Glaws Eagle
25-09-2000, 02:29 PM
From the Gloucestershire Echo.
Former Yugoslav international Sasa Curcic, a £4 million midfielder four years ago, played 64 minutes at Ashton Gate yesterday before being replaced by Cheltenham Town's third-choice goalkeeper.
Steve Benbow, 18, and behind Steve Book and Shane Higgs in the Cheltenham pecking order, played wide on the left for 26 minutes of a seasonal debut he will remember all his life.
Curcic looked unfit and out of touch during Cheltenham reserves' 3-0 Avon Combination defeat by Bristol City reserves and was clearly conserving what energy he has got at the moment.
Manager Steve Cotterill has taken his lack of competitive football into account and has asked him to return for Wednesday's Combination match at Swindon Town.
"He hasn't played since July and he looks terribly, terribly unfit," Cotterill said.
"I've told him to go away and get himself into a pair of training shoes so that we can have another look at him next week.
"If he shows an improvement, it will show he has some self-motivation.
"He needs to show more, but it is difficult for him at the moment."
Curcic's adviser, Borko Krunic, said the former Partisan Belgrade, Bolton Wanderers, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace midfielder was well aware he was unfit.
"He's trying to come back and the Cheltenham situation arose through a London agent," he said.
"He didn't mind having a go to see how unfit he is. He has got to get back to fitness and it was nice for him to have the opportunity to play today.
"He needs games and he's on the road to recovering his appetite after the disappointments he had when he was at Crystal Palace."
Krunic said that Curcic lost money during his time with Crystal Palace.
Curcic dropped out of the first-team picture at the division one club about six months before he left the cash-strapped club in June 1999.
Krunic said: "Sasa's living in London and running round playing fields near Hendon football ground at the moment. This season he hasn't played at all.
"He went to Tranmere Rovers pre-season to train but he didn't fancy going up north."
Curcic, 28, curled one free-kick over the bar in the first half but that was the only semblance of a glimpse of the player he was such a short time ago.
He did not have the ball much, but when he did, his close control was not good and his passing got nowhere.
Former Yugoslav international Sasa Curcic, a £4 million midfielder four years ago, played 64 minutes at Ashton Gate yesterday before being replaced by Cheltenham Town's third-choice goalkeeper.
Steve Benbow, 18, and behind Steve Book and Shane Higgs in the Cheltenham pecking order, played wide on the left for 26 minutes of a seasonal debut he will remember all his life.
Curcic looked unfit and out of touch during Cheltenham reserves' 3-0 Avon Combination defeat by Bristol City reserves and was clearly conserving what energy he has got at the moment.
Manager Steve Cotterill has taken his lack of competitive football into account and has asked him to return for Wednesday's Combination match at Swindon Town.
"He hasn't played since July and he looks terribly, terribly unfit," Cotterill said.
"I've told him to go away and get himself into a pair of training shoes so that we can have another look at him next week.
"If he shows an improvement, it will show he has some self-motivation.
"He needs to show more, but it is difficult for him at the moment."
Curcic's adviser, Borko Krunic, said the former Partisan Belgrade, Bolton Wanderers, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace midfielder was well aware he was unfit.
"He's trying to come back and the Cheltenham situation arose through a London agent," he said.
"He didn't mind having a go to see how unfit he is. He has got to get back to fitness and it was nice for him to have the opportunity to play today.
"He needs games and he's on the road to recovering his appetite after the disappointments he had when he was at Crystal Palace."
Krunic said that Curcic lost money during his time with Crystal Palace.
Curcic dropped out of the first-team picture at the division one club about six months before he left the cash-strapped club in June 1999.
Krunic said: "Sasa's living in London and running round playing fields near Hendon football ground at the moment. This season he hasn't played at all.
"He went to Tranmere Rovers pre-season to train but he didn't fancy going up north."
Curcic, 28, curled one free-kick over the bar in the first half but that was the only semblance of a glimpse of the player he was such a short time ago.
He did not have the ball much, but when he did, his close control was not good and his passing got nowhere.