Kovacevic: “For a striker, a goal is like breathing”

Few Real Sociedad fans will need an introduction to Darko Kovacevic. The former Serbian striker cannot live away from football and is currently the sporting director of Olympiacos. Despite his position, Kovacevic attended an interview with this newspaper. He lives far from Donostia, but he confesses not to forget about Real, a team where he continues to be the foreigner with the most goals (107).

Do you have time to follow Real?

Of course, it’s better not to follow Real. Whenever I have time, I try to take the opportunity to watch them play on the weekend or during the week.

And what do you think?

For me, they had a lot of ups and downs in the beginning. There are games that play very well and others that don’t seem so good. I watched the game against Osasuna, for example, and you could see both sides of the team. I believe it’s just the beginning of the season and Imanol knows it; There are many games ahead.

What could be the reason for this lack of average performance at Real?

I would say that the losses of Merino and Le Normand weigh heavily. They are key players in Imanol’s scheme and it will be difficult to get a replacement very quickly.

As there were casualties, new players arrived.

Yes, that’s true. Obviously Sucic, Sergio Gómez, Aguerd, Óskarsson… are signings of a very high level and you can see the evolution that Real is experiencing when it comes to the transfer market, but they all need time to adapt; some more and some less, but they need it.

It is true that there are players like Sergio Gómez who seem to adapt quickly, or Aguerd who arrived at the last moment of the summer market and is already an undisputed starter. But there are a few more players who will need time to settle in. Although I think the losses of Merino and Le Normand are still heavy, because they are leaders in the locker room and that is difficult to replace.

One of the aforementioned signings is Óskarsson…

Yes, he is a very young player. He is 20 years old and has just arrived in a new country, a new city, a new language… He will adapt and do well, I have no doubt.

One of Real’s problems this start has been the lack of goals. How do you see the issue of Real’s forward position?

The striker is always asked if the goals don’t come, basically because he lives on goals. In the case of Óskarsson, you have to give the child time; Like I said, he’s still young. If he is able to chain the good dynamics and continuity of the matches, I think he will respond because he is a talented player and has the ability to score goals.

As for Sadiq, I will tell you that he also needs time, though in a different way. I followed him since he was at Partizan; He has also played in Almería, so he knows LaLiga very well. But last year he came back from a bad injury and I don’t know if he’s fully recovered or if he’s lost the confidence he had. If you ask me if he has adapted well to Donostia, I would say no; That’s what I think.

Continue…

That’s all I said at the beginning. They may be having a bad time, but everyone going forward needs goals. Everyone who has played as a ‘9’ knows that scoring a goal is like breathing; They need goals to gain confidence, and I think that’s the most important thing. So far they haven’t scored, but I’m sure that in time they will respond, Óskarsson above all.

Imanol usually says in a press conference that Real have to “kill” the games.

That is the question. At least the forwards of Real are in a team where there is a lot of development and opportunities. That’s what they need: opportunities, so that, when they come in, everyone else comes from behind. Especially Óskarsson, because I’ve seen him and he seems like a very interesting player to me.

Have you been following him for a while?

I believe that everyone involved in football, more or less, follows LaLiga and knows Óskarsson. Furthermore, it has long been known that he is a very talented player; We will have to see how he develops, but he is clearly a good forward who knows how to play and make people play, creating spaces for himself and his teammates. He is more of a center forward than Sadiq; It is the typical ‘nine’ that can explode.

The truth is that Icelandic doesn’t have much continuity…

Imanol is a good friend of mine and I am convinced that he will know better than anyone why this is so. As long as the goals don’t come, all they have to do is keep working every day for that opportunity to come. It also happened to me when I had streaks of not scoring and people in Donostia saw it, so I pulled myself together and tried to train properly so that the goal would come as soon as possible. I say it again: he is a very young player in a new environment, but Donostia and Real are a perfect destination for him.

Are you saying this for any special reason?

Because I really think about it. Donostia is a perfect place; The environment is often adaptable. I also arrived young, about 23 years old, and for a foreigner it is easy to feel inside the group because there is usually a block of young homegrown players with a very good level. Only two months left. You can see how he adapts quickly, but he needs that continuity to ensure chances in front of goal. Once he starts scoring, everything will be fine.

Against Osasuna he was substituted when Real scored two goals…

It is very important to have the coach’s trust in order to have confidence in yourself. I don’t know why Imanol decided to fire him, but we have to remember that Real play almost two games a week, so it’s important that the players are fresh and come to the games in good condition. In fact, it appears that he is a striker with a goal; Every time he went on the international break this season, he scored at least one goal.

Another of Real’s forward options is Oyarzabal. What do you think?

This is living history of the club. He is the reference, the captain. Imanol uses him as a wild card because he always delivers, be it center forward, second striker or winger. It’s more than just a false ‘nine’. He has a goal, a good shot and knows how to run; In other words, he is a player with a lot of quality. But I’m more traditional; I prefer pure forwards and Oyarzabal is not the classic striker. I saw that Imanol recently lined up Óskarsson with Oyarzabal and I like that better. I think the two combine well in attack.

Oyarzabal currently has 98 goals at Real. He is close to reaching his figure of 107 goals with Real…

I hope it happens soon. I hope he passes everything and becomes number one; I really mean it. I would be very excited if it were him because he deserves to be at the top of Real for many years. Besides, he had time for it; He is still very young and has a lot of games ahead of him. This is a benchmark and I am convinced that sooner rather than later it will happen to us.

Is it important to keep the pillars of Oyarzabal’s style in the team?

Of course. The loss of Merino and Le Normand is a heavy blow, but players like Mikel Oyarzabal and Martin Zubimendi give great value to this project. Which was done by Zubimendi; It is unbelievable that a home player, after the great season he had and the Euro Cup, rejected big European teams like Liverpool. It is quite wonderful. This is something that everyone should appreciate.

Does his friend Imanol have something to do with all of this?

What he has achieved in recent years is impressive. Always with the home players and keeping the level. Furthermore, he proves to be an excellent coach. No one knows La Real better than him. The performance that all the players got, and there was also a notable majority from home, had great merit. People might get nervous when there’s a bad streak, but I say this from the bottom of my heart: no one can replace you. People need to be calm; As long as Imanol continues, everything will be fine. They will not forget all the years he spent as coach of Real, making history with the club he loves and with the home players: winning the Copa del Rey, playing in the Champions League, always at the top of the standings .. There is reason enough to be calm.

Finally, Real and Olympiacos compete in the Europa League. Do you want their paths to cross?

Well, I don’t know, really. This would be a strange situation for me. I want the best for Real, but I’m at Olympiacos and I can’t fight it. It’s not my bet, but I want the Europa League final between Olympiacos and Real Sociedad to be played in San Mamés. It’s something incredible, but I want our team to win… we’ll see how it all ends.