Glishikj marking Ibrahimovic in the Macedonia vs. Sweden friendly; photo: InstagramGlishikj marking Ibrahimovic in the Macedonia vs. Sweden friendly; photo: InstagramThe next player to feature in our interview series is Darko Glishikj, a player who debuted for Macedonia's national team this past summer and now plays his club football in Georgia with Dinamo Tbilisi.
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| Glishikj marking Ibrahimovic in the Macedonia vs. Sweden friendly; photo: Instagram |
Darko Glishikj is a versatile 22-year-old player who has played on the left hand side of the field. He is primarily a left-back, but can also play further up the field in left midfield or even on the left wing.
Glishikj began his career in the youth academy of Vardar and later played for the first team of that team in 2010. Darko then briefly played in Bosnia-Herzegovina with Olimpic Sarajevo before he returned to Macedonia's championship to play for teams such as Skopje, Napredok and Teteks. In the summer of 2012, after going on trial at Dinamo Tbilisi, he was offered a contract to continue his career with the most successful team in Georgia.
In his time with Dinamo Tbilisi, Darko has accumulated 38 league caps in which he has scored 2 goals. His team won the title in the 2012-13 season, and Dinamo Tbilisi also tops the table at the the midway point of the 2013-14 season as well.
Glishikj debuted for the Macedonian national team in the summer of 2013 when he made two appearances in the friendlies against Sweden and Norway. Prior to that, Darko was capped by the youth national teams of Macedonia.
We recently caught up with Darko to learn more about his start in football, his current contract situation at Dinamo Tbilisi, comparing the conditions in the countries where he has played, his preferred position of the field and also his memories of his debut with the senior national team of Macedonia.
Here is our question and answer session with Glishikj:
MF: Darko, tell us about your early start in football? Which coach had the biggest influence on your early development as a player?
DG: I started training with football as a youngster when I was 8 years old. My first steps began in the footballing school of FK Vardar. My first coach was Meto Spasovski. With him, I trained for two years and those were my first beginnings in football. As time went by, there was a change in coaches. I then worked for a little bit with Mirko Ilievski. After him, there was Mirko Petrov. When I reached the pioneers of the youth academy, my coach at that time was Sasho Todorovski, also known by the nickname RapTap. I worked with him for 3-4 years and learned a lot. When I went further up the academy, Pepi Georgievski also served as my coach. I have leaned a lot from all of those coaches, but the one who had the most influence and took interest in my development was Sasho Todorovski -RapTap-.
MF: You have played in the championships of Macedonia, Bosnia and Georgia. How would you compare the quality and conditions in those three leagues?
DG: In all three leagues where I have played up to this point, there have been different conditions for work. I believe that the best conditions for work and for player development among those three countries is in Georgia. Everything is well known when it comes to training, fitness, diet and rest. All of that is planned and supervised by the staff within the club.
MF: What is your contract situation with Dinamo Tbilisi?
DG: I signed my first contract with Dinamo Tbilisi for 1 year with an option to prolong it for an additional year if I met the criteria of the coaching staff. After my first year expired, I was pleased to sign for an additional year as well. All of the agreed upon conditions are being fulfilled professionally. My contract is until 15 June of 2014, and beyond that point there is time to rethink about the future.
MF: We have seen you play at left-back, left midfield and even as a left winger. What do you feel as your best position?
DG: My beginnings in football were as a left-back. That is how I left for Georgia. I began as a left-back, but sometimes, at the need of the coach, he put me in left midfield where I had many assists to set up my teammates. Other times the coach played me as a left winger and I scored a couple of goals for my team. I can play every position on the left hand side of the field, but I would mostly want to play left-back.
MF: You debuted for Macedonia in the friendlies against Sweden and Norway this past June. How was that experience, and what would you tell new manager Boshko Gjurovski about what you can bring to the national team moving forward?
DG: The game against Sweden was my debut for the national team. I played around 15 minutes and I thought I played well despite the little playing time. Against Norway, I played the 1st half. I played a little nervously, but overall I think I kept up well with the opposing players. That was a great experience for me and I think the anxiety is past me. Although I personally don't know Boshko Gjurovski, I am sure that with his experience and work he will transform Macedonia to be a good team that will achieve a higher place on the FIFA ranking list.
