Three years ago, the United States Under-23 men’s national team missed out on Olympic participation in a COVID-19 postponed qualification process for the third-consecutive Olympiad.
At the time, Djordje Mihailovic thought his chance at being an Olympian passed him by along with the under-23 age requirement for the FIFA-categorized youth tournament, however the 25-year-old creative midfielder is being given another crack at the bat in Paris this summer as one of the team’s three overage players.
“Whenever someone asks me ‘What does it mean?’ I don’t know how to answer that because there’s not many words to describe this experience,” said Mihailovic in an interview with SBI. “In the Olympics for men’s soccer, you essentially get one chance at your age group to experience this, to accomplish this goal, this dream that you have to play in the Olympics.
“In America, this is the biggest sporting event for Americans, I think, in terms of athletes showing what they can do on the biggest stage. Not only in soccer but in life, it’s rare to have a second chance. When Marko [Mitrović] said that I’m on the team, if Colorado accepts [the call up], I’m for sure taking this chance.”
Interestingly, Mihailovic’s relationship with head coach Marko Mitrović dates back to before the Chicago Fire homegrown ever signed a professional contract. While still a part of the club’s academy, Mihailovic’s talent from an early age earned him the opportunity to train with the Fire first team where Mitrović joined as an assistant coach following his U-20 World Cup triumph as an assistant with his native Serbia — another link he shares with Mihailovic, who is of paternal Serbian descent.
“The first time I met him he tried speaking to me in Serbian so I had to tell him I don’t understand Serbian. That was my first impression,” Mihailovic joked. “When we first connected on the field, he came straight from winning the U-20 World Cup with Serbia so I was very motivated going into my professional career to work under him…In three and a half [or] four years working under him I learned a lot.”
A connection that began many years ago has now blossomed into a trusting relationship at what they both hope is the perfect time.
“We have a good connection and it seems like our paths are always crossing for the better,” Mihailovic reminisced. “He was coaching me from a very important age and I still remember a lot of things, what he wanted me to work on, what he wanted me to do on the field, and I think that our relationship is very positive. Me being here, [he knows] what I can do on the field for him.”
Part of that is an understanding of what Mitrović looks for in a player, which Mihailovic experienced further under his intermittent coach at the 2023 Gold Cup where the Serbian served as an assistant with the senior U.S. men’s national team, allowing him to fit seamlessly into an Olympic team that he was not a part of throughout the preparation process.
Upon landing in Marseille, France where the team is stationed and will play its first two matches, they headed to Bordeaux for training and a couple of closed-door friendlies including a reported 1-1 draw with Spain in which Mihailovic had “no hesitation or speed bumps” fitting in with his new team. Additionally, the midfielder’s smooth transition was unsurprisingly amplified by a quick understanding of how Mitrović wants his teams to play as the 46-year-old coach hasn’t changed much since his days as an assistant in Chicago according to Mihailovic.
The other part is connecting with his coach on a human level.
“He knows what he’s doing and you’re going to listen to him,” Mihailovic described. “My father is Serbian so I know how demanding that can be — that mindset from Serbians. They expect the best out of you. When they know you can do better, they’ll tell you.”
For a creative midfielder, that expectation comes in the form of goal contributions. Without Real Salt Lake’s Diego Luna included on the Olympic roster, much of the creative burden falls on Mihailovic, who is expected to be the main set-piece taker on the team. In addition to his wicked service from a dead ball, the 25-year-old is adept at scoring goals with late-arriving runs around the penalty spot but perhaps most importantly, he’s ready to take on the challenge.
“I don’t feel like there’s too much pressure there,” Mihailovic brushed off the weight of the creative load. “Just naturally, that’s the type of player I am over the years. In MLS wherever I’ve been, I’ve been able to find ways to create goals. I’m confident in my ability to do that.”
In Paris, Mihailovic will be expected to start at the No. 10 in a potential midfield trio including Tanner Tessmann and Gianluca Busio with the Venezia teammates working most of the hard yards to allow the MLS midfielder’s creativity to shine.
