Liverpool star Milos Kerkez is ‘tough' animal lover with carnivore rottweiler and guard dog named after the underworld
MILOS KERKEZ is raising his pet Rottweiler Maximus on a diet of raw meat.
Nobody at
3
Milos Kerkez has a pet rottweiler he has raised on a diet of raw meat
3
The new Liverpool left-back is read to unleash his own bark on the Premier League
Credit: Getty
Left-back
He freely admits: 'I was a little bit tough growing up.'
Kerkez, who is heading to Anfield from
The games were with his older brothers Rade and Marko, the latter is also a left-back and plays for Greek side Aris Thessaloniki.
READ MORE IN FOOTBALL
Milos revealed: 'They were tough on me. They would tackle me, I would fall, my skin would cut and bleed but they were good times and I realised: 'I like to do this!''
When news broke this week that the 21- year-old's move from the Cherries was going through, his sibling Marko, 24, posted a picture of a little boy facing an image of Anfield wearing a red shirt with 'Kerkez' and the No 3 on his back.
He accompanied the picture with the words: 'Dreams come true when you believe more in your vision than in your fears.'
Not that the Serbia-born full-back ever seems to have been that fearful of anyone or anything.
Most read in Football
BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS
Kerkez is already playing in the sixth country of his career but there is nothing he likes better than to head into the Serbian wilderness on his own to live in a wooden cabin, catching fish then cooking them on a fire.
His ambition is to build a bigger farm for his father, saying: 'He loves to spend his whole day on the farm, with the dogs, ducks, fishes . . . in the wild.
Milos Kerkez talks about his football career journey to join Bournemouth
3
'I'm going to build him a new one, hopefully soon, with more animals. I want horses, cows, dogs, everything.
'I want to have a big space, so when I go there, I can just disconnect from football.
'I want to build a lake, fill it up with fish so then I can fish all day. It's an idea from my dad but we have to make a plan now.'
He was just 11 when he left his parents and youth team OFK Vrbas to head to Austria for Rapid Vienna in 2014.
In 2019 he joined Hungarian division two side Gyor, where he decided he would play for that country despite being born in Serbia, a decision backed by his dad and grandmother who was a Magyar.
In February 2021 the great Paolo Maldini, AC Milan's sporting director, recognised Kerkez had an animal-like passion to devour yards down the left flank and crash into tackles and invited him to join the Italian super club.
Kerkez said: 'You know, when Maldini calls, you don't think too much.'
Maldini flew to Hungary in a private plane to take Kerkez to Italy where he would become a team-mate of Swedish legend Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Yet he never played a minute for Milan and, after a short spell at Dutch side AZ, found himself at Bournemouth.
After his international debut in a 1-0 win over a Germany side containing striker Thomas Muller, he said: 'I didn't care that I was up against Muller.
'I never cared who the opponent was. Zlatan could have come. I wouldn't have been scared either.'
Kerkez also owns an Italian mastiff in Serbia and is called Had. He explained: 'The name is after Hades, the God of the underworld.'
