Branko Ivankovic to AGCFF: Gulf football has evolved a lot… and our chance to qualify for the Qatar World Cup is not impossible.

>> Football in the Gulf and the Middle East has evolved a lot more than it was 15 years ago

 

>> For these reasons, we chose Serbia to prepare the red for the finals

 

> Our chance of qualifying is not impossible as some think, and this is my plan to bypass teams that have experiences in the World Cup and have the best players

The Sultanate’s fans were optimistic about him, and hoped for him to reach a satisfactory point in Omani football, especially since he has a good biography, and the Sultanate has distinguished players and available capabilities, and it lacked only an experienced technical director to achieve what the Omani vision of football aspires to.

The Covid 19 pandemic came to hinder his work, but he seeks what is available to put Omani football in a position worthy of it, so will Croatian Branko Ivankovic succeed in his difficult task with the Omani Red, after he was drawn for the final qualifiers for the World Cup next to Japan, Saudi Arabia and Australia, the long anchor in the World Championship?

You worked as an assistant coach for Croatia in the World Cup, who showed Croatian football to the world in its best form, and trained the Iranian national team.. How do you see Gulf football at the global level? Where is Oman located?

I was very satisfied and happy to be with the Croatian national team in the World Cup, where we achieved third place and it was a great experience for me. During my training for the Iranian national team, we achieved good results and it was a special period that lasted for four years and there were several successes.

As for football in the Gulf and the Middle East, it has evolved a lot from what it was about 15 years ago, as the teams became more competitive, as well as the local leagues, and this is due to the support of the competent authorities, and this also led to the development of players and the emergence of distinguished names.

For the Omani team, the first impression was good when we met in a match and I was coach of Iran, as we were trailing 2-0 and managed to draw 2-2 and qualify, but this match left a good impression on Omani football and its development.

Tell us about the current external camp, and what you are counting on?

Very optimistic and satisfied with the current camp in Serbia, as the players perform the exercises with enthusiasm and excitement in an ideal atmosphere within the team and everyone is committed to the instructions set by the technical staff. Friendly matches will be played to determine the players’ readiness, matches against European teams from the Serbian Premier League, where football here is characterized by speed and contacts in order to gain experience, as for the accommodation, it is wonderful inside the hotel, and the exercises are taking place on the national team’s stadium, and we are waiting for the recovery of the injured, on whom we count in the upcoming matches.

If you were asked to describe the Oman group in the finals in one word, how would you describe it?

Our group is very difficult. I do not need to talk about the teams of Japan, Australia and Saudi Arabia, which participate permanently in the World Cup and have great experience in tournaments, as most of the players of Japan and Australia play in European leagues, as well as the developed Vietnam team in the recent period, as well as the ambitious Chinese team, but despite that, we will not give up and we will give our best and gain experience and we will be a strong competitor for all the teams. The only problem we will face is the issue of travel, as the distances are long and the time difference is large, and the duration between the match and the other is about 4 days, but we will try and give our best.

How will you deal with each of these confrontations for teams that have experience in the World Cup?

As I mentioned earlier, we will face strong teams with great experience in tournaments such as Saudi Arabia, Japanand Australia, but we will focus on our team and the way we play and try to confuse the accounts of the group teams.

What does Ivankovic aspire to with the Omani red? Does he have the ingredients and factors that will help him achieve what he aspires to?

Everyone knows that we are not candidates to qualify in this group with teams that have won the Asian Championship, such as Japan and Australia, but we have the right to aspire to qualify, and we will try to surprise them, we will not give up.