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Zivko Gocic is no longer the head coach of Novi Beograd.
According to the Serbian website Sportklub.rs, the coach and the club did not reach an agreement on a contract extension.
We contacted Zivko Gocic, who confirmed the piece of information:
"Yes, it's true, we didn't reach an agreement on the extending my stay at the club. We parted ways on good terms, with mutual respect. The decision was not driven by money and the salary,which was planned by a new contract."
Gocic, the captain of the 2016 Olympic champions, arrived at Novi Beograd from Szolnok three years ago. Coaching Szolnok, he became the first non-Hungarian head coach to lead the team to the title in the Hungarian Championships. Besides, he won the Euro Cup.
Novi Beograd won two Serbian Leagues, three national Cups, a Regional League trophy, and two silver medals in the Champions League under Gocic's guidance.
The results of the 2024/25 season were quite surprising. Novi Beograd rejuvenated its team last summer and was not considered a favorite in any competition. However, the club won the Serbian Cup and secured silver in the Serbian League, finishing second behind Radnicki. Additionally, it reached the Champions League final, where it put up a tough fight against Ferencváros, but the Hungarians managed to defend their title.
Several young players emerged and made big progress in the past season. Novi Beograd appeared at the F4 in Malta with seven players, who had never played at the Champions League final tournament before.
The series of departures from Novi Beograd continued. As of today, it has been confirmed that the Greeks, Angelos Vlachopoulos and Dimitrios Skoumpakis, left the club. Besides them, the Dutch Bilal Gbadamassi, Italian goalkeeper De Michelis, Vucinic won’t be on the roster for the next season.
Djordje Filipovic, Gocic’s assistant, has also said goodbye to Novi Beograd. He will become the head coach of Steaua.
Therefore, Novi Beograd will undergo many changes this summer.