Kop boss Arne Slot will fancy him to wreak hell on opponents over the coming years.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RTÉ News
an hour ago
- RTÉ News
Paddy Quinn, the Tyrone man who donned the sky blue jersey
The All-Ireland quarter-final between Dublin and Tyrone on Saturday is a fixture that may leave some unsure as to who will prevail, and place themselves in the frame as Sam Maguire contenders, given the rollercoaster nature of both side's seasons so far Both inter-county sides have had mixed seasons, by all accounts, but one man who surprisingly isn't feeling mixed, is Tyrone-born-and-bred ex-Dublin player, Paddy Quinn, who says his hopes firmly lie with his home county despite being 'adopted' into the Dublin fold in 2013. "I'm a Tyrone man at heart, that's what I'd say," Quinn told RTÉ Sport. Despite strong connections to the capital, and several players from his club in the place he now calls home, Na Fianna, on the panel, Quinn makes his intentions clear for when the ball throws-in at Croke Park on Saturday at 6:15pm. "Tyrone is still where the heart would be, my wife and kids, they can wear the Dublin jerseys at the weekend, but I'll be a Tyrone man." Tyrone native Quinn has donned the sky blue but admits it wasn't an achievement he envisioned when playing for Derrylaughan Kevin Barrys, before work pulled him to Dublin in 2008. "You have to put the emotions to one side, when you're at that level, you just buy into it 100%, you're part of a team, part of a panel as normal, it does feel a bit strange. "I have a Tyrone accent and when you're in a huddle with lots of Dublin lads, you can feel it a little bit. "When you're putting on the Dublin jersey for the first time, I can't deny it did feel a bit strange putting that on, because I would have grown up supporting Tyrone all my life." The chartered accountant remained with the Tyrone-based club, also the home of the county's current captain Brian Kennedy, and travelled the three-hour journey multiple times a week before the time in the car took its toll. Quinn transferred to Na Fianna, which he admits wasn't an easy decision, but following a family connection he found league success and ended up with a long stint on the senior squad, finishing up just last year. "I decided to transfer clubs, which was a very difficult decision to make at the time... I ended up captaining Na Fianna for three or four years, and won a couple of league titles." It was during the the 2012 season, when Na Fianna won the Dublin league, that Quinn caught the eye of newly-minted Dublin manager, Jim Gavin, which he says wasn't a complete surprise. "I just got a call one day to ask if I'd be interested in joining the Dublin panel, that was Jim Gavin, I started his term. "I knew I was kind of in the conversation... But you just don't know whether someone would be willing to call somebody who's not from the county, so I can't say it was completely out of the blue. "When the call comes in, it still catches you by surprise at the time, I suppose, but it didn't take me long to come to my decision." Is Quinn a fan of Gavin's FRC rule changes? He says his ex-manager seems to have approached the task in the same way he approached his coaching roles, methodical to a tee. "I think, what he's done there with the rules, it's just been so methodically thought out, and you've got good people around him as well to help iron out any sort of issues. "Everything is based on facts and evidence, and so I'm sure his approach to these rules, they've been looking at the games and looking at the statistics and looking at it in the cool light of day rather than getting swayed by emotions too much, and that's kind of the way it was in his coaching methods as well." There was a similar approach used when Quinn was dropped from the panel in 2013 just before the championship season, he remained around the squad but didn't tog out again but explained being dropped is difficult for any player. "It's tough for a manager to release a player, it's tough him making that call, but it's tough receiving the call. "In fairness to Jim, he gave me a call at the time when I was first dropped off the panel and we had a good conversation about it, and he was frank and honest and I could have no qualms about it really. "Every player who's received that call at the end of the season is tired of that, but ultimately players receive it at some part of their journey and that's just part and parcel of it." Quinn never played for his home county and described himself as a "late developer", receiving the call for the county he probably never expected to play for at 31, and he of course received some expected "stick" togging out in sky blue. "I never played Tyrone minor, or was on development squad, so I was probably a bit of a late developer. "Once you're in Dublin, you're kind of out of sight, out of mind. "Plenty of stick from lads back home, that's for sure." The Tyrone man has been "following both teams closely" and thinks the Red Hands could have the edge in a closely-fought battle, with their "firepower" up front a possible difference maker in Saturday's quarter-final fixture. "It's set up fairly evenly, the two teams have been up and down in different parts of the season. "Tyrone obviously disappointed at getting relegated, but there was a lot of green shoots in the league, they beat Dublin convincingly on that last day, and they've shown good form in the group stages of the Sam Maguire... Tyrone have got the firepower up front for sure. "McCurry has been playing so well this year, he's been a great foil for Darragh Canavan, and the two of them are big major threats. "They're a strong attacking threat, probably their half-forward line hasn't really kicked into gear as much as we might have hoped." The other edge his home county have is the two-week break they have been afforded for their league-topping win in the round robin. Quinn thinks Tyrone's defence will survive without Michael McKernan who came off clutching his shoulder in their 13-point win over Cavan to top the table. "The two-week break is massive for Tyrone, just to clear a couple of niggles they might have had, now McKernan I think is going to be out, which is a huge blow defensively, but they have a bit of cover in defence. "I'm looking forward to watching them all, but I'd be quietly hopeful, I suppose, of a Tyrone win." Follow a live blog on the All-Ireland Football Championship quarter-finals on Saturday on and the RTÉ News app. Listen to commentaries on Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1. Watch highlights on The Saturday Game at 9.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Watch two All-Ireland Football Championship quarter-finals, Meath v Galway and Armagh v Kerry, from 1.15pm on Sunday on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on and the RTÉ News app. Listen to commentaries on Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1. Watch highlights on The Sunday Game at 10.15pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player.
