Interview with Marko Glumac

by Jonathan Spiteri - 30th July 2012

For this week's interview we decided to interview the recently appointed Nursery's Head Coach, Mr. Marko Glumac. Marko's enthusiasm is clear to notice and we are sure that he will leave a positive impact on the Nursery.

Who is Marko Glumac?

I was born on the 6th March 1977 in Belgrade, the capital city of Serbia. Since I was very young my favourite sport was football and it was easy for my parents to realise this, and they immediately showed the intention to support me. I started my football career as a youngster at age of 9 with FC Zemun, at that time being a strong side in the ex-Yugoslavia's top division, and also one of the best football schools. As a talented kid I passed all selection tests at the club and trained many times with older categories. At the age of 15, I was spotted by one of our two biggest clubs in Serbia, Partizan Belgrade. Till the age of 25 I trained and played with squads closely linked with Partizan before a serious injury prevented me from progressing any further. In the mean time I studied at the University of Sport and at age of 26 graduated in coaching, specialising in football. I was always dedicated and disciplined to training and studies. Through sports and football I developed strong personal characteristics, a few af which are the desire to learn, competitiveness and sportsmanship.

What is your marital status? Are you married? Do you have kids?
I am married to my beautiful wife Gordana and we have two angels, Maja and Sacha, both born in Malta.

What are your main hobbies besides football?

I am one of the few lucky people in the world, that what they do for their living, is what they really love. My profession is my hobby too. It occupies most of my time. I am constantly investing in my education and in coaching, trying to keep up to date with new methodologies and trends through seminars, discussions with fellow coaches, reading articles, research, match analysis etc. My ultimate aim is to give quality education and coaching level to my players.

Do you have a role model? Who and why?

When I was a player I had few national players as my idols like Mijatovic or Savicevic and internationally I looked up to Maradona and Zidane. I used to play in same position like them and they inspired me with their creativity and dribbling magic. They were able to make the difference in any game and decide the winner with one brilliant move.

Do you have a favourite quote or motto?

I have few mottos in which I strongly believe and, the summary of them would be that what ever you do, you have to do it with best of your capabilities and to enjoy it.

Do you follow international football? If yes, which is your favourite nation when it comes to football, and which is your favourite foreign Club?

I am Spanish football fan. Since I was young I supported Real Madrid as a foreign club. The reason is because in Serbia, Spanish football was always very popular and kids chose between Real Madrid or Barcelona. Today, from a coaching position I like to watch Barcelona with a lot of attention as one can learn a lot from the way they play.

Which are your strongest and your weakest attributes as a coach?

I believe in discipline, dedication, loyalty to the club, passion for the game and desire to learn. That is why I am trying to be a role model to the players and I expect that they believe in these attributes and nurture them too.

How did you feel when Birkirkara FC approached you?

Everybody feels valued when approached by a club and the same was in my case. I felt that my work is being recognized and that I have qualities to offer to one of the most renowned clubs in Malta, both in senior and youth level. Besides, I am very proud that a coach and person like senior coach Mr Paul Zammit shared with me new plans for the nursery which will help it move forward in technical aspects. I feel grateful that the club gave me the chance to organise it and start the new project to improve nursery set up.

What were your first impressions of Birkirkara FC and Birkirkara FC Youth Nursery?

After the first few meetings with representatives from the club I could feel that there is a positive energy and strong will to make the new nursery project happen. Their approach was very professional and concrete. I was given lots of freedom to implement my ideas, while my suggestions on how I think nursery can improve were met with enthusiasm. If the same positive approach is used towards coaches, players, parents, volunteers and towards creating one team that will work together, success is guaranteed.

What do you think are the stronger points of the nursery and where do you think there is still a lot of room for improvement?

Name and history of the club, premier league status, the big number of youngsters registered with the nursery, being the biggest town in Malta with many supporters, great opportunity for nursery boys to get to the senior team are all strengths that this nursery must strive upon. Also the sense belonging to the club and 100% effort in training and games is a trade mark of nursery's children and youths. I believe that there is always room for improvement, even when things seem to be done in the best possible way. I believe that the training set up, age groups organization, space for training allocation and coaching guides are areas where we will work on during first months of training in rderto reach a higher level. That is our first objective.

How are the preparations for the coming season going?

Many meetings were scheduled immediately after my appointment as a head coach in the mid-June. Many topics were covered during the meetings and things are moving forward. There is great will to succeed and support is shown form administration, chairman and the nursery committee. At the moment we are busy with the summer school, which can be consiered as a big success, with over 90 boys attending. Most of them are nursery players, but also boys from other nurseries and some guest foreigners being on holiday expressed a desire to join our summer training camp. The summer school also plays an important part in the preparation of our older age groups, the Under-15's and Under-17's. In order to have a successful season new coaches were appointed and the pre-season schedule is ready. Training should start at the beginning of August.

Are you thinking of any re-shuffles in the way the various categories train?

Our training programme is fully fledged and it will cover all aspects of the football game according to children age and ability. Thanks to the new coaching set up every player from the nursery's various age groups will have the coach's close attention while being in smaller groups, in order to make each child improve and develop in the best way.

What do you think are the key components that without them a nursery can never be successful in producing valid players for the first team?

First and foremost, the best philosophy is to invest in coaching and facilities in order to create the right environment at the nursery, and this is Birkirkara's way forward. The other ingredients should be dedication, sacrifice, support and patience from all involved in the process of a child's development to become a player and achieve his/her dreams. Club administrators, coaches, families, friends and supporters must act as a unit and refrain from exerting unnecessary pressure to help the youngsters in succeeding on their way. Positive media coverage could also help, but young players need to keep their feet to the ground.

Besides technical ability, what do you think does a child/youth require in order to successfully become a good football player?

Besides natural ability a youth player must have strong desire for football to drive him through his career. In his way he will find many obstacles that he has to overcome in order to develop into a first team player. The stronger he is, the further he will go. Hard work, wilingness to learn and improve every day, accepting consructive criticism, learn both how to win and how to lose, and most important is that he enjoys playing and take training seriously, no matter what.

Is there a message you would like to pass on to the children training at the nursery and their parents?

I hope that through this interview I manage to send a strong massage that, in teh coming years at Birkirkara FC, we will be investing all our abilities, resources and ideas in order to help the youths to develop into good footballers and also responsible persons. Parents are an important part of that process as the nursery and the children need their support. I am looking forward to this challenge and I am sure that as a team we can achieve the expected results.

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