Former Malta coach Ilic takes over at Vojvodina

Former Malta national team coach Josif Ilic is back in business after a rather lengthy period of inactivity when it was announced that he was appointed FK Vojvodina coach, the First Division club he captained during his playing days.

uefa.com reported yesterday that Ilic will replace Miroslav Vukasinov who has parted company with the Serbo-Montenegrin club after a slow start to the new season. Vojvodina have yet to win after three matches, including a 3-0 defeat by FK Zeleznik in their last outing.

Ilic played for Vojvodina during the 1980s and enjoyed considerable success there until starting his coaching career. He began with third division side FK Novi Sad before taking jobs at FK Becej and FK Banatski Dvor.

Ilic was appointed Malta national team coach in summer of 1997 after spending some time as the Malta FA's Youth Development Officer. During his four-year stint, he led the national team to five wins, four draws and 32 defeats in 41 outings.

His last match in charge was a 2-1 away defeat to Denmark, in a World Cup qualifier, on June 6, 2001. A few weeks later he was sacked and replaced by German coach Siegfried Held.

"I'm happy because I have returned to my club," Ilic was quoted as saying after his appointment at FK Vojvodina.

"I know what I can do and we must change so many things. Modern football needs speed, power and plenty of practice.

"Technical ability alone is not enough. We will need hard workers."

Vojvodina have also named Dragoljub Bekvalac as their new sports director. He, too, is a former player and has been coach of the team on three occasions, the last time being during the 2001/02 season.