Nemanja Matic: 'I've Had My Doubters. I Knew I Would Prove Them Wrong'

Nemanja Matic: ‘Ole has improved a lot at United. I’m sure he will win us trophies.’ Photograph: Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images
Nemanja Matic: ‘Ole has improved a lot at United. I’m sure he will win us trophies.’ Photograph: Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images
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Nemanja Matic: 'I've Had My Doubters. I Knew I Would Prove Them Wrong'

Nemanja Matic: ‘Ole has improved a lot at United. I’m sure he will win us trophies.’ Photograph: Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images
Nemanja Matic: ‘Ole has improved a lot at United. I’m sure he will win us trophies.’ Photograph: Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images

Nemanja Matic could be forgiven for feeling frustrated. Manchester United’s unbeaten run has stalled at 11 games after a resurgence largely featuring his presence in midfield. . He lists United’s last league game – the 2-0 derby win against City – as a highlight of his Old Trafford career.

“I cannot say I didn’t enjoy this month at home,” he says via video link. “Normally when we’re playing, we travel a lot. We’re away every two or three days. It’s been nice to spend time with the kids.” Off the pitch, Matic talks like he plays: measured, pragmatic, and to the point.

The Serbia midfielder is taking part in a live Instagram Q&A session with Football Beyond Borders, fielding questions from young people about his storied career. Matic first met the charity’s co-director Jasper Kain at an event in Manchester with a former United teammate Chris Smalling – and found a cause close to his heart.

“When I hear the kids’ stories, some of them have difficult lives,” Matic says. “That stays in my heart, because I know what they’re going through. The charity gives them the chance to find success, to make their lives easier. In my village in Serbia we were poor but I was happy. Every day we would be outside playing football. We had more freedom than kids today.”

Matic grew up in Vrelo, 40 miles south-west of Belgrade. As a promising attacking midfielder he idolized Zinedine Zidane but did not have a TV at home to watch games. “I would collect newspaper clippings just to read about him, and the put the pictures up in my room.” Some of Matic’s friends still play for the local team. “They just got promoted to the fourth division, so now they have to train harder,” he says.

The virtues of hard work and perseverance are what Matic wants to get across to his young audience. “Follow your dreams. Never give up … I’ve had a lot of doubters in my career, people who didn’t believe in me.” As a teenager he was rejected by both Belgrade clubs, Red Star and Partizan. “I knew I was good enough, and one day I would prove them wrong, show them they made a mistake. And that’s exactly what I did.”

Matic found his feet at the Slovakian club Kosice, earning his first move to Chelsea in 2009. He was quickly sent out on loan to Vitesse, then used as a makeweight in the club’s move for the Benfica defender David Luiz. In Portugal he was reshaped into a defensive midfielder by the coach Jorge Jesus. “He said if I listened to him and trained every day, I could be one of the best in the world. Benfica changed my life.”

Matic, now 31, learned the new position, and also how to thrive at a superclub. One young fan asks if he still feels pressure.“When I was younger I felt a lot of pressure, seeing 70,000 people in the stadium. Now, if the fans sing my name, I just feel more motivation to run, to kick people … just kidding. I don’t do that on purpose.”

Matic was brought back to Chelsea in 2014 by Mourinho, the manager he would later follow to United. He is asked whether the Portuguese lives up to his combative public persona. “It depends. If you win, he’s the best guy ever. But if you lose, you’re hiding from him at the training ground. But he’s an amazing coach.”

Matic holds back only when discussing his surprise second departure from Stamford Bridge, where he won titles playing for Mourinho and Antonio Conte. “I was very happy at Chelsea, but I thought it was the right moment to change club. There were reasons which are hard for me to say now. I will never forget my time there, but I’m a Manchester United player now.”

Matic has high praise for his manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjær. “Ole is a great manager. I think he has improved a lot since he came to United, and he is different now. I’m sure he has a great future here, and he will win us trophies.”

Another question flies in: who is his favorite teammate? Matic tackles it with trademark lack of fuss. “There is not one guy who is not a good person in our changing room. I’m 31 now, and some of the players are 10 years younger than me. I speak more to players my own age, like Paul [Pogba], David [de Gea] and Juan [Mata], but I set next to Mason Greenwood in the dressing room, so we’ve got to know each other too.”

Matic has also been impressed by United’s new recruit, Bruno Fernandes. “Because I follow the Portuguese league, I knew he was good – even though he played for Sporting! But I’m very surprised he adapted so quickly to the Premier League. He brings us a lot of qualities, like the confidence he has on the pitch – he always knows what he wants to do with the ball.”

Asked to name United’s best player, Matic does not hesitate. “We have a lot of young players, but they have maybe not reached their top yet, but Marcus Rashford has the ability to be one of the best players in the world in his position. He’s still improving, but he has everything to reach that top level.”

