THE DADDY OF ALL CAP CALLS
Hibs ace Gogic will be so proud to follow striker father into the Cyprus squad
ALEX GOGIC would love to follow in the international footsteps of his father.
New Cyprus boss Johan Walem is running the rule over the Hibs midfielder ahead of Nations League ties against Montenegro and Azerbaijan next month.
The 26-year-old has been capped at Under-19 and Under-21 level when at Swansea, but never for the top team.
His dad, former Olympiakos striker Sinisa, played 37 times for the Cypriots over six years in the 90s, scoring eight goals.
Walem has been alerted by the form of Gogic Jr since he moved to Easter Road in the summer.
Hibs have won their first three league games, the first time they have achieved such a feat since the legendary Eddie Turnbull was in charge in 1974.
Walem announces his squad next week and Gogic said: “Fingers crossed there is some good news. It would be an honour as I’ve never been called up by the first team.
“Dad would be very proud, especially for me to follow his steps and play for the national team. He was a striker, scoring goals, a different role to me. But if I can help the team to not concede then I’ll be happy.
“These are such difficult times across football at the moment, for everyone. Hopefully we continue playing and there is no stop, no break.
“From a personal view I’m really enjoying it at Hibs, doing well, and to get a call-up for Cyprus would be amazing.
“I’ve never come close before. I didn’t play much in my first year at Hamilton and in the second year I did my ACL. Last year? Well, I didn’t get a call-up. Mind you, if I do get called up I’ll have to get used to the heat again!”
Hibs boss Jack Ross praised Gogic for his display in the 1-0 win at Dundee United that keeps the Easter Road club at the top of the table ahead of last night’s round of Premiership fixtures.
Ross said: “The arrival of Alex has helped us but so too is the fact we’ve got players with the ability to move between a back three and a back four.
“That means we can be more open or more solid, depending on how the game is going.”
Gogic added: “Obviously it’s nice to hear those words from the staff and fellow team-mates because they appreciate what you do.
“The manager told me the team was missing aggression in the midfield. He just said, ‘We want you and we want you to do what you do at Hamilton.’
“It’s an advantage that I know Hibs from my time at Accies as I can see how I can help balance our play out.
“I came to Hamilton three years ago and in the beginning I was playing more as a centreback. But once I moved into a defensive midfield role I enjoyed it as I could help the team more, especially at Hamilton as we have to defend much more. I enjoy the aggression in Scottish football.
“I know from my Accies experience that, attacking-wise, Hibs were amazing but were open to the counter, so we have that balance now. I’ll do as much as I can do to protect the guys in front of me.
“If we play as we did against United in every game, then we can definitely go into Europe.
“If we can go further, brilliant. A club like this should be aiming for Europe at the least.”