the former Atalanta returns home- Corriere.it

Josip Ilicic back home. The former Slovenian player of Atalanta in fact, he signed a three-year contract with Maribor, his former team, for which he recorded eleven appearances between July and August 2010, in which the striker stood out with four goals and three assists, before being bought by the Palermo in the last bars of the transfer session.

Jojo, welcome home the welcome message that Maribor has reserved for him on its website. The presentation of the player, who after three seasons in Palermo moved to Fiorentina, before moving on to Atalanta, a team with which he consecrated himself at European level and with whom he remained linked until last August 31, set for this afternoon at 17 The multi-year contract testifies to the seriousness of the investment. It is true that Josip hasn't played for some time, but he followed a personalized training program. We can confirm the agreement, but not the date of his return to the field. It will naturally take time to achieve adequate physical fitness. We have no intention of rushing the times, but together we will do everything to be able to see him on the pitch with his teammates as soon as possible, the words of Maribor sporting director Marko Šuler, who admits to having seen a very motivated Iličić.

The career of one of the best Slovenian footballers of all time reached its peak in the 2019/20 season with Atalanta, with the icing on the cake represented by the four goals in a single Champions League match on 10 March 2020 at Mestalla against Valencia, shortly before the interruption of the championship due to Covid-19. On resumption after the lockdown
However, Iličić falls into depression and fails to regain brilliance and continuity, which strongly affects his last two seasons. The return to his homeland, at the age of 34, therefore represents an excellent opportunity for Iličić to restart. In fact, Maribor is the Slovenian team with the most titles with 16 championships won (including the last one) even if this year it cannot guarantee Josip a European stage given the elimination in the Conference League playoffs at the hands of Cluj. Surely now he is also betting on Iličić to return to Europe.