BRAVELY AND BOLDLY TO VICTORY!

Significant news and changes at the NK Osijek football school. Young coaches, who had had their professional progress monitored, gain the trust of the club uppers and it is estimated that they will further the team’s agenda in every aspect. Progress will be made in terms of results, as well as in crafting the best possible team roster. We are boldly and bravely going forward, as it is said by the men at the School and it is in tight cooperation with the Puskas Academy from the Hungarian city of Felcsut. In any case, we may talk about a big turn of events that can be seen in the form raising the standard not only in training, but also in the organization of football here in Osijek.

“I know that our young colleagues will need some time to adjust, but they courageously accepted the challenge. They have the will to learn, are ambitious and responsible. We have assigned coordinators to them who will advise them and act as mentors. Besides that, the job of these more experienced and older coaches will be to prepare for matches by recording the enemy team and analyzing them. Our wish is for the School to still be considered a badge on Osijek’s chest that the citizens will be proud of! More important are, of course, the efforts of our young generations and not solely the advancement of our 18+ age groups. Taking into account Dinamo, Hajduk, Rijeka and the rest, our goal is to be at the very top, as well as to train our young coaches so that they may one day take over one of the national rosters” said School director Miroslav Zitnjak.

On par with European trends

An important role has been assigned to Dino Skender, returning coach from Puskas Academy. He said that a project is being worked on in which the building of a camp is a priority, all that being of high priority. It is being worked on systematically, with high standards to be met and the work process being advanced.

“We need to be on par with European trends when it comes to football, we need to follow everything that’s happening on the highest level. We want to craft quick, dynamic and deep play with a high degree of pressuring the opponent, thereby setting the standards in every category. An elimination will be made so that only the finest will make it in the 18+ age group, so that NK Osijek will have local reinforcements, namely those from its own ranks. Even though our goals are long-term with respect to our coaches’ approach and wishes, I believe that, in the short term, we can fulfill at least a chunk of our plans. We want to deliver the building of a the Camp with which the work capacity will surely be raised, but also our obligations must be fulfilled” Skender concluded.

Scouting outside of borders

Skender will additionally be the one to bridge us and our colleagues from Hungary, which is logical because in Felcsut, he had left a significant mark as he worked with the younger generations. Skender took charge of Osijek’s second team that had good showings in the last year in the third league. Working with the younger generations is important because it is a kind of filter that will let only the best into the higher layers of Osijek’s football structure. On the matter of scouting, the School acts as a crucial player in order to bring talent outside of the Slavonian-Baranjian region into the fold. That will be Ivo Vranjes’ duty.

“We aim to have four to five of our “camps” around Croatia from which we will siphon what we need. We already are working in that direction, with all unfolding next summer. Then, we will bring 30-50 new faces from different locations that are already in our sights and we will spice up our team rosters. We will keep an eye on talented kids, work together with schools, even contact kindergardens so that the club has a steady flow of talent that sticks out from its peers. We hope that foreign talent will be spotted on our radars because we do not want to limit ourselves strictly to Croatia. Standards must be met, and we all know that, especially when it comes to the 18+ age groups” Vranjes wrapped up.

The list of coaches can be found on the link: http://nk-osijek.hr/skola/uzrasti/