He realized it early on and had the ability to achieve his goal. He did it his way, based on the principles conveyed by his parents. Radoslav and Milica still reside in the small Bosnian town and are proud of their son.

“Always be true to yourself, don’t be arrogant, show respect and never forget your family”, his parents told him when he was a child. He follows their advice to the letter. Cojko Cimirot is one of the nicest guys in PAOK’s dressing room.

Always smiling, eager to listen, to learn, to help, to evolve as a footballer and as a person. Igor Tudor was a fatherly figure at the start of the season, as the young player embarked on his first journey away from Bosnia. The Croatian coach was very satisfied with Cimirot’s response.

He had to work hard to recover from an injury and to shake off 2-3 kilos from his body, while also getting accustomed to different, more advanced training circumstances.

Cutting school

Next challenge for the 11888 MVP of December? To learn English in order to communicate with his teammates. Studying is not his strong suit however. “I was a good student, until football took centre stage in my life. I didn’t pay any attention to school afterwards”, he says to Toumba Magazine.

This shift happened at the age of 12. After spending five years at the academies of Leotar and having his elder brother and teammate Milorad as role model, Gojko started envisioning his life and future around football. At the same time, he stopped caring about homework.

“I liked school, geography in particular, but I loved football more”. He would also cut classes –the only mischief that a quiet boy like Gojko introduced in his program. “We would learn when there was a test coming up and we would cut school with my friends”.

In a small society like Trebinje, where most people know each other, it was difficult for a bunch of youngsters to hide while roaming around at school hours. So his father and mother would learn that their child was not at school, but Gojko had a solid alibi: “One of my coaches at Leotar liked me and believed in my talent. So he would cover for me and tell my parents that I skipped school for a special training with him”. And his parents would pretend they were convinced, hoping deep inside that these… special trainings would eventually bear fruit.

First transfer

Their hopes were well founded. Before his 17th birthday or even finishing high school, young Cimirot made his debut in Leotar’s senior team. Always by his brother’s side. “I remember my legs shaking. A few minutes later however, I forgot everything and felt as though I was playing with my friends”.

His ease on the football pitch made him a regular at Leotar and Trebinje was becoming too small for him. He moved to Sarajevo, to the country’s biggest club. His talent got the space to evolve further, thanks to the free role he was given in midfield.

As a modern box-to-box midfielder and having lined up good performances in Sarajevo’s European encounters, he soon earned a call at the national team of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He met all the stars but was flabbergasted by Edin Džeko.

PAOK and the other offers

Young, talented, Bosnian and international are player qualities that lure every agent. The stands in Sarajevo’s game hosted several agents who wanted to check Cimirot up close and see for themselves the player that topped every ergometric test with his uncanny endurance and aerobic ability. LOSC Lille, Hamburger SV, FC Basel, Crvena Zvezda, KRC Genk and Freiburg all made an effort to sign him.

After a one-month saga, Cimirot opted for PAOK. “It was a difficult period for me”, he explains. “I had many offers and that wasn’t easy for me or satisfying. There was too much stress. I joined PAOK because I considered it the best option for me to evolve as a player and to launch my career. It was my decision. My parents supported me, but I am old enough to take responsibility of my choices”.

This demure stance is trademark of his character and his everyday life at PAOK. He follows his program faithfully, he spends most of his time with his girlfriend and his friends –mostly Marin Leovac and Giannis Mystakidis-, but he snobs Thessaloniki’s nightlife.

He knows that, in order to have a great career, he needs to adjust his life accordingly. Otherwise, he would have remained at Trebinje…

• The Life Story of Gojko Cimirot was published in the 2nd issue of Toumba Magazine

INFO

The fourth issue of Toumba Magazine is available in:

• PAOK FC Official Stores
• More than 1.000 selling points in Northern Greece.
• And on store.paokfc.gr with no shipping cost.

OFFERS

Toumba Magazine brings you to Toumba permanently. Win 10 season tickets of 2016-17 season, and 5 kits of PAOK’s 90th anniversary. In the fourth issue, you can find the second of three coupons that you need to collect in order to join the big draw. The first coupon can be found on the 3rd issue.

Purchasing Toumba Magazine earns you a 30% discount on PAOK products at PAOK FC Official Stores at store.paokfc.gr for all your e-purchases until 30 June.