The Irish Sun
an hour ago
- The Irish Sun
Ireland star Finn Azaz ‘wants to play at highest level' with World Cup in mind amid transfer links with Premier League
FINN AZAZ knows the further he goes at club level, the further he will go with Ireland. The star turns from the Advertisement 2 Finn Azaz addressed links with the Premier League Credit: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile 2 He scored 12 goals and provided 11 assists for Middlesbrough in the Championship Credit: Getty Images - Getty That was in keeping with the form he showed for Boro that saw him score 12 goals and provide 11 assists in 45 Azaz's performances have made him a wanted man. Under contract at Boro — who yesterday appointed Advertisement Read More on Ireland MNT But he also admitted that he has ambitions to play in a top league, and it does not need to be said that playing at a higher level would advance his Azaz said: 'I'm playing at a high level now. The Championship is a really competitive league and it's a really good league. I think it's ranked sixth or seventh in Europe . 'I've got a contract with Boro of course, my focus is on pre-season at the moment. 'I'm really happy at my club. I've had a great year. I've got a lot of respect for everyone at the club and it's been amazing for me the last 18 months here. I had a great season personally so obviously I want to keep developing and my ambition is to play at the highest level. Advertisement Most read in Football 'Whether that be the 'I'm fully aware that there's a lot of Premier League players in the Irish team and I'm looking at the qualifiers and the World Cup next summer . Heimir Hallgrimsson surprised with birthday gift from Ireland fans during warm-ups for Luxembourg friendly 'I'm fully aware that you want to be playing against the best players week in, week out, to be in the best position possible for the 'In international football , the physicality of the opposition is sharper, it's better. There are higher quality players. Advertisement 'Look at 'People are sharper in the mind, quality is higher. 'It's a massive step up but I want to be playing at the highest level and I've got to prove myself at the highest level to show that I can play at that highest level. 'I felt confident and I felt comfortable in terms of level I'm at. I am still having to prove myself at international level. I feel like I have now. Advertisement 'But I'm not going to sit here and say that I've nailed down that position which I don't think is the case. But I always believed in myself and the target was to be a starter in that team and be one of the main players in terms of going forward and creating things. That's been my target for the last two or three years to be in that position, I believe that I could do it. 'And that's still the aim to become that player and to be starting in that position every game.' HOME AWAY FROM HOME Azaz, 24, has looked at home on the international stage in his seven caps to date, and could easily fit into a continental side with what he terms 'comfortable' French and Spanish. Indeed, he acted as Spanish translator for his pals on his recent holiday in South America that included visiting Machu Picchu, while he still alternates monthly between swotting up on the two languages. Advertisement The former 'I wasn't looking at like, 'I want to play abroad', but I was just like, these are great skills to have and a lot of people are really jealous of it now, to be honest. 'In terms of moving abroad, all I'd say is that I'm happy now, but I'd be comfortable if the right opportunity arose. 'I'll be fully focused on pre-season. I'm not going to give a lot of my energy to things that are out of my control.' Advertisement
Irish Examiner
2 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Mike Prendergast: 'Guys will listen to Craig Casey because he's incredibly dilligent'
Being a former scrum-half, and a current Munster coach, Ireland's attack coach could be expected to give a biased assessment of Craig Casey's credentials as the national side's captain for the upcoming two Tests in Georgia and Portugal. Yet the growth witnessed at first hand in his fellow Limerick man's game and leadership presence, both on the pitch and at their province's High Performance Centre, over the last two seasons gives Mike Prendergast a uniquely informed perspective on which to inform his optimism that the 26-year-old will prove to be an excellent choice by tour head coach Paul O'Connell to captain his country. Casey's emergence as a frontline number nine for Munster has softened the blow that the departure of Test centurion Conor Murray for an overseas swansong next season might otherwise have been felt and a strong tour under O'Connell and in the absence of British & Irish Lions tourist Jamison Gibson-Park should confirm him as the heir apparent to the Ireland starting scrum-half berth. For now, though, as Ireland continue their preparations at the IRFU HPC in west Dublin for next week's trip to Tbilisi and the July 5 Test against Georgia, the Irish assistant — one of four Munster-born coaches in camp alongside O'Connell, defence coach Denis Leamy and Connacht's scrum coach Collie Tucker — has been impressed by Casey's development to this point. 