SHORT INTERVIEW WITH THE ASSISTANTS
Football path?
Mario: As so many kids in Croatia, you could say that I was «infected» with football. We played everywhere, in parks, fields, etc. College showed me the way in the fitness and strenght segment as I have concluded my talent isn’t enough for the top results as a player.
Damir: 10 years old, Radnik Velika Gorica, Croatia, Hungary and then back to Croatia. I couldn’t choose better person and coach to help me grow as a football coach than Dean Klafuric.
Meeting Dean?
Mario: I met Dean in a small club Udarnik Kurilovec, in Zagreb county. My first impression pretty much stayed till today. Dean is unbelievibly passionate about football, almost fanatically in the most positive way. He is totally in love with football and it is a pleasure to work with him.
Damir: True leader, lives football 24/7 on an amazing level, I want to be like him.
Working with Dean
Mario: After the first connection in Udarnik, lower league club near Zagreb, where he went from being a team captain to being a head coach, we connected again in HNK Gorica. Now, couple of years after, life connected us again in Cyprus and I hope further.
Damir: Our first work together was in HNK Gorica, where I was still an active player, but with clear vision of becoming a coach. Afterwards, there was a very short period in Hrvatski dragovoljac (Croatian 2nd league) and now in Cyprus.
Dean in 3 words?
Mario: Competency, lucid, fanaticism.
Damir: Wise, honest, brave
Favorite football clubs?
Mario: Dinamo Zagreb, Juventus, Valencia
Damir: HNK Šibenik and AC Milan
Cyprus impressions?
Mario: Interesting country with a love for football. Cyprus league has a lot of foreigners and it is a challenge to handle new situations in the foreign country.
Damir: Personally and as a team, we are happy in Cyprus. I like their culture and approach to football and life.
Philosophy?
Mario: We all want to create team rhythm and style of play. Passing game, looking for opportunities, pressing after losing a ball, those are our basis and starting point for every segment of our work, tactically, fitness based, etc.
Damir: Our team has to play football, not just for the final score but as an approach of playing football and creating chances. We have a recognisible style, our team always know how to play in every aspect of the match and field.
Favorite moments in your football carrer?
Mario: Season 2017/2018 with HNK Gorica being promoted to the First Croatian league and the big win vs Anorthosis (5:0).
Damir: When I signed with HNK Šibenik and becoming a Hungarian champion with Videoton.
Biggest challanges?
Damir: We set our biggest challenges. We always want to improve and be better. We have that positive criticism with the whole team staff being open-minded and able to present their views on the match, training or some specific situation. Dean, as the head coach, has the final saying, but he has an ability to listen his colleagues and make the best decision for the team.
What are you doing togheter besides football?
Mario: Watching football matches, talking about football, going to the beach and always in touch with football.
Damir: We are playing cards (remi), watching TV and always talking about football topics, individual qualities as players, etc.
Long term?
Mario: As Dean likes to put it, I am focused on a present moment and how to evolve and be better with each day. It would be an honour to achieve great things in Champions League, national team, etc., but I believe in a path and that is what we are doing right now.
Damir: Football thought me never to say never, but at this moment I don’t see myself as a head coach. I find my role as an assistent coach to Dean Klafuric perfectly fits me and I am looking forward to our next challenges. Hungary has a special place in my heart and I believe we could be a great fit for the Hungarian clubs, like MOL Fehervar (ex Videoton).
The pleasure of working together?
Mario: Dean is not afraid to hear opposite opinion. That is why we are a true team in an essence of that word. Dean is very open-minded while in process of analysis and preparing things, but at the end his word is final. Such approach works great and it is showed in the results. When you realize he worked on two continents, always in top clubs, with amazing players and respectable staff professionals, it is great to grow together with such head coach and to have him as an open-minded expert who knows what he wants and to build that vision together.
Damir: The biggest satisfaction is to see how every day work, throughout the week, is converted into a great match. We had two amazing examples of such development in Cyprus, when we managed to beat Anorthosis (5:0) and Omonia (2:1). You can’t get better feedback than such team play and approach with a great result at the full time.
DEAN KLAFURIĆ ABOUT HIS STAFF
When you live football 24/7 it would be strange not to have coaching staff that does the same. That is the situation of Dean Klafuric, who did a great job in Cyprus, in Ethnikos Achnas, with two amazing wins – over Anarthosis (5:0) and at Omonia 2:1. Dean’s team managed to get two sound wins and getting Ethnikos to 21 points in 10 matches, which club management supported with the new contract.
– I couldn’t do it without my staff. I consider myself a blessed head coach because I have dedicated colleagues, who want to grow with each day. Without the teamwork we don’t stand a chance in any match. That is why, I am always focused on building the right team spirit in the locker room – said Dean Klafuric.
To dive in the secret for yet another coaching success, after winning 2.27 points in average per match with Legia Warsaw, winning the Polish championship and Polish Cup, we looked at the coaching staff of Ethnikos Achnas.
