RED NATION SPEAKS TO DEJAN JAKOVIC Canada - Feature | Posted on Aug 7/09 by Steven Bottjer

Rednation Online recently had the opportunity to interview Dejan Jakovic, a young Canadian defender who plays with the Canadian Men's National Team and with DC United of Major League Soccer (MLS). Dejan spoke at length about his experiences playing in the centre back position for both DC United and Team Canada, as well as his experiences playing at the recent CONCACAF Gold Cup tournament. Dejan and his DC United teammates will be appearing at BMO field on August 15 when they take on Toronto FC in a crucial MLS match between playoff contenders.

Rednation Online: You were raised in Etobicoke. Will you be having a lot of family and friends coming to BMO Field on August 15th when DC United play against Toronto FC?

Dejan Jakovic: Oh yeah. Each player gets two tickets for each game on the road. I'm probably going to take all the tickets (for the whole DC United team). I'm going to need at least 30 tickets.

Rednation Online: You played four years of college soccer at the University of Alabama. How did that help your development as a player?

Dejan Jakovic: I think it helped a lot. I had a great coach in Mike Getman. I learned a lot there and we had a good team. I kind of played all over the place there. One year I played at the back and in midfield and then in my last year I even ended up playing striker. Overall, I had a good experience there.

Rednation Online: Do you think that the experience of playing all those different positions helps you playing centre back at the professional level and gives you an even greater understanding of what everyone else is doing on the field?

Dejan Jakovic: Yes. Definitely. When I was younger I played all the positions and it really made me understand the specific roles you have for each position. And that does help me now playing centre back, just being composed on the ball and what not.

Rednation Online: Are you interested in playing other positions at the professional level or will you now focus solely on playing as a centre back?

Dejan Jakovic: To be honest with you, I don't know. I'm comfortable playing at the back. At the same time, after playing many different positions in the past, it has really only been in the last couple of years that my main focus has been on playing centre back. I feel like every year my game is getting better and better and I'm learning a lot at the position, so I guess it all depends on the coach and where he sees that I can help out the team the most. For now I prefer playing in the back as a centre back.

Rednation Online: How are you settling in during your first season with DC United? How do you like living in the capital city of the United States?

Dejan Jakovic: The thing is that it all happened so fast. All of sudden I moved to DC and a new team, but the guys have been really great to me and as soon as I got there they all made it really comfortable for me. And I think that is one of the reasons for our success - the team chemistry is really good here in DC. I have settled in and live close to the stadium, living with two other players. So far I like the city - it's a nice city - and things are going well and I'm happy to be there.

Rednation Online: The Gold Cup was your first big tournament as a member of the Canadian National Team. Aside from the controversy of the quarterfinal against Honduras, how was the experience for you?

Dejan Jakovic: I though the experience was great for me. It wasn't really the first time I got called up. I was called up for almost all the World Cup qualifiers, except for the first game that was played against Jamaica in Toronto. I just didn't really get a chance to play with Dale Mitchell and I was happy that Stephen Hart gave me a call and asked me if I wanted to be a part of the Gold Cup. And I not only appreciated that, but also appreciated him giving me the chance to play. I thought I did well. Overall, at the end of the tournament the whole coaching staff appeared to be pleased with me. I thought it helped me a lot.

Rednation Online: You played alongside Kevin Mckenna, who has been a long time member of the Canadian National Team. As a young player, are there still many things you can learn from someone with his experience, especially with regard to competing in CONCACAF matches?

Dejan Jakovic: Yes. I think Kevin is a great player. It was really nice playing with him at the back. You can just tell that he has so much experience. And I definitely learned a lot from him. He is a vocal guy and that is something that I feel that I need to work on. It's getting better in DC and he has definitely helped me out a lot. It was also nice to play a back four with Canada, because in DC we play three in the back and I am the central defender with a lot of responsibility. So it was a lot easier for me and very nice to play with four in the back.

Rednation Online: I remember seeing DC play with the three in the back the last time I watched you play against Toronto. Is that a constant formation or is that something the coach will change depending on the opposition?

Dejan Jakovic: We have pretty much played that formation every single game and that has been our formation for the whole year so far. In our most recent game against Houston we did switch to a back four in the second half and I thought we did really well, considering that we never really play that way. But we did play well with it, so I'm not sure if we will change to that formation or if we will continue to play with three in the back. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Rednation Online: In your four appearances at the Gold Cup, Canada only conceded 1 goal. What were some of the reasons for this success?

Dejan Jakovic: I feel like we play differently with Stephen Hart. He focuses on defence quite a bit. And he also lets the players play. No matter how you play, you have to enjoy the game. I feel like everyone was enjoying the game and playing the way that they wanted to play. Defensively we held our shape every game and we got the results. I thought it was a great team effort from everyone.

Rednation Online: What was it like playing for Stephen Hart? How does his style differ from Tom Soehn of DC United?

