Coach Djukanovic joins football club Maziya S&RC

Serbian national, Dragan Djukanovic who performed as a coach for the Bangladesh and Indonesian Premier League has been appointed to coachlocal football club, Maziya Sports and Recreation Club (S&RC).

Djukanovic, 54 had most recently worked with Egaleo F.C., a second-tier professional football club in Greece during the previous year.

Djukanovic is the sixth foreigner and fifth Serbian coach to work with Maziya, who prioritize coaches native to the Balkans region in Europe.

The first foreign coach to sign into Maziya was Marjan Sekulovski who guided the club in 2017. Sekulovski was the former coach of Burmese football club Yangon United and is native to North Macedonia, located in the Balkan region.

Speaking at the press conference introducing him as Maziya's head coach, Djukanovic revealed that he has never encountered a situation like the current state of football in the Maldives. He added that leading Maziya is the most challenging endeavor of his career so far.

The country's football has remained stunted for nine months since concluding the season at the end of 2023 with debt and management crises igniting unrest within footballers and fans.

Djukanovic's first task after signing as head coach of Maziya during these delicate times is the AFC Challenge League scheduled for October.

Maziya was placed in Group B alongside Kyrgyzstan's FK Abdish-Ata Kant, Turkmenistan's FK Arkadag and Al-Arabi SC based in Kuwait during this tournament. Matches of this group are scheduled from October 26 to November 1, with Maziya set to battle Arkadag in the first match and later Kuwait in the group stages.

Tackling an international tournament without a local competition is a difficult situation, the new coach said. However, he acknowledged that the circumstances are beyond anyone's control.

He assured that preparations will proceed in a manner that will ensure the team remains unaffected and revealed that the club's management is also coordinating efforts to guarantee as much.

"I hope I will recieve the courage to face this situation. I believe I possess the capability to address this situation." said Djukanovic.