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"&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;PORTLAND, Ore.\u2014It\u2019s nearly eight months to the day after Veljko Paunovi\u0107 led Serbia to an Under-20 World Cup, its second after triumphing in 1987 as a united Yugoslavia in the last tournament for which the nation qualified. Paunovi\u0107, whose playing career included stints with Partizan Belgrade, Atl\u00E9tico Madrid and Hannover, now sits in the press box at Providence Park after choosing another former league, Major League Soccer, as his first foray into the club coaching world.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Paunovi\u0107 played for the Philadelphia Union in 2011, coming out of retirement after he turned down a contract with the New York Red Bulls two years earlier. In November 2015, the Chicago Fire announced that he would be the man tasked with reversing the 28-43-31 record over the past three seasons that have seen the team miss out on the playoffs each year.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CI think that this league is expanding and very fast becoming an important league worldwide,\u201D Paunovi\u0107 tells SI.com. \u201CI think that I have a lot of things to deliver to soccer in this country in order to develop and be what I think it will be in the coming years, one of the best leagues in the world.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Early indications are that he\u2019s moving in the right direction, with an undefeated preseason record of 5-0-1 leading up to the regular-season kickoff on Sunday.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Of course, it\u2019s only preseason, but the Fire clearly needed a coach who could quickly change a club culture that has produced just one playoff team in the past six years. Paunovi\u0107 has some experience in this area, as one of the only coaches able to harness the technical prowess and innate footballing ability of a country from the war-torn Balkan region and turn it into an international trophy.\r\n\r\n\r\n\t&lt;strong&gt;STRAUS: Seattle, D.C. squander CCL opportunities | RSL, LA, too&lt;/strong&gt;\r\n\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;His champion U-20s, who beat the United States in a shootout and prevailed either in extra time or penalties in every knockout match, looked a lot like Yugoslav teams of the 1980s and \u201890s, just before the country\u2019s breakup. Their possession style wasn\u2019t far off from what you\u2019d expect to see from Spanish-speaking nations, but their mentality was decidedly Eastern European: confident and unwavering.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CSerbia and the whole ex-Yugoslavian region always had great, great talent,\u201D Paunovi\u0107 says. \u201CI believe that only the mentality and belief\u2014the faith\u2014was an issue.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Ethnic wars in the aftermath of the Cold War left the region in ruins as intra-national relations deteriorated. Every corner of Yugoslavia and its major cities were hit hard, but out of the strife rose a younger generation of citizens\u2014and footballers\u2014who weren\u2019t alive during the dark period.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Their parents\u2019 survivalist mentality remains, but it\u2019s now coupled with the kind of hope that saw Bosnia-Herzegovina qualify for the 2014 World Cup at the top of its group.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CThe new generations are coming with a different energy,\u201D Paunovi\u0107, 38, says. \u201CThey believe they can be good; you just have to give them the positive influence and guide them in that way that they can really achieve everything that they want, on the individual level or on the level of the club or the national team.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;That\u2019s what Paunovi\u0107 brings to a Chicago team that hasn\u2019t felt much hope in recent seasons. It\u2019s nowhere near what war brings, but it\u2019s the kind of mentality that needs a high-energy, intelligent coach to be reversed.\r\n\r\n&lt;h3 class=\"p1\"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;GALLERY: Critiquing MLS's 2016 uniforms&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;After the Fire score in the first five minutes against the Vancouver Whitecaps on Feb. 21, the opponent puts away two chances to lead at halftime, 2-1. Despite a 14-4 shot advantage, it takes two penalties for the Fire to eventually come out on top, 3-2.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Understandably, Paunovi\u0107 is most happy with his team\u2019s willingness to claw back two goals in a situation where it would have been easy to fold. Because it\u2019s preseason, results don\u2019t mean much\u2014unless you\u2019re looking for a sign that this year will be different than the disappointments in the recent past.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CIt\u2019s everything about what you think or what you believe,\u201D Paunovi\u0107 says. \u201CWe had to push the game, to go and believe that we can win this game. \u2026 This is a very good moment and maybe a critical moment to understand that we are capable of everything.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Paunovi\u0107\u2019s attitude toward training and his modern approach also offer refreshing changes for a team that hardly seemed to be in control of games in 2014 and 2015. Now, Chicago breaks from its staunch 4-4-1-1 defensive block into a patient style of ball circulation that leads to goalscoring chances as players identify a path to goal.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CEverything is trainable; the only thing is that you have to open that talent output that every player has and build that trust that what we are doing is really for good and something that will help us to win games,\u201D Paunovi\u0107 says. \u201CWhat we always told our players is, we\u2019re working on everything, so it has to be a global concept integrated in pieces\u2014in parts.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u200BPaunovi\u0107 is quick to point out that he doesn\u2019t think his style is necessarily more correct than any other, but it\u2019s how he wants his team express itself on the field.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CEveryone has a different style, and what I can just tell you is that everyone\u2019s style can be\u2014can be\u2014successful,\u201D he says. \u201CIt depends on a lot of things, but I think that\u2019s why soccer is great, why we love it as a game. There are different styles, and they all may be successful. It\u2019s just how you identify.