Slavisa Jokanovic’s return to Chelsea arrives three months early
He would have sat down in the visiting dugout on Boxing Day, glancing to his left at the contingent of away supporters with whom he had shared emotional celebrations eight months previously. But Jokanovic and Watford were not to last the course and instead he returns ahead of schedule on Wednesday, with another yellow-clad team and on a yet more rarified level. "We're not coming to London to go shopping," says Jokanovic of a talentedMaccabi Tel Aviv side that has flourished under his short tenure. The Serb's departure from Watford, where he made sense of chaos to win promotion to the Premier League after joining them two months into last season, was surprising on certain levels, but any points he needed to prove have been well made since. Jokanovic took the Israeli champions past Hibernians, Viktoria Plzen and Basel in the qualifying stages - the latter an especially notable scalp - within weeks of his arrival and they will now contest a Champions League group stage campaign for the first time in 11 years. "It was not a hard decision to come here," says Jokanovic of an appointment that was made a little under three weeks after he left Vicarage Road. "I had several offers but wanted a club with a clear plan. Jordi Cruyff [Maccabi's director of football since 2012] explained to me that the Maccabi has made big steps in Israel and now its desire is to achieve something in Europe. He said that the Europa League could be our big target, and the Champions League our big dream. "Actually, we surprised everybody. We beat some good teams with experience of the group stage and now we're going to try and surprise people again, starting on Wednesday." Chelsea and Jokanovic have both changed since, in October 2000, he became one of Claudio Ranieri's first signings at Stamford Bridge. His two seasons at the club saw consecutive sixth-placed league finishes and, it turns out, an unhappy experience exiting the Uefa Cup to Maccabi's city rivals Hapoel. An intelligent defensive midfielder who had spent the previous nine years in Spain, Jokanovic was 32 when he came to London and struggled to make a significant impact during a period when Chelsea were experiencing growing pains. "I was very happy in London but it was probably not the best period in my football career," he says. "I had some problems adapting to English football, but generally I enjoyed playing for such a big club and the experience certainly helped my coaching career - especially last season in the Championship. "But it is a different time now. I played for a big Chelsea but it is even bigger now, with a totally different team. It's a great opportunity for us to go there and we arrive at an important for Chelsea, so we will try to find our chance and give a great performance." It does not seem a bad time to revisit his old stomping ground in search of a shock, with Chelsea sitting an improbable 17th in the Premier League after five games and lacking in both zip and resilience. "It's a little bit of an embarrassing start for them, but they're going to be 100% motivated to try to fix their problems," he says. "There could be some nerves in the stadium at the beginning of the game, but I'm sure they will find a solution soon. We need to arrive there, respect our supporters and respect ourselves - fully concentrated and following our plan to try and hurt them." Jokanovic is evidently consumed by his new environment but is candid when explaining that he had not banked on leaving Watford. There had been reports that his high wage demands - he had been on a short-term contract until the end of the season - put paid to a new deal and led to the club's pursuit to Quique Sánchez Flores. But he says discussions with the Pozzo family never got that far. "I believed I was going to stay at Watford," he says. "I felt a little surprised [when I left] because I thought things were going to be different. It wasn't a question about contracts. Many people have been talking about money but it's not true. We did not have any serious negotiations; they hadn't shown interest in my signing a contract and I interpreted that they had other plans. They decided to sign a new coach and start on a slightly different project, and that's it. "But it's part of the business and I accept it. I'm not frustrated or angry with Watford. They gave me a great chance to work in England, and it's not easy for foreign coaches to arrive and get that kind of opportunity. I believe I did a good job there and was very happy with the team, the club and the fans, but in life many different things happen. I'm in a different place now so where's the problem? Watford wanted to change the situation and what they did was completely legal." Jokanovic is proud of what he created at Vicarage Road, where he inherited a side that had already had three managers in 2014-15, and believes the club is ready to establish itself at the top level. "I'm very proud of what we made of the season," he says. "It was a great achievement. There were problems at first, because we started well when I arrived but had a very bad period in November and December. We all kept believing and eventually made history for the club. "Watford wants to improve and keep getting bigger, and now it has the chance to reach different targets. I'm sure the coach, staff and supporters will be successful in reaching them." Israel is the sixth country in which Jokanovic, 47, has worked, and he says he is comfortable with the peripatetic life of a coach. He holds out hope that the sum of his experiences will eventually be a return to England, where you sense that - despite his equanimity - there remains unfinished business for varying reasons after his experiences at Chelsea and Watford. For now, he is enjoying the high-speed ride on which he and Maccabi are travelling. "I am still a young guy and in the future you never know, I will hopefully find a chance to come back to England and work in the most important league in the world," he says. "I am a sportsman - I've won and lost many battles, and in front of me there are many more to come. I'm very happy where I am now, in a wonderful club and city, and I am enjoying my moment."