'I just think the more exposure, the more game time he played, you could see his calmness was coming into the game,' Prendergast said. 'Technically, he's a very, very good nine. He's got a very good kicking game. He's got a very good passing game. His ability to, when we want to play a high-tempo game, we talk about our nines being stuck to the ruck. I think in terms of his fitness, playing at that level week in, week out, he's made nice steps forward as a player. 'Obviously, his professionalism and his leadership and everything is always growing. I think just overall, his calmness and his ability in terms of his decision-making is really pushing on. He's turning out to be a fine scrum-half at the moment.' What has not changed in Casey, though, has been his approach since coming into the latest Ireland camp ahead of Test cap number 19 on Saturday week. 'I don't think I've seen anything different in the last few days, no, for us with Munster,' Prendergast said. 'He would be one of our leaders. He's full of energy. He's a student of the game. 'His leadership, guys will listen because he's a guy who is incredibly diligent. He's all over his stuff and you always want people to follow that. So he hasn't been any different than what he would be down in Munster. Craig Casey was appointed Ireland captain by Paul O'Connell. Picture: Ben Brady/Inpho 'Obviously through the week and through next week that will ramp up from his point of view, I would imagine. But he brings a really good calmness to people as well. It's great to have him as one, within the squad and two, as a captain. So he has all the leadership qualities that you ask for from a person.' Casey is one of six Munster players whose last game time will have come five weeks before the Georgian Test. The seven Ulster players and six Connacht men will have had an extra week off given their URC campaigns ended with the last round of the regular season while the 12-strong Leinster contingent will be a mere three weeks out from the URC Grand Final success over the Bulls at Croke Park. The newly-minted title-winners in the group rolled into camp as champions a week after the rest of the squad gathered but Prendergast is confident their efforts to catch-up have been accomplished. 'Fortunately enough, we had a couple of weeks as a staff. Our URC, in Munster was finished, so we had a bit of downtime. We were able to connect and meet up and obviously plan as much as we could for when we came in. And then, obviously, we came in on Thursday and we came in in a full group. 'The Leinster boys obviously didn't have too much time off, but they have a good pep in their step after winning the competition. So, there's good hunger, there's a good will around the place, there's a good vibe around the place, and we're really looking forward to these two games. Nor does the attack coach believe rustiness will be a factor in Tibilisi and that the objective of squad cohesion has already been achieved in order to hit the ground running on July 5. 'I think they will because they're been given an opportunity to play with their country. There's some guys obviously that have a number of caps, but there's a lot of guys here that aren't capped. There's some guys with a few caps to their names. 'So, any time you get an opportunity to go and represent your country, especially where the Irish team are in terms of standing in world rugby, I think it's a huge honour for all of us players, for all of us coaches to represent your country. 'You can see the hunger out of all the lads there, and rightly so, because it's a great honour and you're representing your country in two Test matches potentially.' Prendergast also provided an update on Calvin Nash's fitness. The Six Nations-winning wing, capped 10 times by Ireland, brought an ankle injury into camp last Thursday but the Ireland assistant said: 'Calvin was limited, he returned to training today (Tuesday) so we had a full deck to choose from. 'Fortunately all our lads have come in in good shape and raring to go.'