Matic’s work ethic has taken him a long way. “I wake up early. I never stay up late. Get up, train, eat, sleep. Even on holiday, by the end of the week I need to train. Football is my life; I take it very seriously. I’ve felt like a professional player since I was five years old. I don’t know how to be any different.”

(The Guardian)



Aunt Anisimova Rocks with Jackson After Reaching Wimbledon Semis

Amanda Anisimova of the USA greets spectators after winning her Women's quarterfinal match against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia at the Wimbledon Championships, Wimbledon, Britain, 08 July 2025. (EPA)
Amanda Anisimova of the USA greets spectators after winning her Women's quarterfinal match against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia at the Wimbledon Championships, Wimbledon, Britain, 08 July 2025. (EPA)
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Aunt Anisimova Rocks with Jackson After Reaching Wimbledon Semis

Amanda Anisimova of the USA greets spectators after winning her Women's quarterfinal match against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia at the Wimbledon Championships, Wimbledon, Britain, 08 July 2025. (EPA)
Amanda Anisimova of the USA greets spectators after winning her Women's quarterfinal match against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia at the Wimbledon Championships, Wimbledon, Britain, 08 July 2025. (EPA)

A year after Amanda Anisimova's attempt to qualify for Wimbledon ended in failure, the American cradled her young nephew on Court One to celebrate a remarkable turnaround in fortunes as she reached the All England Club semi-finals for the first time.

Anisimova collapsed flat on her face in sheer relief after she survived an astonishing, and unexpected, fightback from Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to secure a 6-1 7-6(9) victory and set up a fascinating showdown with world number one Aryna Sabalenka.

Once a beaming Anisimova had lifted herself off the ground, she scooped up her three-year-old nephew Jackson for a victory lap.

By then it was hard to tell who was more excited, Anisimova or Jackson, who could be heard shouting out to his aunt mid-rally on numerous occasions.

"It has been an extraordinary year for me with so many highs. I am enjoying every step of the way and, even in times like today I keep reminding myself to enjoy the moment," said Anisimova, whose only previous appearance in a Grand Slam semi-final was at the French Open six years ago.

"My nephew has never seen a match of mine in my life, so it was super special, and to get the win also on top of that is just an incredible experience."

With the American 13th seed leading 6-1 5-2, Pavlyuchenkova was left wishing she could disappear through a Wimbledon trapdoor as she was bamboozled by a cocktail of blazing backhands, ferocious forehands and nifty footwork.

But just when it seemed that Anisimova had one foot in the last four, the 34-year-old Russian's game suddenly caught fire and she won three games in a row.

Pavlyuchenkova saved two match points in the 10th game, including hitting a gutsy dropshot winner that completely caught Anisimova by surprise.

With the world number 50 suddenly believing she could turn the match around, an emotional Anisimova looked like she was on the verge of breaking down, mouthing to her support group "one more point" as the Russian kept earning set points in the tiebreak.

SUPER SPECIAL

Anisimova, at 23 more than a decade younger than her opponent, saved all five set points against her before sealing victory when Pavlyuchenkova netted a service return on the American's fourth match point.

"It was such a battle today. I was up in the second set and she started playing some unreal tennis," Anisimova, who took an eight-month break from the sport two years ago after complaining of burnout, told the crowd.

"I just kept fighting and that tiebreak was super stressful, but I'm just so happy I got it done. I'm happy to be in the semi-final for the first time, it's super special.

"It's a super special turnaround for me, considering where I was a year ago and losing in the quallies here last year, which was a bit heartbreaking," added the player who was ranked 189th a year ago.

There were plenty of special moments for Anisimova during the contest in which rallies were in short supply. By the end of the 99-minute tussle, the stats showed that an average rally lasted less than three shots as Pavlyuchenkova's game collapsed under an avalanche of unforced errors.

During the blink-and-you-will miss first set, the 2021 French Open runner-up produced only three winners while her unforced error count stood at 12. That kind of showing was never going to be enough to get past an opponent Pavlyuchenkova had never beaten in three previous meetings.

Last time she had contested the Wimbledon quarter-finals in 2016, she ran into an impenetrable wall called Serena Williams.

On Tuesday, she left the court in floods of tears.

"First set I thought she was playing incredible. I couldn't touch the ball," said Pavlyuchenkova, who did not know whether she would be able to compete at Wimbledon after being diagnosed with Epstein-Barr virus and Lyme disease this year.

"When I actually started to feel better, it was already 6-1, 5-2. Then I just fought till the end. I gave everything I had. Came back from match points down... so that really sucks.

"I just couldn't stop crying. Maybe because I've (been) through so much I just exploded."