Zvonko Milojević: 'In Tokyo, Dejo INTENTIONALLY got a red because of me'

The life of Zvonko Milojević is marked by a single moment – a collision on a highway, due to which he has spent 15 years in a wheelchair. He will go down in sport history as the youngest goalkeeper ever to play on the Red Star first team. This is his story about his football beginnings, career, parents, wife, children, as well as the good people whho came to his aid when he needed it. Especially Marina. Now, that is a film story of love and life

I grew up in a village called Voljavče, near Jagodina. The village got its name when four families from Trebinje moved there, among whom was the Milojević family. And then they said, "I shall live here, as this is what I wish to do." That's what the legend says. I still live there with my wife. We have an apartment in Jagodina, which we sometimes spend time in because of our obligations. For us, this is an ideal place – five kilometres from the city centre, and we have our own house and backyard, peace and quiet, and a dog who guards us. Everything that we need. So people always ask me, "How can you live in a village, and you've seen the whole wide world?" But it doesn't matter where you live, but with whom and how.

Parents

I grew up in a workers' family. My father Radovan was a merchant, and my mother Ljubinka worked at a cable factory. They're retired now. As is the case with every family, my father was stricter, while my mother was indulging us all. She thought that it was important her children were happy in the long run, whereas my father was exercising proper discipline and strictness.

My father the athlete

My father Radovan was a good footballer and used to play a left-winger back in the day. Here's an interesting story from the days when he was doing his military service in Vinkovci. The people from FC Dinamo, which was a First League club at the time, saw him play, and offered him a good contract, a job for his wife, and accommodation for the family. My grandfather didn't give my dad his permission, only saying that he could not leave his home as he was the only man among the family inheritors. Having learnt from this experience, my father didn't think twice when one day in late August 1986, a car with people from Red Star pulled up in front of our house in Jagodina. And so I arrived at the Rajko Mitic Stadium, with some of my father's football dreams thus coming true though me.

My brother

I have an older brother, Zdravko, who also lives in Jagodina and runs a butcher's shop. The age difference between us is small, only a year and a half. Now, as brothers will, they love each other deeply, but fight over everything. We even had physical fights a few times, and then we'd both be punished by our parents, because brothers weren't supposed to do that. But you go ahead and try to explain to boys that they cannot pit their strength against each other. It doesn't work, it really doesn't. I was a bit of a scamp, but not too much – but I was a live wire. I wanted to try and see everything and wasn't afraid of anything.

Munich

As a boy, I was a goalkeeper at the local club in Jagodina. I remember, it was the summer of 1986, and we went to a junior team tournament in Munich, organized by an immigrant worker from these parts. At the tournament, my own team, FC Jagodina, as well as Red Star, FC Radnički from Niš, and a line-up Duboko from Munich played there.

That's when an interesting situation developed. I seemed to have been doing well at the goal, so the people from Red Star – whose coach was the legendary Vojkan Melić – approached me. When we were on our way back home, Mr. Vučković, who was the club secretary at the time, came up to me. He asked me if I would like to come to Red Star, and I replied, "You know what, who wouldn't? However, I'm still young, and you have to ask my parents for permission." They said that was fine and that they would get in touch with them. I kept sitting by the telephone, but they didn't call, so I thought it would all come to nothing.

We've come to take you with us

One afternoon in late summer, as I was returning from the pitch, where I played football with some friends of mine, I saw a car with a Belgrade licence plate in front of my house. I ran into the house, and it turned out that it was the Red Star people. They said to me, "We're here as agreed, we've come to take you with us." I asked them, "What do you mean – take me with you now? It's the end of August, I have to go to school." Then they explained to me that now was the best time, because soon a new school year would start, and that I would come to the training sessions every day after classes. At that point, my mother intervened, saying, "You know what, he can leave whenever he wants to, but if his grades start getting lower, he'll be on the first bus back to Jagodina!" And so it happened.

School is more important

Now, in order to keep both myself and my mother happy, I had to be a good student at school, but to also train regularly. They enrolled me in the Fourth Belgrade General Secondary School, in the area called Dedinje, and I was a straight-A student there. The schoolteachers loved me. They just couldn't understand how it was possible that I was good at school on top of all the other obligations I had. But make a note of this: Where there's a will, there's way. What was important was good organization and a good schedule.

For the first six months, I didn't live in Belgrade, so I travelled to Jagodina every day. The club management said that it would be very difficult for such a young boy to separate abruptly from his parents, and my mother was afraid that my grades would suffer. She wouldn't allow me to go until she started to trust me. I went to games on Tuesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays, and I went to school from Monday to Friday, in order to acclimate a bit.

