The players of Željezničar Sport Team will begin their series of friendly matches this weekend to fine-tune their form ahead of the continuation of the Republika Srpska championship.
The Banja Luka-based team finished the first half of the season in 12th place with 19 points and now faces a battle for survival. Leading them into the second part of the season will be returning head coach Zoran Ćurguz, who previously had a successful tenure with the team from Predgrađe.
Ćurguz emphasized that retaining the core squad was the most crucial aspect of the team’s preparations. The key players have committed to staying for the spring segment of the championship, which will ease the transition for the new coach and his staff.
“It is essential for us that we kept our squad from the autumn part of the season, with the most important players staying on. They arrived in excellent shape for training, which is very encouraging because we can now fully focus on team cohesion. As for new arrivals, we have Sergej Vitonji and Đorđe Nikić, who will strengthen our attacking line, as well as two Japanese players, Shunto Watanabe and Eruma Kuma. We are also considering adding a goalkeeper to complete the squad,” Ćurguz stated.
The team has scheduled five friendly matches before the league resumes.
“I believe this is enough to enter the championship continuation fully prepared. Our first opponent will be Omarska on Saturday. After that, we will face Željezničar from Doboj, Banja Luka’s Spartak, followed by Kozara and Proleter. These matches will be crucial in shaping the team to achieve our goals in the remainder of the season. We will make the most of these opportunities,” Ćurguz added.
Source: Glas Srpske
