Socceroo Milos Degenek on helping Red Star Belgrade return to the Champions League
MILOS Degenek’s parents watched their son lead Red Star Belgrade to the Champions League for the first time in 26 years.Then they cried.
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MILOS Degenek’s parents watched their son lead Red Star Belgrade to the Champions League for the first time in 26 years.
Then they cried.
Because as the Socceroos defender almost single-handedly brought his beloved boyhood club back from the brink against Red Bull Salzburg, his family were overcome by what the barely conceivable return to elite football meant for their native country.
“My parents and brother were in Salzburg in Austria, they watched the game,” Degenek said.
“It was very emotional, everyone cried after the game.
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“It was really hard to put into words but the emotions were very high and happy for me that my dreams came true as well.”
Those dreams were born in the Serbian capital, where a baby Degenek and his family sought refuge from his birthplace Croatia during the 1990s.
In 2000 they fled again, this time from trauma of the Kosovo War, and a seven-year-old Degenek ended up in western Sydney kicking around a football in his Red Star jersey.
Nearly two decades later he’s back in Belgrade wearing that same jersey, having secured a transfer from Ange Postecoglou’s Japanese side Yokohama F. Marinos after the World Cup.
And less than two months into his contract the 24-year-old has already delivered his new team something it hasn’t tasted since 1992.
Down 2-0 to Red Bull with 30 minutes to play in their final qualifying match, Degenek provided two crucial assists in two minutes - the second arguably a goal - to ensure a 2-2 draw and improbable passage on away goals to the group stage against Liverpool, Paris Saint-Germain and Napoli.
“It’s really a dream come true because as I grew up - and in Australia as well - it’s always been the club me and my family have supported,” he said..
“When we grew up in Serbia and then moved to Australia it was the one football club that everyone knew and supported.
“They won the Champions League in 1991. That meant a lot and we continue to support them, even through the tough years of struggling for Serb football we always loved that club.
“Now for me to join the club and help them make the Champions League. It’s phenomenal, a dream come true. It’s just really exciting to be there at the moment.”
With Roberto Firmino, Edinson Cavani, Mohamed Salah, Neymar and Dries Mertens lying in wait, the chances of extending the fairytale appear unlikely.
But Degenek, who’s currently in Turkey for Socceroos camp, hopes it precipitates a bright future for football in the region.
“Financially we’re not up to standard in world football, it’s all about trying to prove yourself and do something well,” he said.
“We’re hoping this sparks something and brings a bit of joy for us eastern Europeans and to help us get more clubs into the best competition in Europe.
“This is hopefully a big turning point for Serbian football and my club as well.”