Strahinja Pavlovic’s first coach Zoran Mirkovic has lifted the lid on the defender’s rise, talking about his skills and comparing him to some of the greats in his role.
It hasn’t exactly been the start to the season that Pavlovic or Milan wanted given that the team are winless after three games in Serie A and have conceded six goals in total, but the Serbian has been one of the few bright spots.
He put in a fantastic performance against Parma, albeit in a 2-1 defeat, then got his first goal for the club a week later at the Stadio Olimpico against Lazio, a side that he was very close to joining in the past before he failed a medical.
Zoran Mirkovic – a former defender who played for Atalanta and Juventus in Italy from 1996 to 2000 – spoke about Milan’s new centre-back signing, who he coached when he was coming through at Partizan Belgrade. His words to Tuttosport have been relayed by Radio Rossonera.
Tell us about the beginning…
“I immediately noticed that he was a serious boy, with a desire to work and improve. He has always had a lot of quality, in addition to being physically structured. Over the years he has become stronger and stronger, he has already had more experiences. And now here he is in Milan.
“He was already a good boy, without any fear. His second match was against Red Star. He was young, but all in all he still is. Now, as soon as he gets the measure of Italian football, he will assert himself even more.
“I am sure that he can only improve. He starts from an important base, he is strong, fast, he wants to become stronger and he has always had an incredible desire to win.”
Does he remind you of anyone?
“For Pavlovic , joining the Rossoneri is a big step in his career, given that Milan is one of the best teams in the world. But the Rossoneri also did a great deal with him. The player’s potential is really high, he could become one of the strongest defenders in the world in the next few years.
“Of course, he will first have to adapt to Serie A, which is different from Austrian football. But with a little patience he will reach the highest levels. He is left-footed, which is why I would compare him to Chiellini. However, he also has something of Stam and Vidic. It’s a mix of strong people, that’s it.”
Did you expect him to start straight away?
“Honestly, yes. I know his character and his mentality, I had no doubts.”
Who would his ideal centre-back partner be?
“Here we can open a good discussion. I think the important thing is to create a central pairing that understands each other immediately. We talked about Chiellini, think about how strong he was with Bonucci. Pavlovic will have to have the same mindset and the same objectives as his team-mate.”
My word the hype machine is in overdrive.
He clearly has a great attitude, physique and pace.
He could be a top defender.
However Serie A is a huge jump up from Austria.
In the Lazio game he was at fault (not the only one) on both goals. So he needs plenty of work on his positioning and reading of the game
The guy saved us from an open goal chance in the second minute and then scores himself and in regard of the first goal against us it seems to me like its Terraciano who misses his man and then that player comes running from behind of Pavlovic so i disagree on that goal. The second one though he should have done far better on. In my view he has definitely been one of our best performers this season so I really don’t get that he is getting a lot of criticism from some parts of the fanbase.
In the end his former coach will obviously will praise him and I for one consider this deal the by far the most exciting one we have done this summer mercato.
I also think he is potentially our best signing and for sure he has impressive physicality and attitude.
However being honest if we had a stronger roster he would be given time to get used to the new league and team.
So far we have played average sides, so I just hope he will not be judged to harshly when we meet the better teams.
He is a good prospect, but he will need time
Well that is a fair view SJF and I’ll agree that ideally it would have been for the best if he could get slowly integrated while adjusting to a new life and setup.
I can personally see him becoming a class player and to be honest there isn’t too many players that can instill fear in their opponents and I can see him doing that also due to his towering height and physique. We also finally got a player that posses a real danger in regard of headers so wouldn’t be too surprised if he ends up bagging 5 goals this season. On a side note when did we actually have a player with such characteristics and who was good at it.
Yeah he looks mean, I’d certainly step aside if I saw him coming!
He is pretty lethal with his headers, as you say he should get a good haul of goals, we need that kind of threat.
I’m not sure who we have had that is comparible, possibly Alex?
There isn’t too many modern day footballers that I would step away from as they are usually more soft than previously so doubt they are that good at fisticuffs. Pavlovic on the other hand does indeed look a bit like a bully though and I would reconsider messing with him that’s for sure 😀
Yeah I also believe it will come real handy for us and we have lacked that type of player in our squads for far too long.
I had completely forgotten about Alex but yeah that is probably one of the last players with such characteristics even though that he played for us while he had well passed his prime.
He wasnt really at fault..
I think he’s already won us over, or majority of us with his attitude and determination, but it’s unfair pressure on him to be the main man to ‘save’ our defence. I think it’s unfair on him.
Tomori really needs to step up. In the meantime, how about we put Gabbia in the line up? Just to try bring some stability. Yes we will lose the pace, but right now, I really think we need a calmness, and positioning that I think Gabbia can provide while Pavlo acclimatises.
Forza Milan
Milan already conceded 6 goals, 3 of them are his fault
He has grinta and heart but he can’t do everything by himself. He’s been our best player on the pitch last game and also did good against Parma. But give the lad a reliable partner. Tomori plays like he has a kryptonite stuck up his behind. Gabbia is not liked because he’s isn’t one of those fast defenders that coaches who play high pressing football like. But high pressing is our weak point since last season. What Gabbia has is great positional awareness and is strong on the ball. And a captain material.
He reminds me so much of chiellini. The way he pressed 3 seperate players and intercepted the ball to eventually go out for a throw in you know he’s going to be special. How he throws guys off the ball, his tackling. He definitely needs to improve his positioning and passing but he looks promising.