Sunday, December 24, 2006
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
Labels: News and Information
RIP Perica Gruevski
This is very bad. I'm sick of announcing deaths of Macedonian football workers on my blog. This is too much! I wish we don't have cases like this in 2007
Yesterday at age of 54 died Petre Gruevski, one of the best Macedonian coaches of all time.He'll be well remembered both as a great football player and great coach.
Gruevski started his playing career in Vardar where he played for long time. After that he played in FK Prishtina and some football clubs in Colombia.
After finishing with playing he started his very successful coaching career. He was leading the teams of Vardar, Pelister, Sileks, Makedonija GP, Sasa, Tikvesh, couple of teams from Greece and his last current work was as team manager of the second league team Cementarnica 55 which he did great and was on good way of bringing the team back in the First League. He'll be remembered also as one of the best youth coaches and as one of the better coaches of the Macedonian youth national team.
Perica Gruevski will be remembered as a big fighter and great football expert who
spent all his life in the football fields in Macedonia.
Rest in peace Petre Gruevski.
Labels: News and Information
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Vance Sikov in Olympiakos
The transfer period is coming soon and again Vance Sikov is the main name mentioned by all Greek medias. This time he's mentioned as a reinforcement for the defensive line of Olympiakos. In the last couple of months Vance Sikov played for Pobeda from Prilep after his scandalous leaving of his former club Skoda Xanti.This is third time when Shikov is connected to Olympiakos but this time it seems like his transfer is done deal. Even his manager confirmed that he is very close to a transfer in the Greek club.
The vice president of Olympiakos, Mr. Luvaris was in Macedonia couple of days ago and he had talks with Vance Sikov and hi managers and they have arranged his transfer and if everything goes by the plans, he'll be promoted as a new player of Olympiakos on 26th of December. In the meantime Olympiakos have to sell one of their foreign players because at the moment they already have 5 foreigners in their squad.
This summer after the scandalous leaving of Skoda Xanti and their parting with negotion of FIFA, Vance Sikov had a trial in Birmingham and Dundee United but after failing to sign a contract with the clubs, he decided to sign a contract with the Macedonian club Pobeda from Prilep.
Olympiakos, AEK, PAOK, Bochum...
It's not only Olympiakos who is interested for Vance Sikov. Ilija Ivic, AEK's director had a special task by AEK's board to bring Sikov in AEK this winter. In order to complete the task, Ilija Ivic used all his contacts in Macedonia. There are also some rumors that after joining Olympiakos, he'll be loaned out to some other Greek club and one of the interested clubs for loaning him is PAOK. In the mean time some German clubs are also interested to see him in their squad and Bochum is one of the clubs who is mentioned as very interested.
Labels: Transfers and rumors
The best from Macedonian football in 2006
The Football Federation of Macedonia yesterday awarded the best players, teams and workers in the Macedonian Football. As expected most of the awards went for the champion Rabotnicki except the award for best player in the Macedonian league that deserved Artim Polozani from Makedonija GP.The best in 2006:
Best player: Artim Polozani (Makedonija GP)
Best international: Goran Pandev (Lazio, Italy)
Best club: Rabotnicki Kometal
Best coach: Gjore Jovanovski (Rabotnicki)
Best striker: Stevica Ristic (Sileks)
Best foreigner: Ivan Pejcic (Rabotnicki)
Fair-play team: Makedonija GP
Best football worker: Kosta Kostovski (Rabotnicki)
Best young player: Samir Fazli (Makedonija GP)
Best youth team: Sloga Jugomagnat
Artim Polozani - best player in the Macedonian League for 2006
As expected and totally deserved, the award for best player in the Macedonian league went for Artim Polozani. This season he was the key player in the midfield of Makedonija GP and on of the main reasons for the success. With his great performances he earned a call by Srecko Katanec for the Macedonian NT.His main skills are the great ball control, good dribbling skills with both feet, perfect field overview and great goal assistant. With his fierce long shots he has suprised many goalkeepers and scored some of the best goals in the league. Artim Polozani is born on 25/06/1982. He has 75kg and is 180cm tall. He started his career in Karaorman from Struga where he played from 1996 to 1999. In 1999 he was transfered in Apolonia from Albania and from 2002 he played for Dinamo from Tirana, Albania. He came back in Macedonia in 2005 when he played a season in Shkendija from Tetovo and this season he signed a contract untill 2010 with Makedonija GP but very soon we'll be able to see him in some of the foreign bigger clubs.
