Partizan Open Season in Ub as Sasa Ilic Makes Debut
The black-and-whites open the Super League at 8 p.m. in Ub against promoted Zemun. Club legend Sasa Ilic takes charge of Partizan for the first time.
- Partizan open the new Super League season at 8 p.m. in Ub against Zemun.
- The match marks the coaching debut of Sasa Ilic on the black-and-whites' bench.
- The lineups are out, with Zekovic among the starting 11.
- Zemun return to the top flight this season and become the first test of the new era.
By late afternoon in Ub you can tell this is no ordinary summer Friday. The speakers are being tested, the stands fill earlier than usual, and one question circles the pitch, the same one the whole city has been asking for days. What does Partizan look like with Sasa Ilic on the bench? The first answer arrives at 8 p.m., in the opening round of the Super League against Zemun.
Ilic took the job as a man who knows this club from the inside. For years he wore the captain’s armband, and now, for the first time, he sits in the seat where the decisions are made. A debut for a coach who is a legend as a player always carries extra weight. The fans trust him, but that same crowd can turn impatient if the early matches do not go to plan.
On the other side is Zemun, a side promoted back to the top flight this summer, entering the opener with nothing to lose. Newly promoted teams usually play free of fear, unbothered by an opponent’s name, and that is exactly what makes them awkward visitors for a favorite still searching for rhythm.
What kind of Partizan can we expect tonight?
The lineups are out and they reveal an intention. Zekovic, one of the names Ilic is building his idea of the game around, is in the black-and-whites’ starting 11. The coach has said he wants a team that takes the ball and dictates the tempo, not one that waits and reacts.
Unlike some past seasons, when Partizan tended to sleepwalk through openers, this side goes into the match with a clear task. A first round against a promoted team is a chance to set the standard straight away, but also a trap, because everything is expected of the favorite and little is credited short of a convincing display.
The new era begins under pressure nobody at the club is hiding. The goal is to break Red Star’s dominance, and a goal like that is not won in July. It is built match by match, and the first of them is right here in Ub.
What comes next?
Ilic gets his first 90 minutes to show which direction he is taking Partizan. The result is one thing, the impression another, and supporters will watch both closely. An opening round rarely settles a season, but it can set a tone that lingers for months.
The match is being played as you read this, so the score is only now being written. If Partizan want to signal that the new era has truly begun, tonight’s 90 minutes in Ub are the place to prove it. Do you believe Ilic can bring the title to the black-and-whites right away?
