Tuesday, 6th November, 2012
Milan Jovanovic has revealed he only spoke to Martin Skrtel when he was at Liverpool and felt thoroughly miserable off the pitch as well as warming the bench.
The Serbian striker joined Liverpool in the summer of 2010, moving from Belgian giants Standard Liege upon the expiry of his contract.
The deal for Jovanovic was agreed by then-Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez, but when the forward landed, he found Roy Hodgson in charge of the Reds and first team opportunities were limited.
But it was not just events on the pitch which caused Jovanovic to depart Anfield in 2011, but off it too, with settling in on Merseyside and at the club itself almost impossible for the 31-year-old.
"When you move to a club like Liverpool you should be proud. But if you’re sitting on the bench, you’re miserable", Jovanovic told Russian daily Izvestia.
"In the first six months, I played 16 games and for the second half, only two matches.
relatedNewsStory"How could I be happy?
"Also, understand one simple thing: I was the only Serb there.
"In Europe there is quite a large population of Serbs, but in Liverpool, I was one. I had almost no friends.
"I only talked with Martin Skrtel.
"In England it is not like Russia, where the players go for dinner together after training. There, after training they all go home.
"It is clear that everyone has a family, but I was very bored. I’m used to spending time with friends after training, so now I feel good in Belgium."
Jovanovic departed Liverpool for Anderlecht in 2011 and won the Belgian title with the club last season.
He is also sampling the Champions League with the Brussels outfit during the current campaign.
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