Ahead of the home match against Celje, Branko Milovanović has also officially taken over the role of Olimpija’s sporting director. The former Serbian footballer brings a wealth of experience from the game, having previously worked at Lokomotiv Plovdiv, Las Palmas and Athens’ AEK. Now a new challenge awaits him in Ljubljana. What else did he say at his presentation?
“That’s right, I’m on very good terms with the president of Las Palmas, Mr Miguel Angel Ramirez. We worked successfully together for many years, we have a truly sincere relationship and we’ll continue to advise each other. The agreement between the clubs is that we do certain things together, mainly in terms of sharing know-how across different areas. After all, I really wanted to bring Mateo Aćimović to Las Palmas and I managed it, even though I argued a lot back then with Mr Igor Barišić. Now I’ve decided that we’ll argue together with everyone else.”
“There’s just over a month left until the end of the first part of the season, but squad planning is already under way. I got straight to work. Olimpija’s team simply has to be even better. Every new arrival has to be better than the players we have now. One of the winter priorities is bringing back a Slovenian who is interesting for this market. In January, we definitely start building the team for next season—and I believe for new European challenges as well.”
“As for the transfer window, Olimpija’s head coach will draw up his list of positions where he needs reinforcements. Then, together with my scouting team, I’ll prepare a list of three players, and the coach will choose one of them. But the coach’s task is always clear: to get the maximum out of the squad he has available.”
“Let me say that Jugoslav Trenčovski is a phenomenal person and he’ll have my full support to stay as long as possible, because that means the team will be winning. For every coach—and for a sporting director too—results matter. I still need some time to get to know him better, but from what I see, he’s doing an excellent job with the players. I really like the way he thinks. If he can translate that onto the pitch and remains my only coach during my time in Ljubljana, I’ll be happiest.”
