Aleksandar Prijovic guided Western United to their first A-League Men Championship. In this interview originally published in March, the Serbian star reflected on a fascinating career spanning 10 countries with KEEPUP.
A tall striker with Balkan origins sporting a man bun and a blasé look on his face. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
No, it’s not Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Western United star Aleksandar Prijovic has been compared to Zlatan during his career, fans struck by his resemblance to the iconic Milan striker.
“Hairstyle? What can I say. He has good taste, I have good taste,” a smiling Prijovic told KEEPUP.
“I don’t mind when other people compare. Generally people like to compare things – leagues, cars, whatever. I don’t see any similarity by our looks. God made me, my mother gave birth to me and I’m born to be 192cm.
“Football wise, the way he scores it is very hard to copy that. I try to be my own man, play my game and do my best.”
Australia is the latest stop on Prijovic’s whirlwind footballing journey.
From Switzerland to Saudi Arabia, Prijovic’s career spans 10 countries and he added another title to his collection on Saturday.
Prijovic scored in the 2-0 win over defending champions Melbourne City in the Isuzu UTE A-League Grand Final as Western capped their maiden appearance in the decider with a first Championship.
It was a performance worthy of the Joe Marston Medal.
Prijovic dazzled in the Finals Series to fuel Western, and he ended his first season with 13 goals and six assists.
“I’m a player who creates a lot of danger in the opponent’s box,” Prijovic said. “Also with my movement I can create space for others. So far, step by step, everything is going in the right direction.
“After a longer break, I needed some time to catch the rhythm because it’s a physical league and if you’re not physically 100% prepared, it’s going to be hard to compete.”
Under John Aloisi’s guidance, Western have gone from third bottom in 2020-21 to champions in just their third season of existence.
With Aloisi at the helm after replacing Mark Rudan, Western finished third in in the regular season having conceded the second-least goals before casting aside Wellington Phoenix, Melbourne Victory and City en route to the trophy.
Western’s formidable defensive unit, with Jamie Young between the sticks, have kept 12 clean sheets this season.
For Prijovic, the approach has been different, but he was always prepared to “take one for the team” in pursuit of glory.
“This season I feel very comfortable and safe while we are playing. We are very stable in the back. I didn’t have a feeling at any moment that it’s risky, that we are struggling, I felt very comfortable in the way we stand,” said Prijovic.
“We defend very compact in the back, we are all doing a lot. Me as a striker, I have to go back sometimes, near the box, I’m going 20-25m from my own goal, so we are very compact. It’s hard to create chances against us when we stand like that, with 11 players basically in the back, defending strong as a block/unit. Then when we get the ball, we make transition and get the ball into our position and create chances.
“It’s been hard as a striker to work in that way. For me it’s unusual because I used to play in teams that I could just stand in the middle of the field and let the other players handle the whole defensive work and focus just on attacking. But this season, the way the coach wants us to play, it’s his idea and it is what it is.
“Sometimes you have to take one for the team and run a bit more defensively. In the end, you’ll also get rewarded for that hard work.”
Western relying on Prijovic’s international experience
Born in Switzerland but a 13-time Serbia international, Prijovic has won silverware with Sion (2010-11 Swiss Cup), Legia Warsaw (2015-16 Ekstraklasa and 2015-16 Polish cup) and PAOK (2018-19 Greek Super League and 2016-17 and 2017-18 Greek Cup).
Prijovic also played for Serbia at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
“I still have a long way to go in my football I hope that I will play for many years more. If I stay healthy, I will try to play as long as possible,” the 32-year-old said.
“In the end, if I set a line and see if I reach my targets, the main targets I’ve reached. I’ve done pretty well in the all the clubs – as a player, statically, financially in each way.
“These kind of things were a priority for me. I still have a lot to do. I’m in my best years as a striker. There are still many years of football in me.
“I’m just continuing the same way all the years before. I’m not changing something that works. I expect a lot of myself and team-mates. That will never change as long as I play. I’m a competitive player that wants to win trophies and to score goals and enjoy football.”
Swiss Army and a sliding doors moment with Ole
Prijovic’s career has been a fascinating one, both on and off the pitch.
Having started his senior career at iconic Italian club Parma in 2006, Prijovic made the move to English outfit Derby County in 2008, but not before serving in the Swiss Army.
“It set me back a lot with my club because I lost a few weeks,” he said. “Once I came back to Derby County they had already started the season and I had to do a pre-season on the side by myself. By the time I got myself in some shape, the manager changed, a lot of things didn’t go in the right direction.
“It was also hard for an 18-year-old. My expectations was not to be a starter in every game because it was just the beginning of my career, but I certainly imagined it differently at that time. There was a lot of problems that were not in my hands but definitely there were also things that I did wrong. This is the way it is.”
