By SBI SOCCER
Since stepping down from a head coaching position in July, Predrag “Preki” Radosavljevic has been looking for a new gig, and he may be close to landing one.
Preki stepped down as Sacramento Republic head coach in July and was reportedly ready to take the same position at English Premier League side Leicester City.
That move quickly fell through, but Preki is apparently close to leading a new club once again, as Sports Illustrated reports he is working with Milan Mandaric to secure a job.
Mandaric is a club flipper and has been buying and selling English outfits for years, including Portsmouth, Leicester City and Sheffield Wednesday. According to SI, he is lining up a purchase of another club, with the advisement of Preki, and is ready to help his friend land a job once a deal is finalized.
Preki had previously played for Mandaric’s Major Indoor Soccer League side St. Louis Storm and also helped introduce him to members on the ownership board for Portsmouth, which would be Mandaric’s first investment in English football after he had already invested in NASL and MISL clubs.
What do you think about this development? Where do you think Preki will end up coaching?
Share your thoughts below.
Funny, I wrote about this same thing several month’s ago, after Preki left Sacramento.
He has had a long standing relationship Mandaric that goes back 30 years or so. I thought it may be a small possibility that Mandaric may have convinced the Thai consortium that owned LC to give Preki a shot at a management position, but when Ranieri threw hi hat into the ring, I thought LC would hire him right away and I was right.
The Championship is in a bad way right now, with a reduction money from the TV rights contract from the last one, almost all of the clubs are in the red. While some will recover and many will dump a lot of EPL loanees and high priced players, may will not or cannot and will incur even more debt.That’s where Mandaric will come in.
He acts like a corporate raider, buying distressed businesses (or football clubs) and instilling economic discipline, cutting away fat ( and bloated player salaries) turning the club around and reselling at a large profit. It may be more difficult than in previous purchases as he was able to offload players with little loss. As so many teams are under the gun, and also trying to cut players or reduce salaries, it’s a buyer’s market in the Championship now and Mandaric may go into League One, which may be a better fit for Preki as a successful season (getting promoted) may lead to offer elsewhere in the FA.
No more #WhereIsPreki… ;~(
Well, at least we know Preki’s alive.
Since he resigned from Sacramento, nothing about this story has made any sense.
Preki managed the Sacremento Republic in USL and left the club in July to manage Leicester City, but the job fell through. His friend Mandaric buys struggling football clubs, rights the ship and sells them for profit. The rumor is that after he buys his next club Preki will be the manager.