Extramural studies

I wasn't able to finish my schooling as a regular student, so I became an extramural student in my fourth year. I couldn't train and go to school in the morning. I found it physically unbearable, so I chose football. Since I had promised my parents that I would graduate, I had to make good on my promise and met the condition for continuing with my professional career.

Cologne

After three years of playing on the junior team, I transferred to the first team and became the youngest goalkeeper to ever play for Red Star's first team. My debut was with Dragoslav Šekularac in a championship match against FC Spartak in Subotica, and then, only three days later, and to the surprise of many people, at the UEFA CUP against FC Cologne, in Cologne. In the first match, Red Star celebrated the victory of 1-0, but lost 3-0 in the rematch. I still remember the newspaper title. It said: "Red Star loses match in Cologne, but gains goalkeeper".

Piksi

When Šekularac invited me to transfer from the junior line-up to the first team, Piksi was already the captain. I remember well how he didn't allow any player in the locker room to provoke me or make jokes at my expense. He said, "I know what it's like for someone to come from the junior team. I want to help you." He then turned towards the team and said, "As of this moment, he is one of us. No one is allowed to mistreat or provoke him because, as God is my witness, he'll have to deal with me." He had a lot of authority, so they had to obey him. It meant a lot to me at the time. Piksi is someone I respect, both as a person and as an athlete.

The military service

Six months after, I went to do my military service and got assigned to Sombor. I wasn't running away, I was a good and exemplary soldier. I accepted being a soldier clerk during the training. Then I got transferred to Mostar, and from there to an athletes' military unit in Belgrade. There I was privileged to train at the Partizan Stadium while serving in the military. I felt like I was on cloud nine, that's the sort of experience it was. You would be allowed out of the barracks and into the city every day for two hours. Now that was pretty awesome!

The Red Card

A month after completing my military service, I returned to the Red Star team and immediately played at a game in Valjevo. Six months after that, we went to Tokyo. That's just how quickly it all went. So, here's another interesting story. Dejan Savićević, who was the captain then, asked coach Vladica Popović that Dragoje Leković, who was originally from Montenegro, be the goalkeeper in Tokyo, and not me. Popović said to him, "Dejan, you're the star of this team, but I am the coach and I decide who gets to be in the line-up." That's how the great Vladica did things – sincerely and honestly. Then Dejan told the coach that, if Leković wasn't the goalkeeper, he would deliberately get a red card. He did as he promised. We were left with ten players on the pitch. At that moment, we were ahead 1-0, scored two more goals with one player less, and deservedly became the club champions of the world.

Serbia all the way to Tokyo

Our match in Tokyo is just another example that players can do anything if there's a will. At half-time, the coach reminded us that the result was 1-0, that we had one less player, but also that we were also playing a game to win the title of the club champion of the world. I still remember what he said: "Now don't be lost cases, be go-getters, and play as best you can. If you win, I'm giving you days off as a reward!" And so we won, with one player less. The newspapers were writing that Red Star got a new Vladimir Beara in Tokyo, which must make every goalkeeper proud, and that's when the famous line "Serbia all the way to Tokyo" was first coined.

The national team

I was the goalkeeper 13 times on the national team – an unlucky number, hahaha! My first appearance on the national team was at the Carlsberg Cup in Japan. The goalkeepers at the time, Pandurović and Kocić, were injured, and the national team selector asked that another one came from Belgrade. I travelled via Zurich by plane for 12 hours and landed at 4 a.m. The match was scheduled for noon sharp, I had a couple of good saves, didn't concede a goal, and we won the trophy. I was part of that group of footballers who were happy to help out with anything when it came to the national team. Even during that long and tiresome journey, I kept telling myself one thing – that I couldn't and mustn't be tired because I was on my way to play for my own country.

Dejan Stanković

Dejan and I became friends when he came to Red Star's first team from the juniors. I was the captain then. I knew how difficult that period was, so I was protecting him. At the time, he lived in Zemun, and I lived in Novi Beograd. I would pick him up in my car and we'd head off to training. He was 18 then and didn't have a driver's licence. The players look at you differently when they see you getting out of the captain's car rather than a city bus. He enjoyed my full protection, but he earned it all. He is my best man.

Aleksandar Janković

I am Aleksandar Janković's best man. Now he really is something else. I'm happy that he is part of my life and that I had the opportunity to be his best man – to a young man who meant the most to me during the junior days. It's a friendship for life.

