Making his debut at Karađorđe, entering the game in the 79th minute and scoring the winning goal in the 82nd sounds like a perfect start, but it’s even more magical when he returned to the field after his career was in big question marks.
Today, Uroš Nikolić is the hero of Vojvodina and not only because of the goal, at least because of him, but because of everything that preceded the 3-0 goal against Radnički.
Nikolić arrived in Vojvodina at the moment when “several world doctors” told him that “he will no longer be able to play football”. The problem with the hamstring was too big, but so was Milan Rastavac’s confidence in his abilities and the club management’s confidence in the assessment of the sports sector to bring him to Karađorđe.
Nikolić has been working on a special regimen for months, he must not overload his left knee tendon, so as not to renew the injury. However, since arriving in Vojvodina, with the help of the medical team, Nikolić managed to return to the field and that in the best possible way. The first touch with the ball was enough for the left to score a goal in a small net and confirm the triumph and an excellent performance of the Old Lady.
– One in a million players has such a return as I had. Only the people around me and the doctors who believed in my recovery knew what I went through. At Maccabi they gave me six injections directly into the tendon in a month and a half and the injury just kept getting worse. I went through hell until I got to the official performance and I’m proud of myself that I succeeded, that I didn’t give up, my love for football won and I’m very happy about that. My brother was a great soccer player and he was forced to end his career, and that was another motivation for me not to give up and to be able to return to the field. I want to thank everyone in Vojvodina, the medical team and every person who contributed to this return. That goal is the goal of all of us – began Uroš Nikolić.
Milan Rastavac insisted on his return to Serbian football, since he believed that he could help Vojvodina.
– Mima and I have known each other for several years, but until now we haven’t had the opportunity to collaborate. He was my coach in the youth national team, but later we never agreed to be in the same club. And I especially thanked him yesterday, because if it wasn’t for him, I probably wouldn’t have come to Vojvodina. From the very beginning, he believed that I could help Vojvodina, and he wanted Vojvodina to help me. That’s why this kind of start is even more beautiful – said Nikolić.
Due to the specific nature of the injury, Nikolić continues to train under a special regimen, gradually returning to the field, and the entire program is led by Professor Marko Stojanović, Vojvodina’s fitness coach.
– Unfortunately, I still have to train according to that special regimen and be careful not to overload my knee. I hope that it will be like this only until winter and that then I will reach an even higher level of physical fitness. Marko Stojanović leads my rehabilitation and helps me every day, thank God that there are people like him, but also doctor Zoran Tocilj, because if it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have returned to the field – revealed Uroš Nikolić.
He also referred to the atmosphere at Karađorđe, which felt when was needed to support the team, and Nikolić hopes that the fans will continue to come in as large a number as possible.
– I think we played a good game, maybe not so much in our rhythm and dominance, but after three draws it was very important for us to win. The fans are a very important factor at home and they push us forward and I hope there will be even more of them. Novi Sad is a huge city, Vojvodina is a big club, one of the biggest in Serbia and I think it deserves to have a lot of support. Among other things, I came back because of this atmosphere that reigns in the club, in the stands and the fans should know how important they are to us. After all, football is played for them. There is no better feeling for a player when he scores a goal in front of a large number of his fans. That’s why I hope that there will be even more of them on Sunday and that together we will find a way to a new victory – concluded Uroš Nikolić.
