Partizan U17 Head Coach Djordjije Cetkovic attended latest edition of Partizan Podcast. Cetkovic achieved great success with his charges, both domestically and internationally. Partizan U17 team are champions of Serbia for their age group and last week they proved their quality on a great stage, playing at Ajax Future Cup where they beat Man City and Anderlecht on the way to the final of the tournament and defeat to hosts Ajax.
The architect of this success, Djordjije Cetkovic, summed up his impressions of Future Cup.
“Mr. de Boer from Ajax told me we can be proud of our Youth Academy and our work as we showed rare quality in our football game. We were underdogs and invited to this tournament for the first time as we had good results in recent years, but no one expected us to reach the final. Due to this success, we opened the doors for next Partizan U17`s in line as people from Ajax hinted we`ll be invited next year as well”, said Cetkovic.
Youth success is a nice thing and all Partizan fans should be proud and Cetkovic revealed what is actually the objective of Partizan Youth Academy.
“We know what our priority is – to train and prepare our kids for things awaiting them at senior team. Once there, the priority is always to win. You can`t make mistakes there while in the youths mistakes made are there for us to fix it. Making of a player is a process, good foundation is technical training and with time you get pace and strength”.
In footie circles, Cetkovic is known for his love for modern football game. He researches and implements ideas of football revolutionaries such as De Zerbi. Therefore, Partizan first team boss Igor Duljaj nicknamed him De Cetko.
“It`s true, Duki (Duljaj) calls me De Cetko. I love modern and attacking football game. I want us to play to score one more goal than the opponent, not to have ten players behind the ball. I also want possession while tactically we can change formations but the game principles remain the same. I want from my players to be quick thinkers, to make swift decision and solutions. That`s the difference between average and top player”, said Djordjije Cetkovic.