Newsletter

“If you don’t learn anything from Pep, you haven’t listened well”

The iron new signing Milos Pantovic during the training of 1. FC Union in Bad Saarow. City-Press/Matthias Renner

The name Susi came up quickly. Susi Kopplin, Union’s mother of the company. Milos Pantovic had heard a lot about her from his best mate Robert Zulj. If someone learns something about the iron team supervisor in their first conversations with ex-colleagues and sees it confirmed immediately in the first few days in Bad Saarow, not much can stand in the way of a promising future.

And the native of Munich, who came from Bochum, definitely wants to experience that with the irons. The midfielder makes no secret of this. “Union is one step ahead of Bochum. They have established themselves in the Bundesliga. I want to take the next step here,” said the 25-year-old, who after four years at VfL Bochum has gained a foothold in professional football with promotion and relegation.

The first steps towards this took place on October 17, 2015, when he was still in Munich, where he received a good technical education. Pep Guardiola substituted him for Arturo Vidal in stoppage time at the kick in Bremen. Further appearances at FC Bayern were not granted to him in the professional field. Hence the move to the Revier in 2018.

Union newcomer Milos Pantovic learned a lot from Pep Guardiola

“But that’s not a broken leg when you see what a world-class team it was. And you could only learn from Guardiola. If you don’t learn anything from Pep, you haven’t listened well,” said the offensive all-rounder, who likes to help shape the game as an eight or ten.

“Pep is an authority. One pricks one’s ears twice and three times and thinks of many things. But there are fundamental things that can help you in the long run,” Pantovic recalls those days with fondness. For example, how to better take the ball with you in the first contact.

He names technique, speed and a good finish as his qualities. quick thinking too. He wants to help the team with that.

Pantovic made a slightly bigger impression on the general public last season with two brilliant long-range goals within a month. In the 2-0 win over Hoffenheim in early November, he scored from 66 meters. A home game later, in the 2-1 win against Freiburg, he put the ball into the net from 45 meters out, almost from the center line. The game scenes were clicked exorbitantly on YouTube.

Milos Pantovic inherits Robert Zulj’s number at 1. FC Union

“It was instinct to a certain extent. I didn’t think much about it. It certainly helped me make a name for myself in the Bundesliga. But I don’t think I’ll score goals like that 15 times again. Those were can openers, but you have to confirm them with good performances,” said the 1.85 meter tall midfielder, who is to follow in Grischa Prömel’s footsteps at the Irons and will wear the number 32 in the future.

His best friend Zulj in the iron group had the same number. And he was also one of the heroes of the rise of the Köpenicker. Not such a bad omen…

Read more about 1. FC Union >>

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Trending