Sasha Ciric, the director of the national team, answered questions on Facebook about the status of some potential additions.
Sasha Ciric, a great footballer during his playing days, is currently serving as the director of the senior national team. One of his main responsibilities, given the problem with football domestically, is to recruit players abroad that have ties to Macedonia.
Ciric was the one who got in contact with David Mitov Nilsson, for instance. Eventually, it was agreed that he would represent Macedonia in the future. Mitov Nilsson impressed in his debut earlier this week against Belarus.
On his Facebook profile, Ciric was asked about the status of four potential players who could represent Macedonia. Those four were Nikola Sekulov, Dejan Angov, Erdal Rakip and Nikola Gjorgjev. The above photo is a screenshot of the conversation.
Nikola Sekulov was born on February 18, 2002. He moved earlier this year from the youth academy of Parma to Juventus. Sekulov is 13 years old, so he is someone that would be eligible for the U15 national team.
Regarding Sekulov, Ciric said, “I know about Sekulov and have personally contacted him while he was still with Parma. I sent his contact info to the people that are responsible for that in his generation, and I’m sure that we will see him with us.”
Dejan Angov, meanwhile, was born in December of 1997. He plays for the youth team of NK Interblock in Slovenia. In 2014, he was apparently invited to camp with Barcelona (see video below).
Concerning Angov, Ciric stated, “I will see what the situation is like with Angov and whether it’s possible for something to happen.”
Erdal Rakip is the highest profile player from the group. He is already on the first team of Swedish giant Malmö where he plays in defensive midfield, a problematic position on the national team. Rakip was born in 1996, making him eligible for both the senior and U21 side. However, with his background, he is someone that would be recruited for the “A” national team.
About Rakip, Ciric noted, “I personally talked to him, but at this time he doesn’t want to switch to us.”
Finally, Nikola Gjorgjev was born in 1997 and finds himself on the first team of Swiss club Grasshoppers. He is someone that would initially play for the U21 side.
When it comes to Gjorgjev, the news was positive. This is how Ciric responded, “Things are agreed with him, he just needs to finish his schooling that is being paid by the Swiss federation. If he switches to us now, then his family would need to return the money for his schooling, a sum that is not at all small.”