Best Macedonian XI
The visitors of the official website of the Macedonian Football Federation (www.ffm.com.mk) in the past month were able to vote for their ideal starting XI. Knowing that the defensive line is the strongest part, it wasn't so weird to see that the best Macedonian line-up according to the Macedonian audience will have 5-3-2 formation, a formation that is totally opposite of the ideas of Srecko Katanec.
The ideal starting line-up according to the Macedonian audience looks like this:
- - - - - - - - - - - - Jane Nikolovski - - - - - - - - - - -
R. Petrov - A. Vasoski - N. Noveski - I. Mitreski - G. Sedloski
- - - - A. Mitrevski - V. Shumulikoski - D. Tasevski - - - -
- - - - - - - - - I. Naumoski - G. Pandev - - - - - - - - -
Labels: News and Information
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
RIP Rogerio OLIVEIRA
The Brazilian international Rogerio Oliveira died yesterday in Skopje at age of 29. The cause of the death is probably a heart attack but also there are some speculations that the probable cause of his death are drugs.Rogerio Oliveira is a real leagend of the Macedonian football. At age of 20 he arrived in Macedonia in the club Pobeda from Prilep. He was an extraordinary player for our league and in the season 1998/99 he was the best striker in the Macedonian league with 22 goals scored and also he was named as best foreign player by the Macedonian Football Federation.
He built his football career in Macedonia in many clubs: Pobeda, Rabotnicki, Vardar, Shkendija, but also he tried his luck in the Turksih club Trabzonspor, Antwerpen from Belgium and the Greek 2nd league club Janina. At the beginning of this season he came back to Macedonia in Shkendija from Tetovo but he had no luck and he was out for longer period because of an injury. After couple of months and no luck with returning in his form, he went back to Prilep in Pobeda, the club where he started his Macedonian career. But there he had some administrative problems with his former club and also he had problems with his form so he didn't get the chance to play a single match this season.
But the tragedy is even bigger for his family. Oliveira is father of two children and he got his son 3 months ago but he never got to see him. Because of his financial and administrative problems he wasn't able to go back to Brazil to see his wife and new born son.Maybe that's the main reason for his death. His friends say that he wasn't the same as he used to be. In the last period he was more depressed and he started drinking more and also there are some speculations that he started taking some "medicines" so he can get back in his form faster. It seems like his heart was not able to hold all those things.
The night before he died he played indoor football with his friends. After the match he felt pain in his chest but he still went in a bar with the friends. He spent the night at the apartment of Braga (Brazilian whit Macedonian passport), who found him early in the morning in the toilet. He took him in the Medical Center but all the efforts were too late.
Labels: News and Information
Friday, December 15, 2006
Vardar better than Dinamo
The football club Vardar that is functioning in the prison Scheveningen in Hague is better than the Croatian Dinamo. A prove for that are many matches played so far and even the last one finished with 15:12 win for VardarVardar and Dinamo are football clubs made by the political prisoners from the Ex-Yugoslavian countries. The football club Vardar was formed by Johan Tarculovski who's the only Macedonian in the team. Johan Tarculovski is very big fan of the real football club Vardar from Macedonia and he's also known as the former leader of Vardar's fan group Komiti. Besides Tarculovski, other Vardar players are: Milan Martic, Mile Mrksic who's the goalkeeper of the team, Ljubomir Borovcanin, Milorad Trbic and Miroslav Bralo. The Serbian general Miloshevic is coach of Vardar's team.
