Boban is lock and key of FC Twente

Wednesday 25 February 2009

The English top club Chelsea paid 5.2 million euro for Slobodan Rajkovic in 2006, which was at that moment the highest amount ever paid for a players under 18.

Three years later the bruiser from Serbia seems to fulfill his promise with a detour, in the name of FC Twente.

Boban, his nickname, experienced the high note of his career in Enschede last week.

Away to Olympique Marseilles (0-1) he and his 21-year-old defensive partner Douglas knew no trouble at all against established forwards like Mamadou Diang and Bakary Koné.

"It was a victory of the collective," the central defender says looking back.

"We have shown the international football world what level we can achieve. My own performance? Like everyone it went well, but I prefer not to talk about myself. That's for the coach."

FC Twente provided itself with a comfortable starting point for the return tomorrow night, but Rajkovic refuses to consider his team qualified.

"It will be a hell of a job to reach the next round. The home game will be even tougher than the away game. Still: when we play compact and are 100% concentrated we should be able to progress,." the player says.

Whether or not the encounter will have a positive ending for FC Twente, for Rajkovic - at PSV last season - a seemingly lost season has turned out to be positive after all.

He had hardly been loaned out to Twente by Chelsea when he was handed a one year suspension by FIFA for spitting at a referee during the Olympics in Beijing.

Until this day Rajkovic has always denied to have done such a scandalous thing and so the penalty led to a lot of frustration.

As late as December he got some sort of recognition when an appeal led FIFA to shorten the sentence to 6 months.

That meant he could play for FC Twente, but for the national team the sanction remained the same.

He can not play for Serbia until 30 June and that penalty has far reaching consequences.

To get a working permit in England a player is required to play at least 75% of the games of the national team of Serbia.

So until he does Chelsea are forced to loan him out.

When it's up to coach Steve McClaren, FC Twente will make use of this windfall.

"With us he can further develop on a good level," McClaren says.

"Boban has a lot of talent and a real fighter mentality. He reminds me of Nemanja Vidic of Manchester United.”

Due to his good performances Rajkovic has leapfrogged Douglas in the pecking order even though the Nigerian will be at his side tomorrow replacing Peter Wisgerhof who is not entitled to play for Twente after his transfer from NEC in January.

For Rajkovic it's a confirmation of his development that has to lead to a place in the starting lineup of Chelsea.

"That would be a dream come true. John Terry has always been my hero. It would be great to play alongside him one day."