This trident is a partnership that has been developing for years, whether with Mihailovic and Tessmann in Olympic qualifying back in 2021, Mihailovic and Busio at the 2023 Gold Cup, or Tessmann and Busio over the past couple of years in Italy’s Serie A. In Paris, the threesome intends to have all their hard work together finally pay off.
“It’s a treat, honestly,” Mihailovic praised his experience of playing with the Venezia duo. “Tanner, he’s a top six, a top holding midfielder. It’s very easy to play with a player like that who has the composure he has, who looks to play forward between the lines to a player like me who loves being in those pockets. The same with Gianluca. We’ve had experiences where us three are just very smooth on the ball and it’s a fun time to be a part of that midfield.”
The first challenge for this talented midfield coalition will come two days before the Opening Ceremony when the team opens their Olympic campaign against the hosts, France. For a squad that won’t be attending the Opening Ceremony or staying in the Olympic Village, the opening match will serve as their “Welcome to the Olympics” moment with the Stade de Marseille full of potential 67,000 fans cheering loudly against them.
As if the challenge of winning an opening match against the hosts required added difficulty, France is also the gold medal favorite heading into the tournament with an extremely talented squad including Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise, Lyon’s Alexander Lacazette, Crystal Palace’s Jean-Philippe Mateta, and coached by the Arsenal and Barcelona legend Thierry Henry.
“It is a special, special moment,” shared Mihailovic as he looked ahead to the match. “We’re playing the host country in the Olympics for the first game. We have to embrace that moment. It’s going to be special for the players, for the staff, [and] for our families in the stands being there watching this experience. They may be favorites but we feel like we can do the job.
“At the end of the day, we will give our best in that first game. We know how big the first game of a tournament is but it’s not the end of the world if we don’t get the result we need. There’s still two more games and two teams advance to the knockout round.”
This mature mindset exhibited by Mihailovic is a direct result of lessons learned from past international tournament experience — a luxury Mihailovic enjoys more than most at a youth soccer tournament.
“The most important thing in a tournament setting is every game, you have to take each game by itself,” explained Mihailovic. “The first game comes, we play it, and then it’s quickly behind us and we move on to the next game. It’s a day-by-day, game-by-game type of mentality.”
Of course, Mihailovic’s participation in multiple Gold Cups with the senior national team yielded more than one lesson. Entering the tournament in the midst of the most productive season of his career at club level with 12 goals and six assists through 21 matches, the Rapids star aspires to replicate his success on the international level.
“I think that is one of the most important things — your form going into a tournament. I feel very good where I’m at physically, in terms of soccer, [and] how I’m playing,” shared Mihailovic. “I hope to translate that into probably one of the biggest stages of my career so far.”
The Olympics is typically a platform for the next generation to earn their opportunity with the senior team, or for a player like Mihailovic, to break back into the team. Notably, the looming arrival of a new head coach for the USMNT following the firing of Gregg Berhalter provides a unique opportunity for American players in these Olympic games in particular.
At the club level, scouts from around the world will also be watching with aspirations of discovering the next diamond in the rough. Moreover, it’s an opportunity to realize a lifelong dream players have carried since they were kids — a cliché to which Mihailovic is no exception.
“I think every American has paid attention to the Olympics at some point in their life, young or old. The first Olympics I remember was the 2008 one in Beijing,” regaled Mihailovic. “I think that’s when Michael Phelps won all those medals and seeing someone dominate their sport as much as he did brings you so much confidence that one day you might be able to do that. In terms of American soccer, it’s the first time we’re here since that [2008] Olympics. We have a huge opportunity here to – I wouldn’t say make up ground – but to show that we should be in this Olympics and going forward every single time.”
As a creative player who remains a step ahead of defenders on the pitch, achieving his childhood dream of becoming an Olympian won’t slow the ambitious midfielder down in search of his next success. Always looking ahead towards his upcoming goal, Mihailovic’s crosshairs now shift to his latest target, “To win a gold medal like every kid’s dream is.”