Pressure is the last thing young Partizan players need before the Europa League qualifier rematch against Cyprus’ AEK Larnaca, says legendary Goran Trobok. Partizan suffered a narrow defeat in the first match in Larnaca but is fielding a youthful team playing together for the first time at such a high level. AEK is more experienced and better coordinated, and the climate conditions in Cyprus add to the challenge for the black-and-whites. Still, Trobok sees desire, fight, and hustle in the young players, which is encouraging. Partizan holds its fate in its own hands and hopes the stadium in Humska will be filled with supportive fans to boost the youngsters’ confidence. The club is aware of serious problems in its youth academy, which has been devastated, making the talent development process slow. The management decided to enter the new season with many young players, including Vanja Dragojević, Nikola Simić, Ognjen Ugrešić, and others, all homegrown talents. Bringing back experienced players is unrealistic due to the high salaries they earn abroad. Partizan faces huge challenges in European qualifiers and the domestic league, where Red Star is far ahead. The goal is to qualify for the Conference League, where competition is weaker, but even that won’t be easy. Fans should be realistic and support the young players because the fight for second place in the league and European qualification is a tough battle.
