MATIC FROM DEAD END TO THE STRETFORD END

Serbia star Nemanja: Back home we used to play on rough pitches next to the CEMETERY..I give money back to my old club so the young kids have a proper place to play

SOME footballers forget their roots because of fame and fortune – but not Nemanja Matic. Matic could not be more proud of his humble origins in the village of Vrelo, in western Serbia. The Manchester United midfielder grew up against the tragic backdrop of the Balkans War in the 1990s and enjoyed few luxuries as a kid.

His school did not even have a toilet and he and his classmates had to relieve themselves in the nearby woods.

But Vrelo was the starting point for a journey which took Matic to Kosice in Slovakia, Chelsea twice, Vitesse Arnhem and Benfica, before he arrived at Old Trafford in 2017, and he has never forgotten his roots.

He set up and co-owns local side Vrelo Sport (the club’s ground, top, and Matic with fans, above) and has funded pitches and much-needed improvements to his old school. “When I grew up, I didn’t have a proper pitch to train on – it was horrible, next to the cemetery,” said Matic.

“It was not a pitch, they just put the goals and the lines there, and called it a pitch. So I wanted to make a good pitch for kids, so they can train, so they can improve.

“If someone wants to play football, then they have good conditions. And of course I wanted to help the school – it is most important to have a good school. “When I was in school, we did not even have a toilet. You had to go outside in the forest. “I felt like it is my obligation because the kids there, they deserve to have better conditions for everything – for school, for training, and a playground for small kids.

“So I try to help them. I do that because I can. At United, Chelsea or Arsenal, for example, we earn a lot of money and some of that money we need to spend for the future because many of those kids will be future stars.” Matic (left), 32, is loved in Vrelo and the village of 1,500 people has named a street in his honour. He regularly returns to visit his family and friends, and plans to move back when his playing career is over.

Matic (in action for Serbia, right) was back this summer, and must quarantine for 14 days under the Government’s coronavirus rules, because he has just retired from international football and is not exempt as an elite athlete.

Matic recently signed a three-year deal at Old Trafford and is also proud to play for United, claiming they are the third-best-supported team in Serbia.

He always liked them and it didn’t hurt that United great Nemanja Vidic was born near where he grew up in Serbia.

“In Serbia, United is very popular,” he told the club’s UTD

Podcast. “It is probably, after Red Star and Partizan, the third club.

If you look at how many supporters they have,

Red Star is No.1, Partizan is second, and United is third.

“I always liked United, especially when Nemanja Vidic was playing here. He is from Serbia, he lives not far from my home in west Serbia, so we always supported him.

“When I got the opportunity to come here, I wanted to play for United, probably the biggest club in England and one of the best clubs in the world. Real Madrid, United and maybe Bayern Munich. For me, they are the three biggest clubs in the world.

“It was easy to make the decision. When you get the chance to play for Manchester United, I think you have to take it.”