There was also a period in his career where Prijovic almost teamed up with Manchester United great Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
While on loan at Lausanne from fellow Swiss club Sion, Prijovic went on trial at Solskjaer’s Molde in Norway.
For some reason a move didn’t eventuate but Prijovic ended up at Tromso in 2012, having been recommended by Solskjaer.
“Amazing,” Prijovic said of the trial with Molde. “I was there just for two or three days. I was at Sion at the time. I won the cup with Sion, I played together with [current Western team-mate Leo] Lacroix. Then the next season started and there were a lot of changes of coaches, like 3-4 coaches and I didn’t play too much.
“I went on loan to another team. It was just a mess, generally for my football. The opportunity came to go on trial with Molde, who were competing for the championship and to work with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. I enjoyed it a lot.
“By today, I’m feeling very sorry this move didn’t happen for some unknown reasons because I wanted to go there and Solskjaer wanted me as their striker. I was very sad when it didn’t work out because I think I would’ve learnt a lot and improved a lot as a striker and then my career would’ve went in a different direction.
“At the end of the day, I’m pretty happy with how my career went so I can’t complain too much.”
That night at Signal-Iduna Park
Prijovic was also at the heart of a remarkable Champions League night in Dortmund.
Prijovic’s Legia Warsaw lost 8-4 away to German powerhouse Borussia Dortmund in 2016 – the highest-scoring Champions League match in history.
The result didn’t go Legia’s way but Prijovic was on target twice against Dortmund and he finished the group stage with two goals and two assists as the Polish giants also held Real Madrid to a memorable 3-3 draw.
“I think not many teams scored more than one as an away team against Dortmund,’ he said. “For me, I was enjoying it a lot. We faced very good opponents – we played against Real Madrid, Dortmund and Sporting Lisbon – and I played pretty good in the all of the minutes that I spent on the field.
“I left a good impact, scoring two goals and two assists. I think I was man of the match in two games. It was a very good stage [of my career] because my career started to go up because a lot of teams, national team, started to focus on me more. That’s how it is in football.
“One game can change everything so you have to be ready and belief in yourself. When you get the chance, you need to use it, so did I. It was a great, great period in Legia. We won a lot of trophies, we were a dominant team.”
PAOK’S Serb king
Prijovic made the switch to Australia from Saudi powerhouse Al-Ittihad, but it’s at PAOK where Western’s number 99 enjoyed his most prolific spell.
Still revered in Thessaloniki, Prijovic joined PAOK in 2016 and helped end their 34-year wait for a Super League crown in 2019.
Prijovic also spearheaded PAOK to back-to-back Greek Cup titles, while he still holds the club record for most total goals in a season (27 across all competition in 2017-18) and most league goals in a campaign (19 in 2017-18).
“They were in a difficult moment,” Prijovic said of his move to PAOK. “They weren’t going in the right direction. When I came and others also arrived, we started winning and moved in the right direction.
“I believe after three-four months, we won the cup. PAOK hadn’t won it for 23-26 years. The euphoria, the fans, everyone went crazy. We went into the new season with big energy and positivity. We were also very good in that season.
“We were a very strong team. I was the top scorer of the league in that season.
“It was a great time. For me personally, the best time in my career. I enjoyed it most because the lifestyle in Greece was something I was looking for.”
Sending Serbia to the World Cup
A team boasting Aleksandar Mitrovic and Dusan Tadic but it was Prijovic who fired Serbia to FIFA’s showpiece event four years ago.
Prijovic came off the bench in the 61st minute and scored 13 minutes later to seal a World Cup-clinching 1-0 win over Georgia in qualifying.
It sparked wild celebrations and earned him a spot in the World Cup squad and a reunion with the place of his birth – Switzerland, who pipped Serbia to knockout round after a drama-filled group-stage encounter in Russia.
“It’s a childhood dream to play for your country, to go to the biggest tournament in the world. To be part of that team, a childhood dream came true.
“This happened because I played for PAOK at the time and did really well, so this was a reward. I’m just happy to be part of the team that brought Serbia to the World Cup after a very long period. To put joy in the people.
“But at the World Cup, what happened was not the best outcome for us. We could’ve done much better and I believe every player that was there would agree with me.
“Playing against Switzerland, it was a very tough game. I know a lot of them in the national team. I grew up with them, I played against them in the youths but I moved abroad very young. I didn’t have any big emotions. To be it was just another game. I grew up in Switzerland. As much as I’m Serbian, I’m Swiss too. I integrated very well into the Swiss culture. I have a lot of friends there.”