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;That\u2019s why it\u2019s no surprise that Paunovi\u0107\u2019s teams opt for a type of game that requires careful thought and a high level of dedication. His brain never seems to stop turning as he talks about football; the more detailed the topic, the more animated he becomes.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CAt the same time, we work on mentality, physical, technical and tactical aspects. Why? Because we believe the mentality propels physical strength, physical strength is the support for your technical and tactical abilities, and technique is our tool for creativity,\u201D Paunovi\u0107 says. \u201CIn order to be a good soccer player, you have to be prepared on all those levels. Our method is an integrated method where in every session, you have to be very creative to work all these things.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;That first goal against the Whitecaps, in the fifth minute, comes as Matt Polster picks the ball off Pedro Morales just outside Vancouver\u2019s penalty area. His touch falls to trialist forward John Goossens, who finishes. It\u2019s a transition moment worked to perfection, as Vancouver can\u2019t react quickly enough to losing possession in such a vulnerable area.\r\n\r\n\r\n\t&lt;strong&gt;WATCH:&amp;nbsp;Goossens scores on incredible preseason volley&lt;/strong&gt;\r\n\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Paunovi\u0107 speaks with his hands, his voice rising in volume and intensity as he builds to his thesis. He snaps his fingers, and moments of the game come to life as if you\u2019re on field level and you\u2019re one of his players, listening to a coaching point.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CWhen the game comes to that transitional phase, which happens very often during the game, we have to be prepared,\u201D he says. \u201CIt gives us awareness of what we have to do now. So &lt;i&gt;[snap]&lt;/i&gt; this is what\u2019s happening, &lt;i&gt;[snap]&lt;/i&gt; this is what we did; this is how we prepared for this situation, and this is how we\u2019re going to put it under control. This is how we can use it as a weapon in order to be determined and score goals.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;He doesn\u2019t shy away from the man-management side of the job, either.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;As part of the squad overhaul since the disastrous 2015 season, Chicago traded homegrown player and fan favorite Harry Shipp to the Montreal Impact on Feb. 13. In a letter he posted on Twitter, Shipp wrote, \u201CThis is the hardest thing I\u2019ve ever had to put in words. \u2026 I know this is a business and nothing is personal, but this is inherently personal for me.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Says Paunovi\u0107: \u201CSometimes, you will have to take some decisions that are not popular but are necessary\u2014or at least, we believe are necessary\u2014and it\u2019s just part of the job. I can tell you that I also love that part of the job because it\u2019s something that is not easy, and not everyone can do it, but you have to be ready for that. If you\u2019re not ready, this is not the job for you.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;For Paunovi\u0107, it was as simple as having what he considered a good deal on the table for a player who would struggle to find playing time in the team\u2019s new system. As Shipp acknowledged, business is business, especially for a team trying to rebuild\u2014as brutal as that may be.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CThat was a situation where we had to decide. So obviously, we had an offer from the club that was very interested in Harry,\u201D Paunovi\u0107 says. \u201CFor him and for us\u2014in order that he can play and enjoy playing and everything that he was expecting that he could get here\u2014we believed that that was the best solution. He\u2019s a great, great human being, and we really appreciate Harry, everything that he did for Chicago Fire, and I can tell you also that we root for him to be successful.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Paunovi\u0107 counts his father, Blagoje, as his greatest influence in his coaching career. Blagoje Paunovi\u0107 also played for Partizan Belgrade before moving to Utrecht in the Netherlands. He played one season for the Oakland Stompers of the old North American Soccer League, under the name Paki Paunovi\u0107.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Blagoje also managed five teams after his playing career finished, including in Partizan\u2019s academy and lowly La Liga side Logro\u00F1\u00E9s.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CAs time goes by, I can see that everything he told me from the coaching point of view is absolutely right,\u201D Veljko says. \u201CHe was great.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;As a player, Blagoje made 39 appearances for Yugoslavia as a center back. He won a silver medal at the 1968 European Championship, losing 2-0 in a replay against host nation Italy after a 1-1 draw in the initial final in controversial circumstances with some questionable refereeing.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;However, the most famous game Blagoje played in was Pel\u00E9\u2019s final international with Brazil in 1971 at the Maracan\u00E3. Veljko didn\u2019t see his father play even once during his career, as match broadcasts were extremely rare in Yugoslavia at the time.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;For Veljko\u2019s 30th birthday in 2007, his father asked him what he wanted, and Veljko said he wanted a copy of Pel\u00E9\u2019s final match. His father found one for him, and Veljko keeps it on his laptop now, ready to watch at any time.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CThat\u2019s the only game, and I keep that,\u201D Veljko says. \u201CThat\u2019s the only game that I saw, and I believe [it was] the most valuable game in his career, too.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;After all that the game has given him, especially in recent months as a coach, Paunovi\u0107 doesn\u2019t find it hard to smile. Chicago is hoping for a turnaround season, off the back of two of its most difficult for a team that won MLS Cup in its inaugural year, and the Fire\u2019s new coach seems determined to return the franchise to the top of the league.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CI would say that I\u2019m very grateful to soccer,\u201D Paunovi\u0107 says. \u201CI just love what I\u2019m doing. I love where I am, and I\u2019m just focused on Chicago Fire and making this team successful and a champion.\u201D\r\n&lt;/p&gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.si.com/planet-futbol/2016/02/29/veljko-paunovic-chicago-fire-mls>