It feels like an eternity now but it has only been three years since the appointment of Blagoja Milevski off the back of Macedonia’s first appearance in a major tournament. The team that was lead by Igor Angelovski and Goran Pandev gave it their all, but unfortunately for the Red Lions the challenges posed to them by Austria, Ukraine and the Netherlands were far too difficult. Even so, the historic ramifications of just participating in the Euros should have kept Angelovski at his post. However, not everything in Macedonian football has to make sense.
The end of the road for Mrme
Before the Euros, many rumors surfaced around Angelovski being let go of his position as head coach despite having qualified. The rumors came about primarily because of Macedonia’s failures in winning their Nations League C group, in which they recorded a loss to Armenia and even a 3–3 draw away to Estonia. Needless to say the results were disappointing, and the FFM were looking for excuses to remove the manager.
Macedonia’s 2022 World Cup qualification hopes would begin with a narrow 3–2 loss to Romania, a 5–0 thrashing of Liechtenstein and an eye-opening victory over Germany. Although the public’s eyes were mostly focused on the four-time World Cup winners, there was still a small buzz going around about Macedonia’s footballing future. In spite of all these results, it still seemed like the FFM had made up their mind: Angelovski’s deal would not be renewed after the Euros. Angelovski himself would confirm that he would be leaving shortly after the 3–0 defeat to the Netherlands, and with him also came the retirement of Goran Pandev.
That didn’t mean there wasn’t anything to look forward to. Elif Elmas was still young and growing in Napoli, Enis Bardhi was a key player for Levante in La Liga, Arijan Ademi was still as crucial to the midfield as ever and names like Stefan Ristovski, Stole Dimitrievski and Visar Musliu were tough in defense. On top of all those players, we had players like Davor Zdravkovski, Darko Churlinov, Bojan Dimovski and many more to look forward to in the under-21s side, all of whom were being managed by Mrme’s eventual successor.
Welcome to the stage, Blagoja Milevski
Blagoja Milevski was no stranger to the media or fans of the Macedonian national team. He was key to Macedonia’s first ever continental success, that being qualification to the 2017 under-21s Euros in Poland. The same players that were already in the national team by this point were also all from that same squad, so there should have been no friction when changing manager. Milevski however did come with an objective from the FFM: qualify for Euro 2024. With the squad that Macedonia still had, it would certainly be more difficult but not impossible.
Bobi also came in with the promise to fix the wrongs that Angelovski was accused of doing, particularly when it came to call ups. Mrme at times was criticized for giving too many chances to players who were not in form or just not seen as “of the necessary standard for the national team”. There was also barely any experimentation at times
In his first international break it seemed like those promises were coming to fruit. Nikola Serafimov and Todor Todorovski were new additions to the Macedonian defense, Jani Atanasov and Bojan Miovski added to Macedonia’s attack and alongside them came the returns of Nikola Gjorgiev, Adis Jahovic and Kire Markoski. The newly returned players would only last just a handful of international breaks before being dropped for other options, however the new youngsters would become key parts of the future Macedonian national team.
Milevski and his men would cut it close, but after winning both their games in November, they would be able to finish 2nd in their qualification group and being given a spot in the playoffs.
The playoffs and the miracle of Palermo
Of all the opponents Macedonia could’ve faced for a spot in the World Cup, it was only fate that it would be the hardest path of them all. Their semi final opponents would be an away trip to Italy, and even if they were to beat them, a trip to either Turkey or Portugal would follow.
It seemed inevitable that the final match would be between Italy and Portugal in Lisbon, with Mancini himself stating that they were already looking at ways at stopping Cristiano Ronaldo even before they had played their game against Macedonia. Bookmaker weren’t any kinder either, with sites like bet365 rating Macedonia’s chances as 30/1 compared to Italy’s 1/4.
However, as the world stood still waiting to hear the result in Palermo, an unlikely hero came to be. Aleksandar Trajkovski was once a player for Palermo until they had to declare bankruptcy and start again from Serie D. His exit then saw him have unremarkable stints at Mallorca and Al-Fayha, but on that night, back where he once scored for fun, he launched a missile into the back of the net. The Italians scrambled to find an answer but it was far too late. The match ended 1–0 to the most unlikely of underdogs.