Dean’s right hand is Damir Milanovic, experienced football player and assistent coach, who played as a defensive mitfielder in Croatia (Hrvatski Dragovoljac, HNK Sibenik, Gorica, Segesta), Bosnia and Herzegovina (Posusje) and Hungary (Videoton and Tatabanya). Damir became a Hungarian champion playing for Videoton, in season 2010/2011, and shares the same love for the game.
– Damir has a beautiful skill of recognizing person’s character and incorporating him into the team. He was always a positive spark in my teams and after a period of convincing club management in HNK Gorica about his and Igor Cagalj’s values, they have both showed why I insisted on their arrival – Klafuric explained about his assistant coach.
DAMIR MILANOVIĆ’S VIEW ON DEAN KLAFURIĆ
– If I am to describe Dean in three words, it would be: wise, honest, brave. He is a true leader and lives football 24/7 – started Damir and then add on:
– The biggest satisfaction of working together is to see how everyday training and work, throughout the week, is converted into a great match. We had two examples of such development in Cyprus, when we managed to beat Anorthosis (5:0) and Omonia (2:1). You can’t get better feedback than such teamplay and approach with a great result at the full time.
We tried to get some information about the life outside of the football, but Damir was very clear:
– Sometimes, we like to play cards (rummy), watching TV and always, and I mean always, talking about football topics, individual qualities as players, etc.
MARIO ŠKRABLIN’S VIEW ON DEAN KLAFURIĆ
OK, maybe Damir is like that. So, we talked with Mario Skrablin, fitness and strenght coach, which learns a lot every day, among which skills are video analysis and video editing.
Mario, what do you do as a coaching staff outside of football?
– Watching football matches, talking about football, going to the beach and always in touch with football – said 35 year old expert while laughing.
– I met Dean in a lower league club Udarnik Kurilovec, in Zagreb county. My first impression of him pretty much stayed the same till today. Dean is unbelievibly passionate about football, almost fanatical in the most positive way. He is totally in love with the game and it is a pleasure to work with him.
When asked about how would he describe Dean in three words, Mario was also very quick and straight in his answer:
– Competent, lucid, fanatic.
Many coaches were described as fanatics, but usually that meant they don’t want to listen to others.
– Dean is not afraid to hear opposite opinion. That is why we are a true team in an essence of that word. Dean is very open-minded while in process of analysis and preparing trainings or matches, but at the end he makes the final decision. Such approach works great and it is showed in the club results. When you realize he worked on two continents, always in top clubs, with amazing players and respectable staff professionals, it is great to grow together with such head coach and to have him as an open-minded expert who knows what he wants and to build that vision together.
Milanovic spoke in similar terms:
– We always want to improve and be better. As a coaching staff, we have a positive criticism approach, with the whole team staff being open-minded and able to present their views on the match, training or some specific situation. Dean, as the head coach, has the final saying, but he has an ability to listen to his colleagues and make the best decision for the team.
What is the football philosophy that connects them?
– Our team has to play football, not just for the final score but as an approach of playing football and creating chances. We have a recognisible style and our team always know how to play in every aspect of the match and field – explains Milanovic, while Skrablin pointed out:
– We all want to create team rhythm and style of play. Passing game, looking for opportunities, pressing after losing a ball, those are our basis and starting point for every segment of our work, in tactical, fitness or any other way.
THE WHOLE TEAM LOVES AND LIVES FOOTBALL
While Zagreb-born Skrablin says Dinamo Zagreb and Gorica are his favourite teams in Croatia, Milanovic points out to the Sibenik:
– My favourite football moments, so far in my life, are signing with HNK Šibenik and becoming a Hungarian champion with Videoton.
They are both fans of Serie A, Milanovic is an AC Milan fan, while Skrablin roots for Juventus and likes Valencia in Spanish LaLiga.
What future holds for this fanatical coaching staff?
– As Dean likes to put it, I am focused on a present moment and how to evolve and be better with each day. It would be an honour to achieve great things in Champions League, national team, etc., but I believe in a path and that is what we are doing right now – says Skrablin, highlighting one of the key Klafuric’s values – trying his best in every training, every match and every communication with the fans or media.
Milanovic has a similar view with the Hungary in his mind:
– Football thought me never to say never, but at this moment I don’t see myself as a head coach. I find my role as Dean’s assistent coach to perfectly fit me and I am looking forward to our next challenges. Hungary has a special place in my heart and I believe we could be a great fit for the Hungarian clubs, like MOL Fehervar (ex Videoton).
Wherever they will be working couple of things are certain – no one will outwork them or love the football more than they are loving it. Also, focus on details, passing style and creative building of the game, sarting with the goalkeeper, with clear intention on showing the individual and team strenghts, are a natural way of playing football for Klafuric’s teams.
