Josip Ilcic’s Story, Almost Retired from Football Because of Love Issues

DBasia.news – Josip Ilicic has had serious problems in his life. The black cloud does not come from the green field world, but a matter of love. However, Ilicic got up and prepared to start the competition again.

Josip Ilicic underwent one of his best stints as a footballer in the 2019-2020 season. The 32-year-old player appeared fierce on Atalanta’s front lines.

Overall, Josip Ilicic packed 21 goals plus nine assists. These results brought Atalanta back to compete in the Champions League and go further in the European club competition.

One of Josip Ilicic’s best performances was when Atalanta against Valencia in the last 16 of the Champions League. Ilicic scored four goals in the duel.

Josip Ilicic also matched the nicks of Lionel Messi, Mario Gomez and Robert Lewandowski as players who can score a quattrick in the knockout stages of the Champions League.

However, when he was at the peak of his career, problems came to his fore. Josip Ilicic could not bear the weight, so he decided to take a break from the world of football.

Reportedly, Josip Ilicic found that his wife, Tina Polovina, was having an affair. This problem shook the player’s household mahligai.

Josip Ilicic slumped and lost his way. In fact, the striker is reportedly considering early retirement options.

In the end, he chose to return to his hometown to Slovenia to solve the problem. In addition, Ilicic wants to calm down with his family.

Atalanta, who understands Josip Ilicic’s problems, is very hard choosing to keep his mouth shut. La Dea only announced Ilicic’s absence due to personal issues.

Josip Ilicic also missed the last six matches of the 2019-2020 Serie A. The last time Ilicic showed off was in the match against Juventus which ended with a score of 2-2 (11/7).

Meanwhile, in the Champions League, Ilicic could not defend Atalanta against Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-finals. Atalanta also narrowly lost 2-1. Some observers assessed that the match results could be different if Ilicic appeared.

Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini felt the loss of Josip Ilicic. He was confused because he had to put other players in Ilicic’s position.

“In my opinion, we have played with maximum strength. Mario Pasalic’s goal reminds me of Josip Ilicic’s final finish. We did not look very attacking, maybe because we had to replace Ilicic with a midfielder who had a different character,” said Gasperini after the match against PSG as reported the Italian Football, Thursday (13/8).

Realizing that Josip Ilicic needed support, the Atalanta players didn’t want to miss taking part. After the match against PSG, all the players gathered to take pictures. At that moment, a player was seen carrying Ilicic’s jersey.

“Josip Ilicic is surrounded by people who love him. This can happen to anyone. We all help him and hope he can get out of this situation,” explained Gasperini.

Josip Ilicic, who was slumping, began to find a bright light. With professional help to solve the problem, Ilicic slowly got up and prepared to return to the field.

Ilicic visited the Atalanta training center in Zingonia on Monday (7/9). The arrival of the striker was greeted by Atalanta supporters.

“Ilicic is getting professional help, but still has great feelings of anxiety. So, it will take time,” stressed the president of the Slovenian football federation, Radenko Mijatovic.

“We hope he can win this battle and return to the national team. It is difficult to predict the timing, but we have to be optimistic.”

Currently, Josip Ilicic seems to have started to open up. On his Instagram account, Ilicic uploaded a photo with his two daughters on the streets of Bergamo.

The former Fiorentina smiled as he took Sofia and Victoria. Ilicic also added the emoji of the father and two children to the caption.

It is undeniable that Josip Ilicic experienced one of the toughest problems that caused a breakdown in the household. However, with time and assistance from various parties, Ilicic stepped forward. He is ready to return to being Atalanta’s goal machine.