Milos Veljkovic has been at Werder for six years and has recently extended his contract with the club. He is one of the longest-serving players in current squad, he plays for the Serbia national team and he is a real leader for the Green-Whites. The 26-year-old answered questions from the media at the training camp in Zillertal.
Milos Veljkovic relishes taking on responsibility. The Serb would like to take on even more, now there are newcomers in the Werder squad, some of whom come from abroad and don’t speak much German. “I said to them, that they can always come to me if they need anything. I tried to take on responsibility early on in my Werder career and I always want to remain authentic and true to myself. That’s what I have always done on the pitch, and I now try to do even more of that off it, especially in front of the younger players,” he said.
Especially after the departure of former captain Ömer Toprak, it has become even more important for the entire team to come together and take on more collective responsibility, explained Veljkovic. “Ömer is a great player. He was important for us both on and off the pitch. I believe, however, that we can continue on the right path with our new signings. I always tried to take on responsibility with Ömer on the pitch. However, we all have to help each other now. If I can do even more in that department, then I will.
Werder signed new centre-backs Niklas Stark and Amos Pieper just after securing promotion, but Veljkovic believes that is healthy to have competition for places. “It is good that they are there. It was important to strengthen our defense early on so that we have time to gel. It will help me, Marco and everyone else in the team if they play well. It is good for the club. Of course it is important for me, as it is everyone else, to play regularly. But I can only do my best and it is up to the coach to decide. In football you have to prove yourself every week, no matter how much experience you can bring to the table.”
Veljkovic sees the conditions in Zillertal as ideal for the pre-season preparations. “The conditions and the training pitches are very good here. It is hard work, but that is good for us. The excitement ahead of the Bundesliga season is very much there,” said the Serb. Veljkovic also responded positively when asked if there was any trepidation ahead of the top flight return: “Of course there will be difficult moments, we will concede goals and we won’t be at our best every single week. But the team spirit is there and we are all excited. I believe that we can have a good season and we will bring our winning mentality from last year. Staying in the division is our goal but I believe that we could even do a bit more.”
The 26-year-old also has personal goals for the season, which he expressed with a smile and a wink on his face: “This season I want to be more deadly in front of goal. If I can score then it will be something special. I think that I also need to be a bit more consistent. It doesn’t happen very often but scoring a goal is always very special.” Playing in the Bundesliga with Werder again was one of the reasons behind extending his contract, but not the only one: “Everyone wants to play in the Bundesliga. But I am very happy being part of this side and living in Bremen. I saw no reason to go anywhere else. There were other options, some maybe even more financially tempting, but continuity is important for me and I am very happy at Werder. I am looking forward to playing in front of our fans once again.”
