AC Milan's Luka Jovic has granted an interview to Serbian outlet Mozzart Sport and spoke about several topics, including his experiences in different clubs, such as AC Milan, where he is currently plying his trade.
You yourself are slowly opening up the topics we wanted to talk about: Eintracht – the best period of your career – and what happens after that? The vast majority of people believe you didn’t fully realize the potential you had.
“The first thing I’m very aware of is that I’m a specific type of player and I can show my best qualities in a formation with two strikers. As for the current club, in Milan, whenever we play with two forwards and I get a chance, it looks much better than when I’m alone up front. At Eintracht, I played with two strikers and I had a fantastic season. Then I went to Real Madrid. Honestly, Real wasn’t my first choice. I wanted to stay in Frankfurt. A few games before the end, when I already knew I would be leaving the club, I cried every time in the hotel quarantine when Kole (Kostić) and I were in the room, because I felt sad. Somehow, I was prepared, I left with the mindset that it would be the way it turned out to be. But still, when I already had to go, and I had several offers, I said I would go to the biggest club. It’s a big leap, from Eintracht to Real. I can't say that it’s a mistake to go to Real Madrid. It was an honor for me to be part of the biggest club in the world. However, you come to a club where all the players are top class, your competition is Karim Benzema, who at that moment was the best player in the world, like he was freed from Cristiano Ronaldo’s shadow and started playing fantastic football, the best football of his career. Of course, every striker, when scoring goals, always wants to play, to make the most of the moment. Because for us strikers, it's tough — there are moments when, no matter what you do, you can't score a goal, and there are also games where no matter how you shoot — it goes in. And naturally, you want to take advantage of that. Benzema took advantage of that, he wanted to play every game, he was scoring goals, and that year he brought them the Champions League. So I can’t say I deserved to play more at Real because I didn’t. He was better. So, I don’t know… It’s a difficult and very broad topic. Now I’m in Milan, Real is history. We’ll talk about all that at the end of my career.”
Did that period at Real shake you up, because you didn’t play as much as you wanted? Did it affect you later on?
“It did, because when a player doesn’t play — he stagnates. We just recently had that problem in the national team because many players were coming without match practice. And then the guys who hadn’t played for a month or two were saying how hard it was for them. And I told them: ‘I haven’t played for six years! Imagine how it is for me.’ But I hope that will change too. I believe I’ve deserved a lot more chances here as well. Last season, with my goals, I brought in around ten points, the Champions League, second place, thanks to which we played in the Supercup tournament in Arabia, which we won. I believe I’ve deserved more minutes in Milan this year too. But it is what it is…”
Several Serbian footballers have been at Real in recent decades, but almost none succeeded. What is it about that environment that doesn’t suit you?
“It’s specific, very specific. A huge club. For example, very few players speak English. So, if you don’t know Spanish, you automatically have a problem from the start. At that time, even Zidane didn’t speak English, who is a fantastic coach, a fantastic person. I was lucky to work with him. One of the best people in football. And then, when you can’t establish a relationship with the people around you, everything becomes very difficult. In the first few games, I hit the crossbar and the post, had goals disallowed… If I had had a bit of luck at the start, maybe I’d still be there, and who knows how my career would have unfolded. But I didn’t, and honestly, I don’t regret it. It was a good school, I learned a lot of things there. What they say about how hard it is to play at Zvezda, Partizan, the pressure, how heads roll after every draw… I absolutely don’t think that’s the case! I think that players at Zvezda, compared to other clubs, have a really easy task when it comes to pressure, especially when I compare it to Milan, Real… I played at Zvezda during the toughest possible time. Probably the most difficult period in the club’s history. And if there was ever pressure, it was then, because you had to get results, and you didn’t have a team. At that time, Zvezda was bringing in players from Niš and Kruševac to be reinforcements. And now the club is on a completely different level, a European club, stable. And I think the pressure today is much lower than it was when I wore the Zvezda shirt.”
Your biography says: Zvezda, Benfica, Real, Milan. Four European champions. Jovic commented:
“Just count their total number of titles (laughs).”
When you look back, how much does all of that say about your footballing qualities, regardless of the minutes you got at those clubs?
“You know what’s sad? That people look at my whole career, at those kinds of clubs, and say I didn’t reach my full potential. Because we’re talking about Real, the biggest club in the world with 15 Champions League trophies, and Milan, right behind with seven. Those are huge clubs. Just to be at Real, Milan, is a massive achievement. I came from a village with 110 houses. If someone had told me I’d make it to Real, Milan, even to Benfica, Frankfurt, Fiorentina, I wouldn’t have believed them. Also, when I was a kid, my dream was to play for Zvezda. It wasn’t my dream to play for Milan. Later, of course, as you grow up, you see you have potential, you feel it yourself, and then you set further goals. Like you said: Zvezda, Benfica, Real, Milan – four European champions. I played in two World Cups, and in one European Championship. I’m satisfied, but I think there’s still room for more.”
Your contract expires in the summer, are you thinking about staying at Milan or moving on, if you can reveal?
“My contract expires in the summer, I’m open to all options. I just want to play.”
