Milos Ninkovic is Australian. Just about, anyway. He’s passed his citizenship test, and now it’s just a matter of waiting for the bureaucratic gears of the federal government to turn quickly enough to produce the paperwork that will make it all official.
It’s not lost on the former Serbian international – one of the greatest players to ever grace the A-League – that it’s happening on the eve of an occasion he never could have conceived of, which has only come about because of his former club’s request that he become an Aussie citizen.
Sydney FC captain Luke Brattan and Western Sydney Wanderers star Milos Ninkovics face off at Allianz Stadium on Thursday.Credit:Rhett Wyman
Or so he says. It’s a bit like that.
On Saturday night, Ninkovic will walk out onto the new Allianz Stadium in front of tens of thousands of fans who used to adore him, but now can’t stand the thought of him – let alone the sight of him – in a red and black shirt.
He doesn’t know what to expect, although the fact that Sydney FC fans have sought permission to bring severed pig’s heads and dead rats to the derby is a reasonable hint.
“Nothing, really,” Ninkovic told the Herald when asked what he wanted them to know before Saturday night. “I hope I’m going to have, maybe when I retire, like one hour to speak about what really happened – and probably they will understand after that, maybe. They don’t know the whole story.
Flying the flag: Ninkovic is waiting for his citizenship to come through.Credit:Rhett Wyman
“I understand them. I’m just going to say that they would probably do the same, if they were in my position, because I had two choices – to look after my family or to look after my legacy. I have three kids at home, and I need to look after them.”
Exactly why it ended in such rancour depends which side you listen to. The Sky Blues are reluctant to add any further fuel to the smouldering wreckage of his tenure at Sydney FC – at least by further detailing the breakdown in discussions, and how they spilled into public view via an unauthorised Instagram video Ninkovic posted before his exit was official.
But it all revolves around Ninkovic’s citizenship status, and whether he would be counted as one of the five foreigners each A-League team is allowed to sign this season.
“We did come out on record and talk about what we did offer Milos, and the status of the negotiation from our side,” Sydney chief executive Adam Santo said. “It’s difficult to now come out with a secondary comment around what was said, what was offered … that still has to remain private and confidential.”
What both sides do agree on is that Sydney tabled Ninkovic, 37, a one-year contract extension. The club says it also offered him a long-term coaching role in their academy.
But he says it came with a giant asterisk: he had to obtain Australian citizenship before the season started, something well beyond his control. Ninkovic also claims this ultimatum was made after Steve Corica asked him, at the end of last season, if he was still capable of playing at A-League level – a question that offended him, and he argues is one the coach should have answered himself, based on his own judgment of his performances.
After Sydney recorded their worst A-League finish in a decade, Ninkovic said he would have been fine if the club just told him he wasn’t needed as part of their rebuild – but he wasn’t going to go through a full pre-season if it meant he couldn’t play until his citizenship papers arrived.
“If I accept that, I would not be here right now. I would have to retire,” he said. “I still don’t have citizenship, and it’s round six. I don’t know what is not clear – they’re angry at me because I decided to play one more year, instead of retiring.”
Corica has alleged Ninkovic told him he could only play “20 or 30 minutes” off the bench, a role he couldn’t afford to give a visa player, and believes he made his mind up about signing for Western Sydney Wanderers much earlier than he’s let on.
Ninkovic wholeheartedly denies this, and, for the record, has started all five games this season, for a grand total of 429 minutes. The legs are still there, although he insists he has no point to prove to anyone.
“Steve, and I, we know what the truth is, and that’s why I was surprised that he said some things that obviously…” Ninkovic said. Long, long pause.
“I have to say that it’s a lie, and it’s not true. But it’s OK. I understand him as well. He needs to save [face] in front of the fans, and tell his story, the club needs to tell their story as well. I understand all of that. But I think as a club, a big club, as a coach who won so many trophies, they should come and say the truth.”
On Thursday, Ninkovic and Corica crossed paths for the first time since their falling out. They shook hands and exchanged views from separate tables, five metres apart, in a joint press conference set-up at Allianz akin to what you might see before a heavyweight title fight, sans the face-off.
“It is what it is,” said Ninkovic’s former teammate Luke Brattan. “You can’t just leave to the rival team and nothing is said.” “He’s the enemy now,” Corica added. “We have to treat him that way. It’s going to be hostile for Ninko. The fans loved him.”
It was all cordial enough, but the tension was palpable.
“It felt a little bit weird,” Ninkovic said afterwards. “But this is life, this is football.”
They’re also angry at him because of his conduct since switching to the Wanderers. Before he’d even played a game for them, Ninkovic said Western Sydney had shown him more respect than Sydney FC did in seven years. That didn’t go down well.
He also grabbed the Red and Black Bloc’s megaphone and led a ‘F— off East Sydney’ chant at a pre-season event, which didn’t go down well with The Cove, or the club.
“The way Milos has conducted himself … I think that’s really turned fans further against him now. There’s still a lot of anger out there,” Santo said.
This week, he made a rogue appearance on fan YouTube channel RBTV, explaining the events of his departure from his perspective in an interview recorded in a supporter’s western Sydney backyard. It’s a thoroughly entertaining watch.
In turn, Ninkovic is angry at Sydney FC for offering fans a $10 merchandise voucher and a bag of lollies – a reference to his replacement in the No.10 shirt, Joe Lolley – if they donate their unwanted Ninkovic jerseys to a charity, Football United.
“It’s just not nice, especially as I spent seven years in this club, won six trophies,” Ninkovic said. “Maybe I’m wrong. But in my view, it’s not nice.”