Dejan Jakovic: It's just a different formation. With the four in the back you don't have as much responsibility. You kind of have your own side of the pitch to worry about more. Of course, you still have to provide cover for the other centre back. With three in the back and five in the middle, as the central defender I have to give support to the left back and the right back. It is a lot of running and lot of ground that you have to cover. I think that is the biggest difference.

Rednation Online: So it really requires a mobile and fast centre back?

Dejan Jakovic: Yeah, you have to be athletic and have decent speed. Another thing is that there are more times where you find yourself playing pretty much one on one - almost half the time. Whereas with four in the back, you're pretty much always giving cover to the right back and you also get some cover as well. However, with three in the back you are often finding yourself playing one on one against the opposing strikers. That is the formation we play in DC and it allows us to play five in the midfield and have more control over the game.

Rednation Online: The MLS does not observe the dates in which International matches are played and thus many players have to choose between playing games for their club or their country. Are the DC United management and coaching staff supportive of your playing for Canada? Do they think it valuable for your development?

Dejan Jakovic: I think they do. I didn't have any problems. Stephen Hart gave me a call first and asked me if I thought it would be okay for me to leave my club to play in the Gold Cup. I said yes and told him that he could give DC United a call and that I did not think there would be any problem. And he called them and there weren't any problems. Just the next day I saw Tom Soehn and he said to get ready as I was going to the Gold Cup. They wanted me there and they missed me, but at the same time they were happy that I was getting an opportunity to represent my country.

Rednation Online: Once again the standings in the Eastern conference are very tight and it looks like clinching a playoff spot is going to come right down to the end of the season for many teams. What do you think DC United has to do to be successful in the final third of the season?

Dejan Jakovic: In terms of our schedule, we are on the road right now and we have some tough games coming up. We just played Houston. In the first half we came out a little bit slow, but then we fought back. However, it wasn't enough and we lost 4-3. And now we have Toronto and Chicago coming up. It is a really close race. You can win one game and be at the top or lose and be sixth or seventh just like that. It's going to be really important to finish off the season strong, especially at home. We have a couple of home games coming up and need to do well in those. We need to come into games and start off well in the first 15-20 minutes and be able to finish teams off, even if it is a 1-0 win.

Rednation Online: DC United is also competing in the CONCACAF Champions League. Is it a challenge for you to juggle playing the regular MLS schedule, for Canada and in the Champions League?

Dejan Jakovic: It's definitely getting to me. To be honest with you, I haven't really had a break. I was in preseason with Red Star Belgrade and then just when they were finishing their preseason and about to start their season, I went over to DC, where they were at the beginning of their preseason. So I went through all of preseason again and started out the season while most other players had some time off. So it is definitely catching up to me and I am feeling some fatigue. Plus, when you add in the CONCACAF games and start playing on Saturday and Tuesday, you can't really expect to bring out the same lineup every single time. I think that is another plus for our team - that we have a lot of good players on our team that can come in and do the job. We weren't happy with our first Champions League game against Firpo. We tied 1-1 and didn't bring out our best lineup. Now we go there (to El Salvador) and play them on Tuesday. We have to come out with a result and have to come up strong.

Rednation Online: Even though it will only be a friendly, are you excited about DC United's upcoming match against Real Madrid?

Dejan Jakovic: Yeah, that's being played before we head out to Toronto. I think on August 9th and I don't think that one really matters in terms of (player) fatigue. It's just going to be an exciting game. You get to go up against some of your favourite players like Kaka, Ronaldo and Robben. There are so many stars on that team and it will be a packed stadium. I'm sure there is going to 70,000 or even more, so that's just going to be a great experience for everyone.

Rednation Online: Who are some of your idols as a soccer player?

Dejan Jakovic: I've always been a big fan of Kaka. I loved him with AC Milan and it is going to be amazing to play against him.

Rednation Online: You previously played for Red Star Belgrade, which a famous European team. Red Star was also the team that you supported growing up. How was that experience? What made you decide to return to North America?

Dejan Jakovic: Even since I was little I have always been a huge Red Star fan and when I went on a trial there and ended up signing for them, I don't think it hit me right away. It was unbelievable. It started off well. And then of course there was a coaching change and things did not work out after that. I wasn't really playing and I felt that as I was young the most important thing for me to be doing was playing. So I thought I needed to move somewhere that I would be playing regularly. Then DC got in contact with me and indicated they had been following me all along and then it all happened very fast. Overall, I was happy to have played for Red Star and it was just a great experience for me.

Rednation Online: What do you consider to be some of the greatest achievements in your young career?

Dejan Jakovic: To begin with, just playing professional soccer, including playing with Red Star. I think so far for me everything is going in the right direction. Things did not work out with Red Star and now I have come to DC. Overall, I think I am having a good year. The team is doing well. And then with the Gold Cup, I got an opportunity to play. I showed Stephen Hart what I was capable of doing and I hope to be part of the Canadian National Team for the future.