APR FC on Friday, June 21, unveiled experienced Serbian gaffer Darko Novic as their new head coach after agreeing to a three- year deal, hoping to see him build a formidable force that can shake African club football. On the local scene, it has always been relatively easy as they have won the Primus National League five times in a row of which, two, including the 2023/24 season, went unbeaten. For the military club’s top hierarchy, winning the league is nothing new and, rather, getting to the group stages of the CAF Champions League is the real deal and that might probably be why Thierry Froger was not offered a new contract. The Frenchman failed woefully to get the team past the qualifying round of the competition after a 6-1 humiliation at the hands of Egyptian side Pyramids. ALSO READ: APR FC appoint Serbian Darko Novic as head coach Despite the club's big investments over the years, their biggest achievement in African club competitions was in the 2003/04 Cup winners Cup when they reached the semifinals before losing 3-2 on aggregate to Julius Berger of Nigeria. Novic is no stranger to African football; he served as the head coach of the Libyan national team in 2008 before handling ES Setif of Algeria in April 2022. He was at the time sacked after just two months. He later moved to Tunisian outfit US Monastir in July 2022 and was at the helm of affairs when they eliminated APR from the CAF Champions League during the 2022/23 season. He resigned on May 5, 2023. Averagely, Novic spends less than 18 months at a club before he either resigns or gets fired. APR has handed him a three-year deal and it will be interesting to see if he will complete the contract. His recent outing was not impressive. He was at Saudi Arabian second tier league club Al Burkiyah during the 2023/24 where he managed just four wins, eight draws and eight defeats before being sacked on February 8, 2024. APR have always struggled against Northern African club sides in the CAF club competitions and getting a coach who has coached in Algeria, Tunisia and Libya is a step in the right direction. He at least knows the terrain and if he gets the right materials, he could do something meaningful. His preferred formation is the 4-3-3, which was the same formation his predecessor Thierry Froger was adopting. The club has been busy in the transfer market bringing in speedy winger Arsene Tuyisenge who will clearly fit Novic system. They are also chasing a centre back and a holding midfielder from the Ghana Premier League to beef up their squad. Novic's recent record at Al Burkiyah, is not encouraging but football defies logic and he could hit the ground running at APR FC. His immediate assignment will be the CECAFA Kagame Cup in Zanzibar and Tanzania in July and his output will give pundits and connoisseurs a fair idea as to whether he will be up to the task or not. It is early days yet to judge Novic but with the serene environment at APR, his tactical expertise and experience, good players and, above all, good technical team surrounding him, he should be able to get the club to at least reach the group stages of the 2024/25 CAF Champions League. Failing to retain the league trophy would no doubt be a total failure.