Members of Dinamo's team are: Slobodan Pranjic, Valentin Gjorovic, Bruno Stoic, Jadranko Prlic and the Serbian generals Pavkovic and Lazarevic. Dinamo's coach is the Serbian general Dragoljub Ojdanic. The most famous Croatian in Hague's prison, the general Ante Gotovina is not playing for Dinamo. He was the only one who didn't get Dinamo's jersey and he got mad to his Croatian friends and especially to Dinamo Zagreb's director who supplied them with the original jerseys from the famous Croatian football club.
When the players of Dinamo got their jerseys, they started making fun with Vardar's players because they were still playing with their normal t-shirts. Luckily Darko Pancev, the former Macedonian football star, heard about the club in Hague's prison and sent them couple of jerseys through Johan's wife - the famous Macedonian folk singer Sonja Tarculovska. After this Vardar's players in Scheveningen got back their pride and are regularly winning their matches against their rivals Dinamo.
Labels: Football Essays
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Macedonians rated high in Europe
Goce Sedloski is named as best defender in Austria
Only a few months have passed since Sedloski moved under the Alps and he managed to prove that he is one of the best Macedonian players and one of the best defenders in Europe. After the winter break Mattersburg is surprisingly placed on the 2nd place and big part of this success is earned by Goce Sedloski. He's the only player of the club who played all 21 matches so far this season and with maximum time on the pitch, 1890 minutes. And it wasn't a big surprise that he was named as the best player of this club coming from the small town of Mattersburg.Earlier this week a jury of 20 medias have decided the best players in the Austrian T-Mobile Bundesliga. Only one player from each position was rewarded and after all this great performances of Goce Sedloski in Mattersburg's team and in the jersey of the Macedonian NT, it wasn't a big surprise to see his name in the list of the best players in the Austrian T-Mobile Bundesliga.
Vlatko Grozdanovski is the best young foreigner in Cyprus
The young Macedonian NT midfielder Vlatko Grozdanovski in the traditional ceremony organized by a TV station and a sports magazine was elected as the best young foreigner in Cyprus. This reward came after his great performances in the the team of Omonia from Nicosia and this is great success for him, when knowing how much is invested in football in Cyprus and all the foreign star players that were transfered in the bigger clubs.Nikolce Noveski in the Bundesliga team of the round
The best defender in the team of Mainz, Nikolce Noveski, was elected in the team of the round by Eurosport after the 1:1 with Monchengladbach. This is the 3rd season as Noveski is defending the colors of the German Bundesliga club Mainz and as mentioned by Eurosport, he's been the key player and the main reason for Mainz winning a point in the last round and that's why he deserved to be named in best 11 of the round.Labels: News and Information
Whatever Happened to Artim Sakiri?
From fame to disfavour in four quick years…
On the night of October 16, 2002, Artim Sakiri’s tenth minute goal silenced a loud Southampton crowd: a wonderful, swerving corner shot that managed to beat a visibly humiliated David Seaman. The Macedonians continued to shoot from long distances on that occasion, earning several nervous fumbles from the soon-to-be replaced English goalkeeper. Macedonia earned a memorable 2-2 draw with their Euro group rivals, with another historic move to follow: the transfer of Artim Sakiri to Premier League club West Bromwich Albion.Short and Unsuccessful Stint in England
Sakiri’s departure from Bulgarian side CSKA Sofia was met with much anticipation, even prompting Albion fan songs like “Artim Sakiri - He scores from corner kicks/Artim Sakiri - He knows that Beckham’s sh*t/Artim Sakiri - Lobbing Seaman all day!” Unfortunately, the Macedonian midfielder failed to live up to all the hype, making only 33 appearances for the English club before going on to join Danish outfit Aalborg BK in 2005.
Next Up: Denmark and Finland
Sakiri has since failed to improve on the single goal he scored with West Bromwich, showing poorly in Denmark before his release from that side earlier this year. His services are currently being solicited by FC Inter Turku, a team that finished tenth in the 2006 Finnish Premier League (Veikkausliiga): a far cry from Southampton, and hardly a Mecca of soccer stardom.
Poor Showings for Macedonia
Sakiri’s latest appearances for the Macedonian national team have been equally disappointing, fielding only occasionally since Srecko Katanec’s arrival, and failing to impress in a 2-0 loss to Russia in Skopje. It was the first time in more than a handful of games that Sakiri started for Macedonia, although he was replaced before the first-half whistle blew.
