Milan Blagojevic: Family Man

Unfortunately for Blagojevic and Olympic, injuries, suspensions and the loss of the influential to Sydney FC ultimately derailed their quest for a Championship and Tiger Turf Cup victory but the mini-legacy left by Blagojevic ? four of his players have moved to the A-League in some shape or form ? might be just as important as the Johnny Warren Cup victory he delivered to a club largely starved of success in recent times.
Where to now for the talented manager? Unfortunately for the domestic football scene, the former Socceroo will most likely not be gracing the sidelines with his presence any time in the near future but the reason for his absence is perhaps as good as any ? he wants to spend time with his family.
Football NSW catches up with Milan Blagojevic, where we talk about success, failure and Aytek Genc?
FNSW: Milan, a Johnny Warren Cup victory, a finals appearance and a Tiger Turf Cup final after two relatively modest seasons from Sydney Olympic. Surely, you would consider this last season a success?
MB: It was definitely a wonderful year on all fronts. I was very happy with the season as a whole. Stumbling at the last hurdle was a little disappointing but it didn?t take away from the season as a whole, particularly in if we reflect on the last couple of years with Sydney Olympic, which is a great club – something the results haven?t portrayed.
We were lucky enough to have brought in a couple of extra players this season but the transition was quite smooth, they settled in and they gelled and as a result we were able to achieve what we did this year.
FNSW: Is there a lingering disappointment about a relative lack of silverware to show for your efforts? Nonetheless, your side developed something of a reputation for playing attractive football.
MB: It?s true that we wanted to play a free-flowing, attacking type of football but having said that we were probably victims of our own success. We made both cup finals and went into the finals series and as a result of those extra games we were riddled with injuries and suspensions and we probably didn?t have the depth of other teams.
When you start juggling the team around, especially in the finals series, it?s going to be something fixed over night. Having said that though, everybody that came in performed well and did a good job but it was never quite that first XI.
Unfortunately the timing of the start of the A-League took away someone like Shannon Cole, for example, and he misses the whole finals series which is quite disappointing, because he was pivotal to our success.
It was disappointing that perhaps we weren?t clinical in that Tiger Turf Final and in those two major semis against Sutherland and Wollongong, where once again we had most of the play but it was a couple of minutes that did it.
We basically planted ourselves in Sutherland?s half for that entire second 45 minutes but again, that ruthlessness in front of goal was probably what we lacked this year.
FNSW: Do you wish your side had sacrificed their style for a more clinical approach?
MB: It?s a ?Catch 22? situation. Sometimes you sit back and try to close it off because you?re up 2-1 with 10 minutes to go and it just invites trouble.
It?s a hard one to pick but the ball didn?t run our way sometimes this year, you need a bit of luck.
I?ll always continue with my philosophy of playing out of the back, playing an attacking brand of football rather than sitting back and trying to catch teams on the counter.
FNSW: Aytek Genc was perhaps your ?mentor? at Blacktown and is now set to take over at Sydney Olympic. How much did you learn from him when you were at the Lions as his assistant?
MB: We?ve been good mates for a long, long time and the opportunity to work with him was a great one that I enjoyed.
I obviously did learn a lot and we had two very successful years at Blacktown and though we were always going to disagree on certain things, he was the head coach and we always shared the same philosophy on football.
It was a great learning experience. This year, in particular I really enjoyed it on a personal level.
I wouldn?t exactly call it a baptism of fire but having been there in a lot of finals with Blacktown and Aytek, I felt very comfortable.
FNSW: What was your reason for leaving Sydney Olympic?
MB: The reason I resigned from Olympic had nothing to do with the club. It was a fantastic experience, they treated me well, in particular the president Jim Kospetas, the football director Manny Spanoudakis and the CEO Danny Silvestri were all fantastic, as were my staff and the players. I had a great time there.
It?s just a question of time management. Unfortunately, we?re in a semi-professional league where you devote three or four nights a week, plus the weekend and with two young children, who have activities outside of school that happen at the same time as training, I find it hard to warrant not being there when my kids are growing up, particularly the wages of the coach are not great in the league.
I started weighing things up and saying maybe its time I stepped back and had a break from it to devote time to my family.
FNSW: In a football capacity, what does the future hold for you?
MB: I?ve been asked to be one of the representatives of former Socceroos who sits on the review panel for the FFA from time-to-tim but only when I?m asked.
The A-League is something that I am interested in – that goes without question. Football is where my passion is and always will be but unless it?s a full-time gig, I can?t see myself this year anyway, devoting my night-time to football.
Unfortunately we?re faced with limited opportunities in terms of A-League jobs. The two new franchises immediately look at a high-profile coaches, its not like they look at whos got the runs on the board in the Premier League. It?s a hard one to get into.
FNSW: Regardless of a results and a lack of job prospects, you must be proud to have built a squad from which the A-League has identified some future stars.
MB: Absolutely. The boys certainly deserve the recognition and the A-League contracts. We?ve had some success and I feel proud and privileged to be part of their nurturing and development into better players.
FNSW: Milan, thanks for your time and we hope to see you again in the future. Congratulations on a successful season.
MB: Cheers.
-By Chris Paraskevas