SERBIA: FOOTBALL/SOCCCER - Former Chelsea manager Avram Grant takes over as coach of Partizan Belgrade and his immediate priority is to ensure the Serbian league leaders retain their title

Record ID: 644956

  • Title: SERBIA: FOOTBALL/SOCCCER - Former Chelsea manager Avram Grant takes over as coach of Partizan Belgrade and his immediate priority is to ensure the Serbian league leaders retain their title
  • Date: 16th January 2012
  • Summary: BELGRADE, SERBIA (JANUARY 15, 2012) (REUTERS) PARTIZAN BELGRADE'S NEW COACH, AVRAM GRANT, SITTING AT THE NEWS CONFERENCE (THIRD FROM LEFT) PHOTOGRAPHERS TAKING PICTURES (SOUNDBITE) (English) PARTIZAN BELGRADE COACH, AVRAM GRANT, SAYING: (Followed by Serbian translation): "I am happy to come to this big club, with a great name and tradition. And I like more the vision of the club, is about what I think about football; produce players, develop them and prepare them to the highest level." NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (English) PARTIZAN BELGRADE COACH, AVRAM GRANT, SAYING: "I think if I don't have this challenge, you don't see me here. I came for this challenge, and I came for this pressure. And we are looking open, we will do everything to prepare the players and to prepare the club to be stable in Europe. It's not an easy job. I played in Europe, it's not so easy to be stable in Europe, but its possible. We need to do something we need to develop something and the club are ready to do it. But I must say first, in the next month, we have the time to do it but we still need to win the league first." PARTIZAN CLUB SIGN ON THE WALL ***CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** PARTIZAN CLUB PRESIDENT, DRAGAN DJURIC HANDING OVER TO GRANT PARTIZAN JERSEY AND CAP/ DJURIC AND GRANT POSING TO MEDIA PARTIZAN JERSEY WITH GRANT'S NAME ON IT GRANT TAKING OFF CAP/ POSING TO MEDIA
  • Embargoed: 31st January 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Serbia, Serbia
  • Country: Serbia
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA4SX8XDBDZA4IN87C1768HOY3K
  • Story Text: Former Chelsea manager Avram Grant took over as coach of Partizan Belgrade on Sunday (January 15, 2012) and said his immediate priority was to ensure the Serbian league leaders retained their title.
    Grant, who led Chelsea to the 2008 Champions League final and kept them in contention for the Premier League title until the last day of the season after taking over from Jose Mourinho, was appointed on Friday (January 13) after Aleksandar Stanojevic's sacking.
    "I am happy to come to this big club, with a great name and tradition," Grant told a news conference in Partizan's Teleoptik training centre.
    . "And I like more the vision of the club, is about what I think about football; produce players, develop them and prepare them to the highest level.
    "I think if I don't have this challenge, you don't see me here. I came for this challenge, and I came for this pressure. And we are looking open, we will do everything to prepare the players and to prepare the club to be stable in Europe.
    "It's not an easy job. I played in Europe, it's not so easy to be stable in Europe, but its possible. We need to do something we need to develop something and the club are ready to do it. But I must say first, in the next month, we have the time to do it but we still need to win the league first."
    Partizan are 10 points ahead of city rivals Red Star at the winter break in the Serbian first division and Grant should have little trouble in steering the club to a record fifth-successive league title.
    But the Israeli, who has signed an 18-month contract, faces a tricky task to engineer any European success next season with Partizan having been knocked out of the Europa League preliminary rounds by Irish side Shamrock Rovers in September.
    Stanojevic was sacked after a rift with the club's board over the dismissal of managing director Mladen Krstajic last month following his conflict with president Dragan Djuric.
    Grant's contract at Chelsea was terminated after he conceded the Premier League and Champions League titles to Manchester United in 2008 and following an eight-month spell at Portsmouth, he failed to save West Ham United from relegation last season.
    The Serbian league resumes on March 3, when Partizan visit struggling top-flight newcomers Novi Pazar
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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