Vukotic hoping to win over Cyprus

Born 2 June 1950 in Belgrade Yugoslavia, Momcilo Vukotic was one of the greatest players in the history of FK Partizan. He became an immediate hit at the Belgrade club during the 70s and early 80s with his goals and performances. He is the highest capped player in the club’s history with 752 games while he is also the third highest scorer with 309 goals.

Top scorer 
Vukotic was also a Yugoslavian international and scored four goals in 14 appearances for Yugoslavia while he also captained the national side a total of ten times. In the 1978/79 season he signed for French side FC Girondins de Bordeaux where he finished joint top scorer of the club, along with Jacky Vergnes, with eight goals.

Cup final joy 
After a brief spell in France, he returned to his native land where he finished his football career at Partizan. In the 1989/90 season, Vukotic turned to coaching taking on the top job at Partizan and, in his first season in charge, collected the Yugoslavian Cup in style with a 6-1 win in the final.

Superb run 
Partizan also finished sixth in the league that season eight points behind the eventual champions that year, FK Vojvodina. He later moved to Greece where he had a superb run coaching Panionios GS for three seasons and that in turn prompted Cypriot club Apollon Limassol FC to swoop in and sign him. Vukotic stayed for two years at the Limassol club recording a total of 32 wins, eleven draws and nine defeats in the 52 games he was in charge.

Sacked by Achnas
He then moved to Cypriot refugee side Nea Salamis FC where he stayed for another two years before taking over another refugee side, Ethnikos Achnas FC. In 2000/01 Vukotic did not have the best of seasons after Achnas barely avoided the drop back into the second division and he was sacked towards the end.

Controversial appointment
A few eyebrows were raised when it was announced that Vukotic would be taking over the Cyprus national team as of 1 December 2001. The decision to appoint a foreign coach to head the national side sparked off controversy around the island as some argued that only a Cypriot should be coaching the national side.

Right man 
The Cyprus Football Association, however, remained adamant in their belief that Vukotic was the right man for the job and turned a blind eye to the protests of the critics.