By ADEM SARICAOGLU
LJUBO Milicevic has taken his footballing exploits all over the world, but the Melbourne Knights always remained close to his heart.
His impressive resume includes stints in Europe and both the old National Soccer League and the A-League, not mention eight appearances in a Socceroos jersey.
The now 32-year-old was an established member of the Newcastle Jets before returning to his home state in 2011 to play for Victorian Premier League outfit, South Melbourne.
Following that was a short stint with Hajduk Split in Croatia, but now Milicevic finds himself back where it all started, at the club he grew up adoring in Melbourne Knights.
“As a kid I used to spend every Sunday there watching the senior team play back in the day,” Milicevic said.
“It was my connection to (assistant coach) Frank Juric that pulled me back because I don’t know too many clubs or coaches in the VPL.
“It’s much easier to go somewhere where you’ve got a friend, rather than go somewhere that’s kind of unknown.
“But I grew up supporting the Melbourne Knights, so if I had to play for any club, emotionally, I suppose the Melbourne Knights would always be my first choice.”
It had been a good 14 years since Milicevic was last part of the Knights’ system. He spent half a season in the youth team and managed to earn a single call-up into the senior squad, but as part of the Australian Institute of Sport system, he moved and eventually found his way to Perth Glory in the NSL.
Much has changed both at the Knights and within the wider football landscape since those days back in the late ’90s, but Milicevic still feels quite at home at Knights Stadium.
“There have been certain modifications to the clubrooms and the gym and those kinds of things, they’ve definitely improved since then,” he said.
“But it’s nice to see some familiar faces around the club as well.
“It’s kind of nice to see the club still keeps people. I guess the core values at the club have never changed, which is good to see.”
Milicevic has spent a month back in the VPL with his childhood club, and despite the amateur status of the league, the veteran still maintains a vigilant training regimen driven by the instinctively competitive beast still within him.
“That never dies,” he said of his passion for the game.
“I think if you’ve been brought up to be competitive and everyone wants to win – that never changes.”
