1.) How did your journey with the Gostivar team begin? What were the reasons you accepted this offer?
Hello, first of all, I’d like to start by saying this is a page I follow with admiration. I wish you continued success. In my last role, I worked with the national amputee football team, where we won two European and one World Cup, and I take pride in being the only coach in this field with those accolades. I would work with various teams whenever I had the chance, but time was limited due to my commitments to the national team. I felt I had served the national team enough and wanted to work with a team where I could spend more time on the field rather than just moving from tournament to tournament.
When I received such an offer from the Gostivar club, I didn’t have to think long because it’s a team with ambitions of winning the Macedonian league and competing in the Champions League. And now here I am. We have a team with quality players, a valuable club, and we aim to play in the Champions League next year. To achieve that, we need to finish this season as champions, and we’ll work with all our strength to make it happen.
2.) Is the football culture in Macedonia different from that in Turkey? How do these differences reflect in your coaching style?
There are certainly significant differences between Macedonian and Turkish football. The fan factor in our country isn’t as impactful in the Macedonian league. We tend to experience certain emotions to the extreme; we are a more emotional society, whereas in Macedonia, football is seen more as a job. In terms of my coaching style, I haven’t made any changes. After all, whatever modern world football demands from a goalkeeper, I demand the same. My communication with my goalkeepers is also very good. I have three excellent goalkeepers, so I can say that both Gostivar and I are fortunate when it comes to goalkeepers.
3.)How has taking on a role at Gostivar been a source of professional motivation for you? What opportunities do you see here for further development?
Firstly, I’m happy to work at a club with such goals and vision. We have a quality team with ambitions for both the league title and the Champions League. I work with goalkeepers who quickly understand what I teach and try to put it into practice. I’m also in constant dialogue with our youth academy goalkeeper coach, Coach Mersim. My main objective is to ensure that Gostivar has no issues in goalkeeping and to build a structure where young goalkeepers are continually coming up for the future. I’ve been with the national team for four years now, and my English is at a good level, but here, with more opportunities for practice, I’ll be able to improve it significantly as well.
4.) As a goalkeeper coach, what do you think is the most important factor in a team’s success?
In Turkey, there’s an old anecdote our former coaches used to say: the world’s best team played against a group of friends who really loved each other, and the world’s best team lost. My view aligns with this. I believe teams that manage to become a family, move together, and care for each other are always not one, but two or three steps ahead of others. This was my perspective when I was a player, and as a coach, it’s still the same. I’ve experienced championships, playoffs, and have played on teams fighting relegation. In my view, the only difference was whether the team managed to become a family or not.
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