Forward march for Stojkovic
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Friday, 21 February 2003
Until two Wednesdays ago, Dragan Stojkovic was president of the Yugoslav
Football Federation. However, with UEFA and FIFA having followed the United
Nations line in allowing the country to change their name, he is now the
head of the Football Association of Serbia and Montenegro.
Dramatic move
In a life of dramatic moves which saw him play for Olympique de Marseille
and Yugoslavia before spending the final years of his professional career
in Japan with Nagoya Grampus Eight, this was hardly a major upheaval for
Stojkovic. He discussed his newly-renamed future and his love of Japan with
uefa.com.
uefa.com: Will playing all future games as Serbia and Montenegro rather
than Yugoslavia make a difference?
Dragan Stojkovic: This is a political decision which we do not have anything
against. Nothing has changed. Serbia and Montenegro exists - Yugoslavia does
not exist anymore. This is life.
uefa.com: How do you rate Serbia and Montenegro's prospects of reaching the
finals of UEFA EURO 2004??
Stojkovic: I am very optimistic. Our group is a very tough one with Italy,
Finland, Wales and Azerbaijan but I believe we have enough quality to get
to the finals. Our nation loves football and normal people still look out
for good football results.
uefa.com: You have been president of your national association for 18 months
now. What do you feel you have accomplished in your time as president?
Stojkovic: I never thought about becoming president. At first I just wanted
to spend time with my family - that is why I retired as a player. But in life
you never know what is going to happen tomorrow and now I am here to do the
best I can. We cut the first division and second divisions down because the
priority is quality football, not quantity. We had a lot of corruption because
after UN sanctions and wars, corruption is a normal thing. Now we have changed
this mentality.
uefa.com: You spent a long time playing for Arsene Wenger at Nagoya Grampus
Eight before retiring from football. How did that come about?
Stojkovic: I was at Olympique de Marseille and we were a big team. We won the
UEFA Champions League against AC Milan in Munich in 1993. However, we had a
lot of problems and the club were forced to play two seasons in the second
division. One day I got an offer from Japan and I discussed it with my wife.
I went there for six months but stayed seven years.
uefa.com: Did you have many difficulties adapting to your new home?
Stojkovic: My experience of Japanese football was great. Really, I played well
and my family enjoyed themselves because the Japanese are very peaceful people
and there was fantastic organisation and you had everything you needed to do
your work. To begin with, the players were technically very good but tactically
very poor. They improved a lot and within five years it was a different kind
of football.
uefa.com: What are your fondest memories of your time in Japan?
Stojkovic: In 1995/96 I was named as officially the best player in the league.
I won seven cars as the best player of the season for the team - can you
imagine that, seven cars? Finally, I have a street in Nagoya which has taken
my name - it is really something special for me. I go back to Japan two times
a year because I am still technical advisor to Grampus Eight. I miss Japanese
food. It was another culture, another philosophy of life. A new experience.
--
Robert Prosinecki:"Playing for Croatia,you are now playing for your country.
You must play with your heart, your soul, and your everything.
You must play for people of Croatia."
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