Lukic happy in 'holy trinity'

By Jan Juhlin

Djurgårdens IF and their coaching triumvirate of Sören Åkeby, Zoran Lukic and Stefan Rehn are relishing a special challenge with the reigning Swedish champions. This time around, the trio are determined to repeat the domestic successes of last season – and have European progress in their sights. uefa.com spoke to Lukic as the new Swedish season got under way.

uefa.com: What has been your career path until now?

Zoran Lukic: "I used to play for [FK] Sarajevo in Yugoslavia, and after that I became a professional in Austria for three seasons, after which I moved to Sweden and played for Nykvarns [SK] in the third division, but I suffered a knee injury, and in 1990 I became a coach for them. In 1992, I started working for Djurgården, and I worked within the club until 1999, when I stepped up to the first team and became joint coach with Sören."

uefa.com: Was it always your ambition to be a coach?

Lukic: I'm from Serbia and Montenegro, and football is the biggest thing there. When my playing career was over, I was very focused on getting into coaching and to continue a career in football

uefa.com: Do you consider yourself a tactician or a motivator?

Lukic: I'm very much a motivator, and a very spontaneous one as well. This has its problems, since I sometimes miss out on some tactical aspects, but Sören usually helps out with that, since he's more of a calm person.

uefa.com: Does plotting strategies against your opposing coach give you a buzz? Do you enjoy the tactical side of your job?

Lukic: In all honesty, I don't dwell too much on how the other team plays tactically. I firmly believe that the tactics we set are good enough to beat an opponent. It might be that you look at some specifics within the opposing squad, but that's all.

uefa.com: How do you react to defeat? Does it take you long to get over losses?

Lukic: I hate losing, and I'm usually very distressed by any loss. But the feeling passes away quite quickly. Over a night or so, and after that, I’m more motivated than ever and want to get going with the next game as soon as possible.

uefa.com: What are you like on the bench? Are you calm or do you get carried away?

Lukic: I'm a very fiery person who lives and breathes football. Sometimes I get overexcited, but I can't help it. I love the buzz of the game, and try to motivate the players as much as possible.

uefa.com: Going into the new season as champions – is there extra pressure on you?

Lukic: There might be a touch more pressure on us now than last season, but we can cope. We are working a lot with mental training for the players, to help them cope with the pressure. We're working together with a behavioural scientist to strengthen every individual. We set up a goal two years ago that we were going to win the title, and that means that you must be able to cope with the pressure of such a goal.

uefa.com: What are the ambitions for yourself and your team?

Lukic: We're obviously aiming to clinch the title again, and we will also put a lot of focus on a successful campaign in Europe, by trying to qualify for the UEFA Champions League

uefa.com: You’re working as one of three joint coaches at Djurgården. Yourself, Sören Åkeby and Stefan Rehn - is this set-up complicated?

Lukic: We are very different personalities, which is good, and each and every one of us has various areas of responsibility, but I believe it's working really well. Sometimes we work within another person's area of responsibility but we are all open-minded and share our thoughts. It’s really enriching for each of us.