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Aleksandar Mitrović

Yaron

by Yaron
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Wallace

Wallace

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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2016/10/28/aleksandar-mitrovic-my-father-said-i-would-be-a-criminal-or-a-ki/?

 

Aleksandar Mitrovic: 'My father said I would be a criminal or a kick boxer'

 

Luke Edwards

28 OCTOBER 2016 • 10:00PM

 

When Aleksandar Mitrovic tells you he would have been a “criminal or a kick boxer” if he was not playing football for Newcastle United, there is menace in his words. After all, Mitrovic is a violent man.

 

A physical, combative and confrontational footballer with a hot-headed reputation that has already brought him two red cards and nine yellow in 43 games in English football.

 

Yet, the Serbian is not quite what he seems. When he speaks, his voice is gentle. He is polite, shy, initially reluctant to make eye contact, but when he does, they sparkle, not with aggression, but with mischief. The menace disappears with the smile that follows his suggestion of an alternative career path.

 

It has been Mitrovic’s untendered passion on the pitch, the raw emotion that carries him through every game, his volatility and unpredictability, as well as his goals, that have made him popular with Newcastle United supporters. They love him on Tyneside and he loves them.

 

Then again, when he was a child growing up in a small town on the outskirts of Belgrade, he believed he was one of them. He has always belonged in black and white stripes.

 

“I’ve been happy from the start at Newcastle,” said Mitrovic, who is likely to start against Preston North End on Saturday after scoring twice in the 6-0 League Cup win against the same opponents on Tuesday. “It has been my favourite club ever since I was small boy in Serbia. I have followed Newcastle my whole life. I had two Newcastle shirts when I was little. It was unusual, most people choose a team like Manchester United or Barcelona, but for me, it has always been Newcastle.

 

“They played against Partizan Belgrade [in the Champions League] when I was small. I don’t know, there was something here I really liked. It was the passion, the relationship between the fans and the players.

 

“You could feel it on the TV, you could see it was something different. Even when big clubs came here, they were afraid of this crowd. I was a Partizan fan and they play in the same colours, black and white stripes. I fell in love with them then. I loved the passion. Of course, I’m happy to be here. It feels like I have come home. This is my home. Newcastle are my club, my team. They are like Partizan to me.

 

“It is really amazing to be here in England and have so much love. It makes me feel so grateful, it is amazing. I hope I will be here for the next 10 or 15 years.

 

“I will spend my entire career here, no problem. As long as they want me, I will be here. I’m happy, my family is happy, my son, Luka, is happy growing up here. He will grow up a Geordie.”

 

Others have said similar things and left at the first opportunity. But that is not Mitrovic’s style. His is the Serbian way. “At all big clubs there is pressure,” he explained. “They all want to win and expect to win. But the best thing here is you don’t have to win every game for the fans to love you. You just have to give everything, to fight to the end.

 

“That’s the Serbian way. That’s the way we approach things, especially in sport. We are a small country, but if we want something, we will fight for it. It’s maybe part of the history of the country, it’s just our mentality. We are small but strong. I think Newcastle fans respect that. I’m not normal on the pitch, but away from it, I am a family guy. I do normal things, the same things you do. On the pitch, something changes. Even when I play my brother at Fifa, I get so angry, I want to kick him when I lose. It’s just something in me, when I play the game, I want to win. Everything to win the game. I’ve always been like that, since I first started playing football.”

 

A £12 million signing from Anderlecht in the summer of 2015, Mitrovic suffered relegation in his first season as a Newcastle player. This year, under Rafael Benítez, he has lost his place in the starting line-up to the prolific Dwight Gayle. It could cause problems. He has not always been easy to manage.

 

“My father said I would be a criminal or a kick boxer,” he replied, after a long pause, when asked what he would be doing without football. “I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t play football. Maybe something where I can use my adrenalin. Maybe something like boxing. I had a lot of energy when I was a child. I was difficult for my parents. I can see me in my boy now as well. I know how hard it must have been for my parents. My mum always said ‘You will see’, and now I see it.”

 

Despite not playing as much as he would like, Mitrovic has been surprisingly patient. He has matured under Benítez, without losing the fire that rages inside him. “Maybe last season I played more, but we are in good shape,” he explained. “We have very good team spirit and we are winning lots. I have to wait for my chance and when I get my chance I have to show people I can score goals and I know how to play.

 

“I listen to what the manager has to say. He’s a big name and a big coach and you can learn a lot from him. You can learn a lot even if you don’t play. I’m only 22, I have a long way to go in my career.

 

“We had a team that should have done much better things last season, it was a really disappointing season, not just for me, but the fans especially. It’s a big club, a huge club that should be playing in the Champions League and that is hopefully what we strive for again next year.”

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Wallace

Wallace

Posted
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http://www.shieldsgazette.com/sport/football/newcastle-united/aleksandar-mitrovic-set-for-championship-chance-at-newcastle-after-a-ticking-off-from-rafa-benitez-1-8207467?

 

Aleksandar Mitrovic set for Championship chance at Newcastle – after a ticking off from Rafa Benitez

 

22:30 Friday 28 October 2016

 

 

Aleksandar Mitrovic’s ready to return to the Championship fray – after a ticking off from Rafa Benitez.