Belgium

I was a goalkeeper at Red Star until 1997, and then I transferred to Belgium. I received an offer to join FC Porto, but Šekularac, who was the coach at the time, said, "If you let Milojević go to Porto, I will speak out." They didn't let me go there, so I missed an opportunity to go to Belgium in December, but I got an offer from Anderlecht already in June.

There I spent ten years – six in Anderlecht and four more in Lokeren. Being there, I took an opportunity to obtain a dual citizenship, and my family got it too through me. That was very helpful during the sanctions because we didn't need a visa. I had my own path and I stuck to it, never allowing anyone to try to get me involved in politics. I had been asked political questions as well, and I'd answer something along these lines: "You know what, I'm an athlete. If you'd like to ask me something about sports, no problem. If not, then I have nothing to say to you."

The day it all came to a stop…

And then… I was on my way back from Belgium to Belgrade in November 2007. On the highway in Germany, I missed the exit for Cologne. I slowed down to quickly work out how to get back on track. And then… It all happened in a second. First the strong bright lights of a truck shone on my car, and then a loud bang was heard. What followed was darkness and silence… It had all stopped. The fire brigade took three hours to get Milan Lovre, footballer Goran Lovre's father, and myself out of the car. Luckily, he was unharmed.

Clinical death

I had clinical death and doctors fought for my life, as all my internal organs were giving up – the lungs, then the kidneys, and then the brain. I woke up from a coma after 12 days. They told me afterwards that what had saved me was that I had a strong heart. I didn't drink or smoke. So there, that's one of my messages too, especially for the young people – not to give in to vices easily. You simply don't know what might happen to you and how good it is not to challenge fate.

A friend in need is a friend indeed

My colleagues from Belgium came to the hospital in Aachen to visit me right after the accident. They visited me frequently and asked the doctors in Germany for the best possible treatment and best therapy for me, saying that they as a club would cover all the costs. However… Someone was faster. My dear best man Dejan Stanković paid all the hospital expenses, including the treatment and everything else. He played in Italy at the time and whenever he could, he would come to visit me and say as he was leaving, "Keep fighting, old boy!" I still remember those words of his.

Aleksandar Janković helps me a lot too, as does my brother-in-law Milan Đukić, from Australia. Red Star has never said no to me, it's always helped, both when it had enough and when it hadn't.

The wife

I've already told you the story about the match in Cologne. Well, it was important because of one more thing. I'll remember it forever because before I left for Cologne, I'd given my Marina the first kiss. We were at the bus station, and she says to me in a sad voice," Zvonko, you have to beat Cologne…" What a moment that was. I told her not to worry, hugged her, and kissed her for the first time. That is a beautiful story.

The greatest support

Marina and me have had an extraordinary relationship all our life. Now that I'm in this situation, being immobile, she takes care of me. When the accident happened, she said, "Zvonko, you took care of me when you were at the peak of success and glory. Now is the time for me to return the favour. I'll be by your side for as long as you're alive." I'm happy to have such a wife with me. Who your friends are is easy to see when the going gets rough. It's not a problem being good during good times, but things are different when the going gets rough.

The children

I have three children. My son Mladen, who is 25, is Marina's and my child. Well, then the two of us had a sort of a fight and decided to get divorced soon after he was born. Then I got married to Sanja and we welcomed our daughter Tijana, who is 24. However, two years later, I got married to Marina again, and since then we haven't divorced again. It was then we also welcomed Magdalena, who is 21 years old.

I'm very proud of my children. My son Mladen has graduated from the Faculty of Civil Engineering and now works as a civil engineer at a company in Belgrade. He has shown that he is very successful and independent – he didn't want to live at the expense of his father. He fought for his social status on his own, and that's why I say – hats off to him. Tijana is a great volleyball player, and plays for Red Star, and Magdalena is a student of management. They are my greatest treasure in the world.

No surrender

Life is a miracle. They used to say to me that I would be spoon-fed, that I would be bed-ridden, that I wouldn’t be able to speak, that if I managed to sit up straight, that would be the ultimate achievement. And I did sit up straight! Admittedly, in the wheelchair, but I still did! I spent three years in Ribarska Banja, and I want to do whatever I can to recover. I've even succeeded in siting at the steering wheel of a car!

If the doctors had seen me, I guarantee they would have eaten their own diplomas, hahaha! I've achieved much more than the doctors predicted. Then again, I'm not content because, as soon as I'm in a wheelchair, it takes a lot more strength, will, and some medical interventions to get where I want. I'm waiting for better days to come, I'm waiting for the medical science to make advances, because there's good reason why they say – anything is possible as long as you live and breathe!

(Kurir.rs / Andrijana Stojanović)