Vardar’s striker Filip Ivanovski was voted as the best player of the first half in the 2011/12 season by the Macedonian football fans.
MacedonianFootball.com recently organized its second poll in which the fans were able to vote for their choice of the best player during the first half of the season in Macedonia. After a close race between Ivanovski and Shkendija’s Ferhan Hasani, the Vardar captain barely edged Hasani to claim the award.
For this occasion, MacedonianFootball.com met with Filip Ivanovski and handed him the award while also conducting a brief interview with the 26-year-old striker.
FI: First of all, I would like to thank everybody who voted for me and showed their support. I would also like to express my gratitude to MacedonianFootball.com who nominated me for this award.
Filip Ivanovski was a real leader for Vardar this season, scoring 14 goals in 17 league games during the first half of the season. His form has helped Vardar top the table where they have a five points advantage over second placed Metalurg.
FI: Vardar is strong this season and we displayed that on the pitch. The Vardar success is not because of me or any other one player. Each player on the squad gave it everything they had and, supported by our great fans, I believe we are rightfully first on the table.
Besides Vardar, Filip Ivanovski has also played for fellow Macedonian sides Rabotnicki and Makedonija Gjorce Petrov (won domestic cup) before moving to Poland where Filip played for Dyskobolia Grodzisk (won the Polish cup in 2007 and League Cup in 2007 and 2008) and Polonia Warszawa. Ivanovski also had a brief stint in Cyprus with Ethnikos Achnas. We asked Filip to make comparisons between the conditions in these three countries.
FI: In Poland, the organization is very good. They work in a ‘European way’ and the majority of the clubs are financially solid and well structured. In Cyprus, the progress they are making is evident. Several clubs have really big budgets, we see Trickovski’s APOEL advance deep into the Champions League, but there is still room for improvement. Their national team is still not as competitive since there are many foreigners in the league. In Macedonia, on the other hand, there are definitely many things that need to be improved but I believe we are headed for the right direction, especially at Vardar. Things are slowly getting better and better and the club has a bright future ahead of itself.
MF: How do you rate Vardar at the moment? You played in a solid Polish league, what would Vardar’s chances be in such a league?
FI: I believe Vardar can be competitive, why not. We showed our potential in Antalya during the winter preparations, we show our qualities in Macedonia and, with continues hard work and improvement, Vardar will become an even better team.
MF: Vardar is currently first place of the table, 5 points ahead of Metalurg. At the same time, the club has also advanced to the semi-finals of the Macedonian Cup. What is the club’s goal?
FI: Obviously, we are going for the double title. We have prepared well and have a good squad with good reinforcements in the winter transfer window. To me, it is not very important if we go without a defeat in the championship (although it would surely be nice) rather, it’s about winning it and return to claiming trophies for Vardar. The same is true for the cup – the team is here to win trophies and I believe we will obtain them.
MF: What about your personal ambitions? Will a transfer occur?
FI: As things stand, I will most likely remain in Vardar but these things can change very quickly. However, it would take a really good offer, both for me and Vardar, to leave the club. I am not necessarily looking for a transfer, but I don’t think that a move to the Far East, for example, is an acceptable option for me at the current moment.
MF: Besides success at Vardar, Filip has also made appearances for the national team. So, we have asked him about his expectations for the next qualifying tournament.
FI: There’s no easy opponent in our group and furthermore, the schedule is not good. However, the players have the quality – if the atmosphere is good as with the basketball team for example, to achieve good results. As for me playing on the national team, it’s up to me to play well for my club team and prove myself while the coaching staff will decide whether I make the squad or not.
Filip Ivanovski (26) had a fantastic first half of the season with Vardar. He almost scored a goal per match and led his club to first place. Filip was chosen as the best player of the first half with 18.117 fans while Ferhan Hasani finished a close second with 18.040 fans. It was a tight race until the last moments but Ivanovski managed to edge his closest competitor for the award. He is a prized asset for Vardar and captains the club managed by Ilco Gjorgjioski. In concluding the article, we leave you with more then 10 minutes of Ivanovski’s highlights.