Velibor 'Bora' Milutinovic believes that adapting with the times and new surroundings is the key to being a successful manager in football.
Milutinovic, who last managed Iraq back in 2009 and still holds the record for getting national teams to the knockout stages of the World Cup (five), now works in Qatar as an ambassador for the 2022 edition.
Ahead of this summer's showpiece, Bora sat down with Goal and shared some of his highly-regarded managerial insight and gave his take on what we might expect from Russia.
“A manager has to be able to adapt to any context,” the 73-year old, who coached 13 clubs during his career, said.
“We must always find a way to convey our experience and work with young players. We adapt to each era because that's what football demands.”
Having been a boss on nearly every continent, Milutinovic knows a thing or two about adaptation, but it wasn't necessarily his mission to cover as much ground as he did.
“When you practice and have opportunities to go somewhere, you don't look at it like that,” he said, “But what is certain is that it's very rewarding to discover a new world each time.
“I was like a traveller on a boat, going left, going right, discovering new continents – it was extraordinary. I got to share my experiences and there was always a new challenge.
“I'm very happy to have been able to adapt perfectly to each new country.”
For some time people have said that it will not be long before an African nation wins the World Cup, yet we are now in 2018 it still hasn't happened.
With Bora being a former Nigeria coach, Goal asked what he believes is holding the continent back from achieving the ultimate prize.
“You need to have good players but above all you need to have a good team spirit. There also needs to be accountability for everyone,” he said.
“You need a lot of things: efficiency, experience, a good coach... I've always said that skills are not enough – you need the whole package. Everything needs to be in place for players to express themselves in the best way.
“I'm not an expert on African football but I know you need all those things to triumph at the highest level.”
Also a former Costa Rica and Mexico coach, we asked Milutinovic which side had the best chance of progression in Russia.
“Mexico have a lot of quality but they face Germany first in a difficult group. Regarding Costa Rica... they're in a group with Serbia and I am Serbian so I need to support my country!” he laughed.
“Regarding Nigeria, they play Argentina, Croatia and Iceland. I think of my three former teams they have the best chance of advancing.
“The favourites remain the same with each edition. In South America there's Brazil and Argentina, even if the Argentines had a poor qualifying campaign. They have Lionel Messi.
“In Europe you have France, Germany and Spain. I think these five teams will compete for the title. I hope there's a surprise but I think it'll be difficult.
Very much in the twilight of his career, Goal asked if Bora would be tempted to come out of retirement for one last hurrah with his home nation of Serbia and, as always, the septuagenarian is ready for anything.
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“Never say never,” he enthused. “It's my country and I'm a big supporter of the team, but it's hard to imagine anyone wanting to talk to Bora at this age!
“I have no regrets because the teams I trained always achieved great results. Training a big club would have been good but I'm very happy with what I achieved in my career.
“It's been a dream. I couldn't have asked for more.”
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