Was Sakiri Worth the Hype?
33-year old Sakiri had some memorable moments for Macedonia, earning three international goals, and demonstrating flashes of brilliance and creativity more akin to more popular soccer talents. His club resume also boasts meaningful periods with teams such as FK Vardar, Tennis Borussia Berlin, and Maltyaspor, among others. The relevant evidence suggests that Sakiri is not as good as the highly talked-about goal he scored at Southampton in October 2003, but what that goal did do-and what the classy and confident Sakiri continues to do-is affect a positive change in the way Macedonians of all ethnic extraction see their country and themselves. More than a few Macedonians, including a few dozen Albanians, witnessed Ambassador Sakiri descend from the team airplane after the England triumph with the red and gold flag draped around his shoulders, while more than a few Macedonians and Albanians continue to believe in the Ambassador’s conviction that the country will qualify for Euro 2008. This, if anything, will be Sakiri’s soccer legacy-a legacy that transcends the simple realm of sport.
13.12.2006 by Steven Vasilevski - htpp://www.jadransport.org
Watch Sakiri's famous corner kick goal against England
Labels: Football Essays
Monday, December 04, 2006
Aleksandar Vasoski: "Why is it always me?"
Three red crads within three months is a new Bundesliga record
The 27 year old Macedonian international is speechless: "Why is it always me?". The Eintracht Frankfurt defender received 3 red cards within 3 months and set up a new Bundesliga record. Former Bayer Leverkusen defender Jens Nowotny (now at Dinamo Zagreb) holds the Bundesliga record with 8 red cards ... but unlike Vasoski, Nowotny received them within 10 years!
New Bundesliga record
The biggest German football magazine "Kicker" recently speculated about the reasons for Vasoski's three red cards he received within 13 Bundesliga matches and 82 days: 3rd round in Mainz: red card; 9th round in München:yellow-red card; 13th round in Bochum: red card. Thats a new Bundesliga record! In the last season the Macedonian defender didn't receive a single red card during the whole season. He was booked with yellow 8 times in the 2005/06 season, which is an avarage amount for a defender in the Bundesliga. But this season everything seems to go wrong with the Macedonian and he himself doesn't understand why this is happening to him.
Psychological problems?
"I don't understand why this is happening to me", Vasoski said recently. But the Kicker magazine speculates, that it might be some psychological problems, the Macedonian international faces during the past months. Regarded as one of the best Eintracht Frankfurt defenders of the past season, Vasoski has claimed a formidable reputation in Germany as a high class defender. Nevertheless the 27 year old was relegated onto the bench by Macedonia coach Srecko Katanec, due to an incident last June, when the defender refused to appear to a friendly match, although being injured. Perhaps this relagation to the bench, caused a lack of self confidence and a lack of concentration on the pitch. Above that Vasoski seems to have been quite an unlucky fellow with women. A seperation from his girlfriend recently was a real blow for the Macedonian, especially after some German tabloid newspapers revealed that there was a marriage planed, just a few weeks before the seperation.
Macedonian defenders in the Bundesliga
Quite an interesting fact is, that there are a total of 4 high class Macedonian defenders right now playing in the Bundesliga. All of them received calls by Srecko Katanec and have been major contributors to Macedonia's solid defence until recently. Two of them, Alkesandar Mitreski and Igor Mitrevski play for Energie Cottbus, who are the surprise team of this season. Nikolce Noveski is probably the Macedonian defender with the highest reputation in Germany, although his team Mainz 05 has a very bad run this season and is currently on the 18th rank of the Bundesliga table. Finally our unlucky fellow Aleksander Vasoski at Eintracht Frankfurt has had a terriffic 2005/06 season. Hopefully he will recover from his psychological setbacks caused by the seperation from his girlfriend, bench warming in the national team and the three red cards within 82 days, so he can continue with his fine performances in the Bundesliga.
29.11.2006 by Igor Krstic - http://www.jadransport.org
Labels: Football Essays
