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)



Verstappen and Red Bull Embark on New Era

Laurent Mekies leads Red Bull into the post Christian Horner era. MAX SLOVENCIK / APA/AFP/File
Laurent Mekies leads Red Bull into the post Christian Horner era. MAX SLOVENCIK / APA/AFP/File
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Verstappen and Red Bull Embark on New Era

Laurent Mekies leads Red Bull into the post Christian Horner era. MAX SLOVENCIK / APA/AFP/File
Laurent Mekies leads Red Bull into the post Christian Horner era. MAX SLOVENCIK / APA/AFP/File

Max Verstappen and Red Bull seek a successful re-set of their season as they launch a new era at this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix, their first without Christian Horner in charge.

As Formula One resumes after a mini-break McLaren duo Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris intensify their duel to succeed the Dutchman as world champion, said AFP.

While Norris seeks his third consecutive win in a bid to reduce team-mate Piastri's eight-point lead it will be Red Bull under the greatest scrutiny as they embark on a new adventure under Frenchman Laurent Mekies.

Never before has a Red Bull team raced without the 51-year-old Briton Horner, who was dismissed unexpectedly two weeks ago following 20 years of success, including guiding Verstappen to four consecutive world titles from 2021-2024.

His successor Mekies, promoted from junior team Racing Bulls, faces a daunting challenge - not only in keeping the team's focus and performance at the majestic high-speed circuit in the Ardennes, but in bringing stability to Red Bull after a stormy period.

Verstappen, born in Belgium, has been linked with a move to Mercedes for 2026 and, while Horner has remained silent since his bombshell exit, the champion has welcomed the arrival of Mekies, who has an engineering background and avoids confrontation and discord.

His appointment brings an end to 18 months of rumor and intrigue during which Horner was investigated for alleged inappropriate conduct, the team lost the constructors' title to McLaren and saw key staff members leave.

"I was back at the factory last week to spend some time in the sim with the team," said Verstappen in a team release that made no mention of Horner’s departure.

"I'm looking forward to working closely with Laurent.

"Spa is a classic and always my favorite track on the calendar – a very old school circuit where you have to do everything right to get a good lap.

"I enjoy the high-speed corners such as Eau Rouge, the layout which is different to other circuits, and elevation changes that make the track more of a challenge to drive."

After a desultory outing at Silverstone, where he finished fifth after starting from pole position, Verstappen will enjoy returning to one of his 'home' events, hoping Mekies can rekindle the team's spark to bring him a fourth career win at Spa.

- Feisty mood -

Mekies said he would spend his first weeks in the job "meeting the guys and girls who do the magic behind the scenes...to try to understand this beautiful magic machine".

His first test will be a Saturday morning sprint race.

A win for Verstappen would not be a huge surprise as the characteristics of the Ardennes track favor his car, but he remains a distant third in a title race led by the McLaren men whose intra-team scrap may be their undoing.

After his outburst at receiving a 10-second penalty at Silverstone, Piastri is expected to be in feisty mood going into the Belgian and Hungarian double-header that precedes the August 'summer holiday' and another close contest is in prospect.

Like Piastri, Mercedes' George Russell will revel in a chance to show his speed in the often changeable conditions, having been stripped of victory last year because his car was underweight.

That handed seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton his 105th and last triumph – and he remains in search of his first podium with Ferrari who arrive in Belgium with intent and a major upgrade package.

Hamilton was fourth in his home British race where Nico Hulkenberg claimed his first career podium at the 239th attempt to endorse Sauber's momentum this year before becoming the Audi works team next season.