The streets of Macedonian cities poured out in pure joy. Their national team had once again beaten a giant of football, only barely a year since they beat Germany. This result lead to much praise towards the squad and of course, to Milevski. This saw him, Bardhi and Trajkovski honored with diplomatic passports, which is among the highest honors given out to footballers as of writing.
Unfortunately, the fairytale could not see Macedonia all the way to the World Cup, as Portugal proved to be too strong of an opponent for Milevski’s side. That result however did not change the buoyant mood within the fanbase and the national team camp, and they had just proven that they are capable of beating anyone. That mood did not last long though.
It all starts to fall apart
With the end of the playoffs, the Nations League was set to start up once more. The promise was, once again, a spot at the playoffs to get into the Euros and it felt that this was going to be their best chance at doing so. In a group with a Georgia side looking for revenge, a deflated Bulgaria on its last legs and Gibraltar, it would be no easy feat but still achievable.
The Nations League campaign would not start off as hoped, as Macedonia clawed back a goal for a 1–1 draw away to Bulgaria. Then came an uninspiring performance against Gibraltar at the rock, only to immediately be followed up by a 3–0 loss at home to Georgia. Macedonia would end the June international break with a 4–0 win over Gibraltar but the high spirits were only ever going to be short lived when the performances were as depressing as they were.
Still, 7 points in 4 games is not bad, it’s just about clawing back another 6 points in the final two games against Georgia and Bulgaria. When it was all said and done, the Macedonian national team left the November period with not a single thing to show for their troubles, and dropping down to third place.
It was well understood by most fans and media that this performance was catastrophic. Milevski was rightfully receiving criticism for his tactical decisions, horrible substitutions and for his reluctance to drop the inefficient Milan Ristovski.
On top of all that, it seemed like Milevski’s promise to give players a chance wasn’t being delivered on, as he’d go on to rely on a cast of players who were not providing the team with enough to justify their spots. Players like Martin Mirchevski, Andrej Stojcevski and Davor Zdravkovski were proving that they had the ability to be in the national team but there would be barely any effort into getting them in.
From bad to worse
With a chance to go into the playoffs basically dead in the water, all Macedonia had left was their qualification group, which would end up consisting of England, Italy, Ukraine and Malta. Once again a huge challenge but the national team entered with hope that much like in years past, they could surmount their poor form and build upon their mistakes. What actually followed was a comedic tragedy, with its main author being Milevski himself.
After beating Malta 2–1 at home, Macedonia threw away a 2–0 lead to lose 3–2 to Ukraine. Then came an afternoon in Manchester, a place usually known for its bleak weather, however the only thing that was bleak that day was the scoreline. England thrashed Macedonia 7–0, handing the Lions their biggest loss ever. It is almost remarkable that the same side that gave this country its greatest honor, had also left its biggest stain. Not one journalist, fan or player spared the FFM or Milevski any sympathy, with even Goran Pandev stating on his Instagram profile that Milevski and the FFM leadership are “Macedonian football’s biggest enemy”.
The campaign saw a small glimmer of hope when Macedonia drew 1–1 with Italy at home, but after the another loss to Ukraine it was all but over. Macedonia would end their campaign in a lowly fourth place. Milevski had failed his primary objective of making it to Euro 2024, but that didn’t stop the FFM from giving Bobi a new deal. This was received poorly by fans, with many becoming tired of his tactics and uninspiring results.
Recent friendly results against the likes of Moldova, Montenegro, Croatia and Czechia have not helped with raising spirits either, as Macedonia now get ready to enter into the Nations League once more in a much easier group with Armenia, Faroe Islands and Latvia.
What now?
It is clear for all to see that the incompetence that Milevski and the FFM have bred over the last three years has left a strain on Macedonian football and its future. What once felt like a shining light in the midst of political discontent for people to look towards has become another mistreated institution that we will rue tearing apart.
Football in Macedonia has never been so dire. The stadiums, the infrastructure, the coaching, the players, it is all at its lowest in the more than thirty years since independence. If there was a time to act to save it, it was three years ago. If there is still time to do anything, it is now. And all that begins with removing the current board of the FFM and sacking Milevski from his position as manager.
But then what? Who should come in his place? That is a difficult question to answer but I rest assured that we will be able to find an answer if we, just for once, work for the betterment of the sport.
