In an exclusive interview with 24fudbal.com.mk, Filip Despotovski talks about his career and views on Macedonian football.

Filip Despotovski is currently playing for Inter Baku from Azerbaijan and is one of the most regular national team players.

Inter Baku is Your current station. How have You adopted there?
– Football requires often changes and quick adapting. Mine was not that hard.

What happened with Your relationship with Vorskla’s coach? You were regular, then suddenly not even on the bench. Did the fact You did not wanted extension of the contract, affected Your team status?
– Yes, that is correct. I did not extended the contract and that resulted in my removal from the first team plans.

You were long time without a club. What was the problem? Did You wanted high salary, was there low interest from clubs or something else?
– I only waited the best offer.

Do You see Inter Baku as bouncing time in Your career or You consider it to be the real place for improvement in Your career?
– Inter Baku is a serios club with top ambitions. Although they only exist since 2005, they already had 2 champions titles. Of course, I see it as a possibility for bouncing even higher in my career.

Where would You like to continue Your career?
– I am happy here, in Baku. That is what matters most. And, where will my next destination be – even I don’t know that.

How are the conditions for work in Azerbaijan, compared to those in Macedonia?
– Azerbaijan is a country that is currently developing. The conditions for work are surely better, that can be seen from the way Azeri clubs are progressing in European competitions.

In Your career You have changed many clubs. Where were You the happiest?
– I am solely creating happiness. Any new destination is not a problem for me.

Macedonian club football is long time without an improvement, maybe even goes on downtrend. How far are we from other countries? What should we focus on in order to improve our football?
– Yes, I agree the quality is slowly sliding down. We need to invest more, as we are talented nation. There are a lot of real talents, but they don’t succeed because no one invests in them.

Your former club, Vardar, is on the bottom of the table. How much do You follow Vardar now?
– Vardar is a name and it must not be allowed to fall apart. Whole Europe, and even more, knows Macedonia because of Vardar. I am product of Vardar and I surely follow everything about them.

Your national team debut happened more then a year ago in the qualifier against Norway. With Your plays You managed to become a regular national team player. What is the feeling to represent Macedonia?
– That is the greatest pride for me. It is a beautiful feeling to play for Macedonia and those matches are always extra special for me.

The qualifications for EURO 2012 were not started in a way everyone wanted. A win over Andorra, only draw against Armenia, unlucky defeat to Slovakia and despite a good play against Russia – a defeat came. What do we need for a qualification on major competition? Quality, luck, tactics, psychological preparations or something completely different?
– We have quality, we are psychologically fully prepared, we just don’t have luck, but that’s it. We are still in play and with a win against Ireland in Dublin we will improve our chances.

For the successes of Filip, important place is surely taking Your family. How important is their support and what is the feeling to be a parent?
– My biggest support comes from my wife Maja and my son Maksim. They are everywhere with me and they are my main source of power.

Interview by: Riste Gorgievski, 24fudbal.