The battle for the European title starts this weekend with a year delay. In the near future, Voetbalzone will highlight various players who you should pay attention to during EURO 2020 or who have a special story. In the sixth episode attention to Stole Dimitrievski. The first goalkeeper of North Macedonia once did an internship at Ajax and tells in an exclusive interview with Voetbalzone what he expects from the group with the Netherlands, Austria and Ukraine.
By Thijs Verhaar
The 27-year-old Stole Dimitrievski cannot explain exactly how his country managed to qualify for a final tournament for the first time in history. “But we’re there and that’s what matters”, Rayo Vallecano’s closing post chuckles proudly. North Macedonia eventually emerged via the complicated Nations League breakout route after falling far behind Poland and Austria in the regular qualifying tournament. Subsequently, in the group D of the Nations League play-offs, the country only had to deal with the modest Kosovo (2-1 win) and the equally small football country Georgia (0-1 win), who also have both their two and a half. three best players missed. To put it irreverently, you can call the North Macedonians a kind of ‘lucky losers’, but the joy is logically no less because of that.
“We are extremely proud of our participation and will do everything we can to make our compatriots proud during the tournament.” Dimitrievski still remembers how intensely qualifying was celebrated on the streets of Skopje. “To understand what it was like, you have to know what the Macedonian people are like. We are only a small country, but everyone is very patriotic and loves football. So the success was massively celebrated and tears of happiness flowed everywhere.” Macedonia seceded from the then Yugoslavia in 1991 – which in that capacity was active in final tournaments – and since then has built an independent nation, with the national football team being the greatest pride.
Despite the strict corona restrictions, there was a moment of celebration in the streets of Skopje in December. The country is participating in a final tournament for the first time.
It will therefore never be the fault of the Macedonians, but for a long time the talents were lacking to achieve really appealing results. With Goran Pandev they have had someone who has competed at the top of the Serie A for over fifteen years, but he was too often surrounded by mediocrity. In recent years, however, the level has risen considerably, Dimitrievski also experiences. “I’ve been with the national team for six years and we’ve grown a lot since then. A lot of guys play at a higher level, we have more experience and above all we are a close team”, he sums up the strong points. “The most important thing is that we know exactly what to do with each other. We excel in our collaboration and dedication. Everyone knows each other’s qualities and limitations. This is how we help each other move forward.”
With that spirit, the close-knit collective of national coach Igor Angelovski even provided a resounding surprise in March by beating Germany 1-2 in a World Cup qualifier. “That was of course unexpected, but at the same time not quite”, says the confident Dimitrievski. “You always have to believe in your own chances, even if you’re the underdog. If you’re not fighting for victory with full conviction, you’d better stay home. Qualifying for the European Championship has strengthened our faith and a match like this against Germany is of course good for us, but at the same time we have to remain humble.” The fact that the chance of underestimation decreases as a result of such a startling result does not bother him much. At such a big tournament it is impossible to stay under the radar anyway, according to the closing post. “You just have to prepare extremely well and make the most of it. In that sense, it is no different from other competitions.”
In the exhibition matches for the European Championship, North Macedonia drew 1-1 against Slovenia, while Kazakhstan was convincingly defeated 4-0 in the end.
However, he cannot deny that it is increasingly haunted in his head now that the baptism of fire at the European Championships is rapidly approaching. The pressure from the nation is palpable and he logically has no idea what to expect. “It will be our first ever European Championship for all of us and unfortunately there is no guide to what is coming your way. All we can do is rely on our own talent and abilities,” Dimitrievski instills in himself. “This will be the most important tournament in our lives. At least until now.” The team has known since December that it can participate in the European Championship and the preparations have been in full swing since then. “Meanwhile, we know our opponents through and through,” he assures. “We know their qualities and also know what they are less strong at. Now it’s up to us to show how difficult we can make it for them.”
North Macedonia will play its first group match against Austria next Sunday at 6 p.m., while Ukraine will be the second opponent on Thursday (3 p.m.). On Monday, June 21, the third and final group match against the Dutch national team, which according to the bookmakers is the favorite to win the group, will follow. Dimitrievski saw countless video images and was amazed. “The Netherlands has very good players. It is a young team, but with a lot of talent. I’m really looking forward to playing against them.” In January he played with his club Rayo Vallecano against Barcelona in the Copa del Rey and could not prevent Frenkie de Jong from scoring once, just like Lionel Messi. “De Jong is fantastic and the same goes for Jasper Cillessen and Luuk de Jong, who I have often seen in action in Spain. So those are three great players alone and the rest of the team is of course strong too.”
North Macedonia lost twice against Austria in the European Championship qualifying and is also well below Ukraine and the Netherlands in the world ranking, which Dimitrievski is most impressed with beforehand. However, he does not want to make any statements in advance about the balance of power in the group. “I don’t want to think that way because I would put restrictions on our team. I’m not going to say we have to fight for second place or anything. No, we just want to look as good as possible and then there is always a chance that you will win. Even against these opponents. We feel supported by the knowledge that we are making history with our country and want to continue to do so for as long as possible. It is fantastic to be able to represent North Macedonia. That is a great responsibility that we embrace with love.”
The North Macedonian team plays with passion. “Everyone is very patriotic. So you can imagine how emotional we got when qualifying was a fact.”
Despite this, the goalkeeper is well aware that it will be very difficult as the smallest brother in the group. “We are going to play against top players such as Oleksandr Zinchenko, David Alaba and Frenkie de Jong. That is the absolute best in the world, but as a team we would like to measure ourselves against that. We shouldn’t be complacent now that we’ve qualified. No, we’re going to give everything and make sure we can’t blame ourselves afterwards,” argues the goalkeeper, who kept his goal clean in 39 international matches and conceded a total of 36 goals. He has been active at various Spanish clubs of the highest or second highest level since his 20s and has been a fixture for Rayo Vallecano for three years, which just missed a return to LaLiga this season.
However, like many North Macedonians, his big dream is one day to play in the Italian Serie A, where record international Goran Pandev is still active at Genoa. In his youth, Dimitrievski already played for Udinese, which never allowed him playing time in the top team. However, his career could have looked very different. The goalkeeper was known in youth as a great talent and did an internship at Ajax when he was sixteen, he says. “That was a wonderful experience, but I also received an offer from my own country to play for Rabonicki Skopje. There I was able to make my debut in the Europa League at the age of eighteen and I couldn’t pass up such an opportunity. So I only stayed at Ajax for a short time, but I still enjoyed it. I am also really looking forward to returning to Amsterdam during the European Championship. It’s a great city and we’re going to make it a great game.”
Voetbalzone spoke during an online event of the Basilio Goalkeepers Academy with Stole Dimitrievski, who as an ambassador is committed to motivating young goalkeepers and gives them the opportunity to develop further with clinics.
Episode 1: The Man’s Dilemma Who Once Got His Gambling Grandfather £125,000
Episode 2: The heir of the ‘clown in the sweatpants’ who mirrors Van der Sar
Episode 3: ‘Koziolek’ can play Dutchman from the books 1.5 years after car crash at the European Championship
Episode 4: The street kid who reached the Premier League and European Championship from the seventh level
Episode 5: Italy has its own Jurriën-Timber scenario due to Mancini .’s striking decision
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