- Where did you start playing soccer?

- I started playing with Red Star in Belgrade, in juniors, together with Miljan Miljanic, and then in 50th year transfered to BSK, at the time OFK Belgrade, because that team was more organized and had great opportunities for development. For example, in that time very few clubs could provide breakfast, dinner and a hotel room...they even had their own bus. BSK was team of Belgrade metal workers, working man's club. I don't regret transferring, Red Star and Partisan were created for political reasons. In my 53rd year I went to serve in the military, in Rijeka. I was a captain, and military team was much better than many first league teams at the time....Demic, Naumovic, Beuc...well known players...

- When did you sign your first professional contract?

- I remember, we played a friendly game with NK Rijeka team and we won with 4:0. The next day, their management asked me to sign a contract with them. I signed right away and became the new member of the club that was fighting to enter the premier league, and same year we made it.

- Why NK Rijeka?

- Sea, climate, beautiful women, close to Italy, Austrija and Spain, challenge to advance further…   Rijeka played in RAPM Cup, interesting one, and teams were mostly from Italy and Austria, and that’s how I got a chance to travel and play in a foreign club.

I remember how we won against Rome in Rome in the cup, and they were going after me to try to get me to play for them, but that didn’t happen because of political reasons.  Sports players couldn’t leave the country without permission from the government. After my contract expired, hoping that the law will change, I transferred to Trepca in ’61.

- Canada? Vancouver? Were you ever involved with White Caps?

- *Smiles* My manager Valentino, asked me to go to come to Canada to play, in 1962. I arrived in Toronto and back then, it was mostly professional players from South America and Europe who played there. We won anything we possibly could have, and we beat New York in front of 30,000 people. After that I got offers from New York and Vancouver, and in the last moment I decided to move to Vancouver. That was my last destination, I stayed here and played soccer till I was 43. At the time best organized club would play in front of 5000 people, lots of times we were Canadian Champions. At the time, other then us, strong teams in BC were Victoria and Entraht. Those who were familiar with soccer at the time will remember the times.

I was an assistant trainer from ‘74-‘76, and in ’77 I was a scout for players from Europe. Our budget was small and with it I could only bring in average players, and at the time Vancouver was supposed to become the base for Canadian national team…

- What do you think about soccer in BC today?

- Before I had many ideas, but today I cant change much even if I wanted. I think presently, the situation is very bad, before we played way better, bad organization, wrong people are in charge of clubs, poor competition rules for good development of players, money should be invested in trainers and not looks. This being said, I hope that new guys will show up who understand the ways of this game and that people with poor vision will leave. Bigger club, better organization…wrong… I could talk about this all day, but basically – poor soccer development and wrong approach to teaching kids about this sport.  There is a lot of talent but few good trainers….soccer is a science. We don’t have a good trainer school…nowhere in the world you can become a trainer after just taking couple of courses. That’s why I have a hard time when I see how Canada is 99^th on FIFA’s ranking list, and everyone is moving up but us. Because of people like that we can not bring experts who could help our kids train in Europe.

Simply, without our kids training in Europe, there will be no soccer in Canada. Ex-Yugoslavia trainers work in 130 countries in the world and talent from all those countries are all over Europe as well. Our colony of trainers work in soccer development in Greece, Turkey, USA, Africa, Korea, Japan, and mostly in China today as well. This year at World Cup in Germany, Ex-Yu has trainers who will lead teams from Ghana, Croatia, Serbia and Iran.

-Do you have any specific ideas?

*Smile*  Yes, yes I do

- And?

- Next time maybe, have to pay for ideas….just kidding *smiles*

- And for the end, Do you have a message for us, to tell us something that we may not know here in BC?