Ivan Jovanović is drawing a pretty clear line in the sand when it comes to Greece’s national team and club requests.
The Greece coach addressed Borussia Dortmund’s request to spare Kostas Karetsas, making it clear that he has no intention of creating special exceptions for individual clubs.
“Since I’ve been the national team coach here, there hasn’t been a single club in Europe that has demanded special treatment from us. As long as I’m the coach, there won’t be any exceptions either,” said Jovanović
(as captured by Sky Germany’s Patrick Berger).
That is certainly a firm stance, especially with clubs understandably wanting to protect their players during international duty. Karetsas is an important young player for Dortmund, but Jovanović appears determined to establish consistency rather than allowing the biggest or most influential clubs to receive preferential treatment.
That does not mean the Greek federation is ignoring the clubs. Jovanović stressed that there is regular communication between the national team and the players’ respective teams, with the federation generally willing to accommodate reasonable requests.
The difference is that accommodation does not mean special treatment.
From Jovanović’s perspective, once a player is selected for Greece, the same standards have to apply to everyone. Dortmund can ask, communicate and negotiate, but ultimately the national team coach wants to make the decisions he believes are best for Greece.
And for Karetsas, that apparently means being available.
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