Nenad Maksic’s team left the field defeated only twice in 11 games, against Vojvodina. The black and whites secured a place in the playoffs, and as it seemed from the point of view of the Partizan head coach to play in Korona time, Maksić points out that he is satisfied with what has been achieved, but it is difficult.
I am satisfied, we brought several new players with whom we gained quality in both directions. The weather is such that one cannot think only about sports and the field. The uncertainty was great whether we would play or not, whether we would save the players, etc. Fortunately, we did not have any problems with the virus until the last round, Maksić points out.
At a time when it is difficult to plan anything, have you exceeded the original plan?
It is that circle of life, a person can plan what he wants, but in the end it turns out as the circumstances allow. We lost both times to Vojvodina, which is still the absolute favorite. We paired her half-time and that is the reality at the moment. We didn’t even run much before the start. We wanted to compete in the playoffs, to win some difficult away games, and we succeeded. The triumph in Pancevo meant so much to us that everything started upwards from there. It is good that the first part is ending now, because we fell a little after Vojvodina due to logically higher expectations.
You rounded off a good autumn story with a victory against Dinamo at the spa, the truth is not as convincing as at the Shooting Range?
It would not be unfair if that match ended without a winner.
Strahinja Milic made sure to save Partizan’s victory. In it, Dimitrijević, along with Pižurica and Mandić, did you get a certain dose of stability of the young team?
It is a great thing that Jumbo and Ivan grew up and affirmed themselves in Partizan, they know the weight of that jersey. Jamb’s desire, experience, help and support to his younger colleagues Trnavac and Mihajlov are enormous. Trnavac is still a young goalkeeper, he is only 22 years old and the continuity he showed in ten of 11 games this fall is commendable. Ivan also has his share in the games of the other guys in his position. I expect that Jumbo will have a roll of 15-20 minutes in the spring as well, when it is important for us in the playoffs.
You have already secured a place in the playoffs, as well as Vojvodina, Dinamo and Dubocica. It may be early, but what are your plans for the playoffs, the achievements of the Black and Whites?
All the participants in the playoffs are more or less known, except for the fourth team in Group B. With all due respect to the other teams, Zeleznicar and Metaloplastika will also fight from this group for a trophy or a place for Europe. It will be, I believe, a good play off, perhaps the most interesting in the last few years, because it will involve gray, eight good teams and all away games will be difficult.
Partizan’s chances?
The desire is to play as well as we can and we can do a lot. Of course, there will be an oscillation, primarily a psychological load in line with expectations. Vojvodina has already reached the level that the others have yet to reach. As I said before our meeting, they have no improvisations, they know exactly who does what and why. So against them, the concentration must be at a high level for all 60 minutes. Our ambitions are great, but it is still early to talk about something more concrete until we see the starting positions before the start of the playoffs. We will certainly use the time until then to prepare for these challenges. We are trying to make Partizan competitive again in every sense, playfully, organizationally, and I think it is starting to look like the one from the time when I was finishing my career, concluded Nenad Maksić.
