avoiding the “big five leagues”, I wanted to get away a bit, to rest from everything, and when I was called by Nikolicit just occurred to me that this was it. We agreedeverything quicka”.
Because some may say that o Jovic at 27 he went into a second or third gear league compared to what he was playing in the past: “I have no problem with that. When it comes to me, there have always been stories and there always will be. Many of them untrue, as has been the case for almost my entire career since I have been competing at a high level.
I don’t know (s.s. why people see it that way). Most people have the impression that I don’t care when I go out on the field, that I just don’t want to. And I can’t see my own games for the same reason. Sometimes when I see myself, I come home, I turn on the TV, the replay of the game is playing, and when I watch it, I don’t feel good.
To a point I understand that, but of course, like any other footballer, I like to win. Not only the game, but also the… A when we play! I do not accept defeat easily, and this is one of the reasons I came to AEK. I also wanted to be in a team that wins and has e.gaskaangular aspirations”.
On whether after AEK he would like to return to a club that competes in the top five European leagues: “Maybe I’m not thinking that far ahead for now. I am focused on making my presence at AEK successful. So far everything is going great. And the league is much stronger than I imagined.
It is not as some imagine, that I came to Athens, near the sea, play a match at the weekend, score two goals and go home. I hope we can fight for the title. It’s similar to Serbia in terms of refereeing and some other things, it’s definitely going to be a bit more difficult because of that, but we’re here to fight and we hope to blet’s go winners”.
About the presence of other Serbs and Balkans on the AEK roster and how much this helps him: “We are five for futsal! (laughter). They really helped me a lot at the beginning. This is one of the reasons that I quickly adapted to the conditions of the club, the city, the country.
We are together every day, we have a good time, but of course we also have to get good results. If we achieve these, everything else will be much better. We have to fight every day, train hard, try all together to help this team and not be satisfied just because we are here together, which of course we like, but to help AEK achieve its goals”.
Because Nikolic expects him as well as the other Serbs to lead: “Exactly! I talk to Marco all the time about everything, so I know very well what he expects from me. He is also aware of the situation, that I did not go through preparation and that until recently I had more matches than training this season. I am sure that with time everything will improve and that together we will achieve success.”
On whether there was a plan from the beginning by Nikolic for AEK to play with two strikers: “There was a plan, when we first talked, to play with two strikers, but Zini got injured, the club didn’t manage to get some of the players they wanted, so it was just Franzi Piero and myself in attack.
It is too big a risk to start both in the same match, because then the technical staff will not have offensive solutions from the bench. Marco decides who plays and how much, and we respect that. Our job is to make the best possible use of the minutes of participation we have.”