 

Dwight Gayle is set to miss this afternoon’s game against Preston North End with a hamstring problem.

 

And Mitrovic – who scored two goals in Wednesday night’s 6-0 win over Simon Grayson’s side in the EFL Cup – is on standby to make only his second league start of the season at Deepdale.

 

United manager Benitez – whose side leads the Championship by three points – has repeatedly told the striker, second-choice behind 11-goal leading scorer Gayle, to be patient this season.

 

“Our message was very clear,” said Benitez, who will be without midfielder Jack Colback for the Preston game.

 

“We will have suspensions and injuries. You see Colback now from the challenge the other day.

 

“You need a good squad and everybody has to be working. That’s the reason why we were sending the same message. We knew this could happen.”

 

Mitrovic – whose only previous league start came in Newcastle’s 6-0 win over Queens Park Rangers last month – was booked for taking his shirt of to celebrate his second goal in the cup game against Preston.

 

And the 22-year-old, looking to score a hat-trick, also tried to take the ball off designated penalty taker Matt Ritchie late in the game.

 

Asked about the yellow card he got for taking off his jersey, Bentiez said: “It’s a silly thing to do as you don’t need to do it.”

 

Benitez also felt challenging Ritchie over the penalty made “no sense”.

 

Benitez said: “This one has been a conversation with the whole team, because these are things that are important for the rest of the team too.

 

“To be booked for this makes no sense. They need to know that arguing to take a penalty when we have already decided on a penalty taker makes no sense.”

 

Benitez has been helping Mitrovic – who was sent off twice last season – “manage his temper”.

 

“Mitro, in terms of working, is working very hard,” said Benitez. “In terms of his mentality, he’s a young player. He’s very emotional. It’s a question of time.

 

“When I came last year I had two or three conversations with him, trying to manage him a little bit.

 

“He’s getting better. The other day he was so excited. You can see it’s very positive.

 

“He’s celebrating the goals with his team-mates when he’s on the bench.

 

“There are a lot of positives, but he has to manage his temper a little bit. That is the challenge.” The Ultimate 'perfe

 

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Guest Howaythetoon

Guest Howaythetoon

Posted
Posted

Despite my criticism of him as a player he has a fantastic attitude it seems and is a very passionate guy which I can really relate to. Ideally he will make it big here, and I hope he does, but ability wise, he has a long way to go and I just can't see him showing that enough along with the kind of discipline Rafa looks for in a player, for him to be a genuine success here. I feel he will be to us what Ketsbaia is rather than say Solano or Robert.

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madras

madras

Posted
Posted

Despite my criticism of him as a player he has a fantastic attitude it seems and is a very passionate guy which I can really relate to. Ideally he will make it big here, and I hope he does, but ability wise, he has a long way to go and I just can't see him showing that enough along with the kind of discipline Rafa looks for in a player, for him to be a genuine success here. I feel he will be to us what Ketsbaia is rather than say Solano or Robert.

Passion is great but needs to be chanelled correctly. Pointless if your passion gets you suspended especially as his passion could be seen as bravado and for the crowd.
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Guest

Guest

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His attitude is absolutely spot on like. It's so refreshing to have a foreign player so desperate to play for our club and not just see it as a stepping stone to a bigger team. Love the lad :thup:

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lovejoy

lovejoy

Posted
Posted

Despite my criticism of him as a player he has a fantastic attitude it seems and is a very passionate guy which I can really relate to. Ideally he will make it big here, and I hope he does, but ability wise, he has a long way to go and I just can't see him showing that enough along with the kind of discipline Rafa looks for in a player, for him to be a genuine success here.

 

This.

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Tubestationatmidnight

Tubestationatmidnight

Posted
Posted

Aleksandar Mitrovic on supporting Newcastle United and how long he will be at the club...

 

“It has been my favourite club ever since I was a boy in Serbia. I have followed Newcastle my whole life. They played Partizan Belgrade in Europe when I was small. I was a Partizan fan and they play in the same colours, black and white stripes. I fell in love with them then. It is unusual. People normally pick teams like Manchester United and Barcelona, but not for me. There was something here I really liked. It was the passion, the relationship between fans and players. You could feel it on the TV. Even big clubs were afraid of this crowd."

 

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Dontooner

Dontooner

Posted
Posted

Despite my criticism of him as a player he has a fantastic attitude it seems and is a very passionate guy which I can really relate to. Ideally he will make it big here, and I hope he does, but ability wise, he has a long way to go and I just can't see him showing that enough along with the kind of discipline Rafa looks for in a player, for him to be a genuine success here.

 

This.

 

If Mitro does improve and be a significant  player for us, it would elevate the methods of Rafa for me.

Not all managers can improve players like Wenger types.

Rafa stock will be really high.

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nufc4eva

nufc4eva

Posted
Posted

Hat trick today for him or a sending off within 5 mins.

 

Really want him to succeed, if his heads right and focuses on the game and not just battling opponents he's a handful.

 

I think he will take his chance if he starts today

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Sho Time

Sho Time

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Posted

Some of the things he says, about loving everything not just about NUFC, but the City and everything else is just lovely from a young foreign lad who has no ties. I can't understand why some people don't just get behind him 100% instead of slating him at any opportunity.

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