Coach protectorate
The Serb arrived in Madrid at the age of 29. Pantic’s transfer was preceded by a mythical story about the dialogue between the mattress head coach Radomir Antic and the club’s president Jesus Hill. The disgraced president could not believe that Antic seriously believed in Pantic’s ability to strengthen his team. Like, Milinko’s move to Spain is the result not so much of a quality football player’s game as a banal compatriot.
In the end, the coach managed to convince the president to buy one of the leaders of the Greek Panionis (they say Hill threatened Antich with a refund in case of failure of Pantich). At the age of 19, Pantic became a Partizan player and was considered one of the most talented Yugoslav footballers of his generation. It was then that Milinko met Antic to meet in Atletico 10 years later.
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Pantic arrived in Madrid exhausted from pre-season training in Greece. Panionios coach Emerich Aeneas (who led the Hungarian national team in the historic Premier League match against Ukraine in Uzhhorod in 1992) liked to train three times a day. Once Antich called his countryman and invited him to Madrid. Already in the debut match for the “mattresses”, the Serb struck with a quality game and scored a ball after an unusual free kick.
Golden double and title in the Champions League )
The rookie spent the starting season quite successfully (16 goals and the status of the team’s second top scorer), and he finished with a bright spot. In the King’s Cup final, it was Pantic who brought Atletico to victory in the battle with Barcelona in stoppage time. As a result, Madrid not only won the Primera Division, but also won a golden double – the first in the history of the club. The Champions League was waiting for Antic’s team.
In the group, the Madrid team met, as it turned out, with the future winner of the tournament – Borussia Dortmund. Although in the first two rounds the Spaniards faced a modest Steaua (4: 0) and Vidzev (4: 1). Diego Simeone, Pantic’s roommate, sent two goals each to the Romanians and Poles. As for the Serb, in six matches of the group stage, he scored four times – a goal for each opponent (twice Vidzev). Milinko scored especially nicely in Dortmund.
The path of the “mattresses” ended in the quarterfinals, Pantic scored again, but it turned out to be too little. Strong Ajax Louis van Gaal defeated the opponent only in extra time (3: 2) – in the 119th minute scored Tigani Babangida. In turn, Pantic converted a penalty in the 105th minute and made the score 2: 2. Ten players scored 4 goals in that draw at once, but the score of the Serbian attacking midfielder remained unattainable.
Flowers for the maestro
In addition to his important role and, as a result, statistical role for Atletico, where Milinko remained until July 1998, when he moved to Le Havre, France, he also played a spiritual role. On January 28, 1996, Madrid defeated Athletic Bilbao 4-1 at the Vicente Calderon. All the home team’s goals came after a corner kick, which was perfectly executed by the Serbian.
One of the thousands of fans at the Madrid stadium was a woman named Margarita Luengo. Before that game she had a feeling – her team will score 4 times today. So in one of the fan cafes Margarita asked the administrator for 4 carnations and took them to the stadium. After each goal, the woman threw a flower next to the corner flag. Atletico scored two of the four goals after corners by Milinko Pantic (once again the Serb scored himself).
Milinko Pantic / photo Atletico
Once a football player approached the corner flag and carelessly bursting flowers. After that, Margarita wrote a note to Milinko : “Don’t do this, please. Carnations are for you.” Since then, Pantic and Ms. Luengo have been close friends. The 74-year-old woman now calls Milinko her son. After the farewell match, the football player gave his girlfriend his T-shirt, which she handed over to the club museum.
Only once the tradition with carnations was broken – it was not close Margarita’s friend and she could not come to the stadium. Even during the pandemic, at every home match of the “mattresses” no longer on the “Vicente Calderon”, but on the “Wanda Metropolitano” next to the left corner flag of the southern gate were carnations in club colors: 12 red and 12 white. One day Margarita got a call from the captain of the Koke team with a serious question: “How should the flowers lie properly?” The woman told the “assistant” where the bouquet should be located through the camera. her during away matches. But for 25 years, no home game of Madrid passes without flowers lying next to the corner flag.
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