With the new generation of players, Malkočević succeeded again to qualify to the Elite Round, and expectations and wishes are imposed as realistic to participate in the third European U-17 Championship in a row.

By nature, modest and unobtrusive, Sakib Malkočević proved himself in the world of football through a respectable playing career in FK “Sloboda” from Tuzla, where he also gained his coaching experience.

And, at the beginning everything seemed different, so Sakib Malkčević accepted a possibility to be a head coach of the BH U-17 team with a dose of reserve.

Head Coach,

When a possibility to run the BH U-17 team was announced to you in 2011, whether you were ready and what it meant for you?

“I can say that this year 2011 was a year of my full affirmation as a coach. The then director of all youth selections, Mr. Denijal Pirić, hinted at me a possibility of taking over the BH U-17 team, which was a confirmation for me that I was doing well. I felt ready to accept such an honourable function, aware of the responsibility, but also eager for new proving.”

If from this time distance you look at those beginnings, how could you describe them and how much working conditions in relation to that period have changed?

“It was a difficult period generally for our Federation, which suspension had just been lifted. It was supposed to start from the “zero” with the Normalization Committee, with new people in the Federation. Practically, there were neither gatherings nor control games. Now we are a serious team that does not lag behind in the region. Regarding results, we made a great progress in a short period of time, and we are only lagging behind in the infrastructure, especially at the club level.”

Continuity in work is what, in the long run, yields results. Do you think this is crucial in your case too?

“I must admit that the leadership of the Federation had a lot of understanding for our initial failures. It was then a reality. Without continuity, it is very difficult to make any result. It may sometimes happen, but more like a sequence of some happy circumstances, so in principle, in every business a continuity is needed. In the coach works, it is perhaps most of all, because it gives you an insight into the whole process of work and the creation of young players.”

What qualities do you think should have a good coach?

“A good coach is a pretty questionable definition. You need to know the matter, you have to be worthy to have a vision, but in the end, you must have the result. It is very important to have a fair attitude towards what you do and to those with whom you work.”

With a new generation of players, you qualified again to the Elite Round of qualifications. How do you motivate the team mates to follow your ideas on the pitch?

“Another, fifth in a row placement to the Elite Round and another success of our youth football happened. As long as we play in elite rounds, I can say that we are on “healthy feet”, that is, we are progressing. However, we always strive to be as better as possible, and a qualification of any of our selection to the final tournaments is a great success. When it comes to motivating the players, I believe that each coach has his own way of motivating the team. It's not the same with seniors and younger selections, there's a lot of difference. The only thing that is common to all is a desire to represent your country in the best possible way. Young players need a lot more time to accept some things, because of both their inexperience and tactical ignorance.”

In two European Championships you had the opportunity to see the best teams of this age. What is missing to our young players, for example, to pass the group stage in these Final Tournaments?

“Teams like ours have a difficult way to come to a big competition. We had these things two times over and we had the honour and happiness to be together with the greatest ones. It is impossible not to learn something from all of these teams. It is a huge experience and very significant, both for players and for us, coaches, which allows us to clearly see in which direction we need to develop. For the best, we are a lot behind in everything, except in the talent of our players. It is true that we have problems with working in clubs; infrastructure is very bad, as the UEFA President, Mr. Čeferin said, but we have to fit into what we have and give our maximum there. I believe that conditions in this segment will be improved in the future, and we already have results that show that a greater number of control games will inevitably contribute to the development of our young players.”

Do you have the support of the Federation’s leadership and do you think that cooperation in some segments could be better or more complete?

“I have always had the support of the Federation’s leadership, even when we did not have such conditions. However, I must emphasize that President Begić, but also the members of the Executive Board, not only follow our results, but also provide us with their full support in our work. Everything that I, along with my technical staff, proposed to the General Secretary Baković, and to the directors Pilav and Džemidžić, encountered on the approval of them as well as the Executive Board. We definitely have a support, but we must work more and better for the benefit of our Federation and our State.”

As a head coach of the U-17 team, you surely have the best insight into the potential and capabilities of young players. How many of them will soon be able to apply for the U-19 team and, in general, what is the future of the BH football?

“In addition to the good results that follow this U-17 team in recent years, I think that even more success is the correct selection of future national team players. From each generation of U-17 team, at least 70% automatically switches to the U-19 selection, and that is the continuity we talked about and which we are trying to keep. Good cooperation of all head coaches, trust of the people who lead the Federation, better work in the clubs, and we will not have to worry about the future of our football. Perhaps all of us miss a little bit reality and self-criticism, generally speaking, in order to be able to assess the real possibilities and where we belong closely. But the desire to achieve a higher and better should not be questionable. Frankly, I believe in the beautiful and better future of our football, our Federation and our State.”