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Rich and proud has been the history of the Macedonian people. Ever since the times of Phillip II and his son Alexander the Great, the Macedonians valued their sacred history more than anything. The brave battles of the famous warriors have been sang over and over again, even now when the country is not even a mere shadow of what the Ancient Kingdom of Macedonia used to be. Nevertheless, there are still heroes within the country, heroes in many aspects. Heroes in politics, heroes in art, heroes in music, even heroes in sports such as basketball, handball and um... football...? Well not really about the last one. While the National basketball team of Macedonia cruises and wins 4th best in Europe, and the handball players leave their hearts on the field against the strongest foes, the Macedonian football team is in a devastating shape. The players have no desire of victory, they don't show inspiration, leadership and bravery... they show no signs of life. The more often we see them play, the more they become a laughing stock for the people of Macedonia. Sometimes it seems as even if the FFM (Football Federation of Macedonia) doesn't care about the state that the football is in. It appears as if they're just in the business for making money out of the sport. At least that's what most of the Macedonian folks seem to think. The nation is just waiting for a true leader to show up and revive this sport. But will that leader ever show up?
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Meanwhile I have made the toughest decision I ever had to make so far in my life. I reached the age of 36 and I just couldn't keep up any more. I decided to retire from professional football. Even though I had a modest career with no international call-ups (I will state the reason for that later on), the thought that I would never again play football and lead my local club as a captain was burning in my throat. Maybe the only thing that was cheering me up was that the people and the fans of my club always saw an inspiring leader in me, so the manager gave me an unofficial role of a first-team coach for the last 3 years of my playing career, a role that I completely justified. And now that I finished playing, it was really up to me whether I was going to sign a real coaching contract with the club. They gave me time to think it through though. The season just ended and most of the squad was out of the city for a vacation. I was actually expecting to have a peaceful and average life as a first-team coach of my local club from now on (well maybe deep inside me I wished to succeed the manager in the distant future), but I don't think I was prepared for what was about to happen...
Rich and proud has been the history of the Macedonian people. Ever since the times of Phillip II and his son Alexander the Great, the Macedonians valued their sacred history more than anything. The brave battles of the famous warriors have been sang over and over again, even now when the country is not even a mere shadow of what the Ancient Kingdom of Macedonia used to be. Nevertheless, there are still heroes within the country, heroes in many aspects. Heroes in politics, heroes in art, heroes in music, even heroes in sports such as basketball, handball and um... football...? Well not really about the last one. While the National basketball team of Macedonia cruises and wins 4th best in Europe, and the handball players leave their hearts on the field against the strongest foes, the Macedonian football team is in a devastating shape. The players have no desire of victory, they don't show inspiration, leadership and bravery... they show no signs of life. The more often we see them play, the more they become a laughing stock for the people of Macedonia. Sometimes it seems as even if the FFM (Football Federation of Macedonia) doesn't care about the state that the football is in. It appears as if they're just in the business for making money out of the sport. At least that's what most of the Macedonian folks seem to think. The nation is just waiting for a true leader to show up and revive this sport. But will that leader ever show up?

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Meanwhile I have made the toughest decision I ever had to make so far in my life. I reached the age of 36 and I just couldn't keep up any more. I decided to retire from professional football. Even though I had a modest career with no international call-ups (I will state the reason for that later on), the thought that I would never again play football and lead my local club as a captain was burning in my throat. Maybe the only thing that was cheering me up was that the people and the fans of my club always saw an inspiring leader in me, so the manager gave me an unofficial role of a first-team coach for the last 3 years of my playing career, a role that I completely justified. And now that I finished playing, it was really up to me whether I was going to sign a real coaching contract with the club. They gave me time to think it through though. The season just ended and most of the squad was out of the city for a vacation. I was actually expecting to have a peaceful and average life as a first-team coach of my local club from now on (well maybe deep inside me I wished to succeed the manager in the distant future), but I don't think I was prepared for what was about to happen...
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