Former European glamour club, Crvena Zvezda has long had a connection to Australian football.
From Milan Ivanovic’s time at Belgrade in the ’80s, to Michael Curcija in the early 2000s, Eli Babalj in the mid noughties and most recently current Socceroo Milos Degenek, who is back training with the club, in the American football off-season.
Crvena Zvezda also have an academy in New Zealand, as well as scouting connections in Australia, which keep a close watch on talent. In recent years players from VIC NPL side Altona Magic have gone to Belgrade for trials.
There is already, however, an Australian teenager making steady progress in the club’s famous academy.
Locally known as ‘Vilijam Milvud’, aka William Millwood, is a former prodigious Australian child who rose to fame thanks to his wizardry with the ball and the help of the internet.
The former APIA Leichhardt junior’s skills were honed at the New Era Academy, which has a connection to English Premier League giants Chelsea.
NEAT academy delivers a tailored individual program that is based on five key principles of football – physical, psychological, social, tactical and technical skills of the game.
Milwood’s raw ability had a slew of Europe’s best clubs, including Real Madrid and Barcelona, interested in his prized signature – only to see Crvena Zvezda win the race.
As they’re known in English, Red Star Belgrade are incredibly underrated in Europe when it comes to its academy. The in-depth development program makes up for the club’s lack of finances.
The curriculum is based on a child’s ability rather than their age, with the club also tailoring it to the physical and mental growth spurts of boys – normally at ages five, 13 and 18.
Players are also trained on their position, which means if you are a box to box midfielder you will learn the art of defending, attacking and making specific late runs.
As the taught curriculum is position-specific, it allows the coaching staff to identify potential positional weakness and implement a plan to correct this.
The academy collates detailed information on a player’s physical, psychological and technical skills, which are constantly changing.
A player’s mental health is also monitored closely, as this can alter from missing a simple pass to not coping well on a heavy rain-soaked pitch.
The boys at Crvena Zvezda’s academy are also exposed to the classroom, where they undertake theoretical lessons in nutrition, recovery, injury prevention and mental wellbeing.
(Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)
Although Crvena Zvezda are the biggest club in the Balkans, financially they cannot compete with Europe’s elite, relying heavily on the moneyball recruitment strategy of unknown African players, as well as academy sales.
Names like Luka Jovic, Ivan Ilic, Marko Grujic and Uros Racic have netted Red Star millions in the past several years from the academy.
In 2022, promising 18-year-old striker Marko Lazetic signed with AC Milan for $4 million, talented goakeeper Ognjen Lukic moved to Stade Reims, and several more academy starlets joined other clubs.
William Milwood is now with Crvena Zvezda’s under 14 side and is being exposed to much more technical and tactical situations, in an effort to simulate as close to possible senior football in a few years’ time.
He is extremely comfortable in possession, with the ability to dictate play and equally adapt on both left and right sides.
Australia has not shown any interest in capping Millwood at underage level, regardless of how prestigious the academy of his club side is.
He is just one of a number of eligible and talented player who the green and gold are overlooking. Serbia, on the other hand, have acted swiftly, selecting ‘Vilijam Milvud’ in an upcoming squad for an under 14 international match.
Millwood is a star on the rise, much like the one on Crvena Zvezda’s badge.
The Australian-born teenager’s international allegiance may now lie with Serbia, rather than the country of his birth – who have once again, been slow to identify potential players in problematic positions for its international teams.
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