Coach Kovačević and captain Mišić: We need to be at our best, we want to make the fans happy

An attractive opponent, also a "old acquaintance", at the start of the new European season. On such a platform, Dinamo's footballers will welcome the start of the UEFA Europa League competition, on Wednesday at 9 pm they will host Turkish Fenerbahçe in the 1st round match. The last encounter between these opponents dates back to the autumn of 2018 when the Blues celebrated a 4-1 victory in Maksimir in the group stage of the same competition, then played 0-0 in Istanbul and then advanced to the knockout phase as group winners.

- We are also looking forward to the start of the Europa League, I am glad that we are opening the competition with an attractive and quality opponent. We know who Fenerbahçe is, a football giant, we know what great individuals they have... An interesting match awaits us, they are a team with many good, quality individuals. I think we are in a good condition, we have played seven league matches, we won in the last round at Poljud and, of course, we will do our best to play a good match against such a strong opponent and delight our fans. All players are ready and must be energetically at their maximum. Only Gonzalo Villar has minor health problems - emphasized coach Mario Kovačević.

The Fenerbahçe team was recently led by the celebrated coach Jose Mourinho, who has since been replaced by Domenico Tedesco.

- They have invested a lot in the team, maybe their current results do not match their value, but they will improve. A team with such players must perform, and I just hope it won't happen this Wednesday.

For Dinamo's current strategist, this will also be his first European match in his coaching career.

- That's right, I can say that I am really looking forward to it, I am really glad that the first match is against such an attractive opponent.

What is the game plan, are there any doubts about the lineup?

- We have a clear plan, we will present it to the players before training. We have prepared very well, we have contacted Dominik Livaković who until recently played for Fenerbahçe, we have also talked to Sandra Žufić who was a goalkeeper coach during Mourinho's time. I hope that this will also help us achieve a good result.

A Turkish journalist was interested in whether he understood the words of captain Josip Mišić correctly that he had only seen one Fenerbahçe match so far, against Benfica.

- Yes, now we will have an analysis... We have not analyzed the matches played under Mourinho's leadership. We have watched those under the new coach's guidance. Mourinho had his way, while Tedesco as the new strategist has his own ideas and we will analyze them.

Turkish reporters reminded of the clashes between Dinamo and Fenerbahçe in 2018 and asked coach Kovačević what is the goal of the Blues this season in the Europa League, whether he is thinking, for example, about the quarterfinals?

- We take it game by game, we don't think that far ahead. We are also in the process of building the team so I am curious to see how we will play. There are some players in our team who will be playing in European competitions for the first time, this game will give us some answers. The main desire and goal is to advance to the next round.

The question followed whether coach Kovačević regrets that Mourinho is no longer at Fenerbahçe.

– I have to say that he does a little. But now we have Domenico Tedesco who is also a top coach.

Will there be any changes in the lineup compared to the match in Split?

– Luka Stojković and Marko Soldo, who were absent in Split due to red cards, are returning to the team. We might make some changes, but not too many – concluded coach Kovačević.

Dinamo's captain, Josip Mišić, also answered questions from journalists.

- I have to say that it is a privilege to start this late with Europe, I have to thank the previous Dinamo generations that have done great things for this club and achieved one of the greatest results. And we also "contributed" to that last season by being a bit worse, so instead of finishing first, we ended up in second place and thus, instead of the Champions League qualifiers, we went straight into the Europa League group stage. We are definitely playing against a great European club that may have been in weaker form lately, but has a lot of great players. We, on the other hand, are full of confidence after the victory in Split. We will surely provide a good game driven by our fans.

How is this new Dinamo team feeling before the start of the European season?

- There are many players who have not played in European matches, but I think they have been here for quite a while and have realized where they are and for which club they play, that they will not be scared and will give their best.

Have you talked to Dominik Livaković, has your former teammate from Maksimir helped you prepare for this match?

- We haven't talked, we had too little time since the last match. I focused more on resting and preparing as best as I could. But we have time until the match, maybe we will talk.

How did Mišić, as the team captain, experience such significant changes in the lineup compared to last season, especially in the midfield?

– Even after the preparations, before the start of the season in Osijek, I said it wasn't easy because there have been a lot of changes and everything is still a big unknown to us. But we had good and long preparations, I think we were quite good in these seven matches at the beginning of the season. It's not easy to win three derbies, especially all three away. I think we've clicked well, there's a mix of experience and youth which is a winning combination, and I believe we will progress day by day.

What are your expectations for this European season?

- People may say from the outside, when they see the schedule, that the opponents are not very attractive, but we know well that no one is in this competition by chance. It's hard to say that we are favorites against anyone, the odds are mostly 50-50, especially away games against Midtjylland or Malmö, we know how the Scandinavians play and what kind of teams they are... In general, it won't be easy against anyone, but we also have a say in it, I think we will play well and collect points.

How important is a good start in the Europa League for Dinamo?

- Certainly, a victory would make our journey easier. We are playing both in the HNL and in Europe simultaneously, we have to be ready for all matches. I have to say that we are playing against a strong team, which may not be in the best shape, but we have to be at our best in order to secure three points.

At the request for comment on Fenerbahçe's performances, Mišić replied:

– The only game I watched was the one against Benfica, so I haven't seen much. We will have a detailed analysis. We know that Fenerbahçe has great individuals, we have to be careful with them. If we are not at our 100 percent, they could harm us – Mišić added.