David Babunski worked under Pep Guardiola at Barcelona and Ange Postecoglou in Japan.
But now the North Macedonia international is opening the next chapter in his football journey with Dundee United.
The 30-year-old signed for the Terrors on Tuesday and made an instant impact as United swept Stenhousemuir aside 3-0 on his debut hours later. Scotland is just the latest stop for Babunski in a career that has seen him play in Spain, Japan, Serbia and, most recently, Hungary. But it all began for the midfielder as a 12-year-old at Barcelona’s famous La Masia youth academy where Manchester City manager Guardiola was one of his coaches. Babunski said: “For me, Pep is a genius, the best of the best.
“To be able to learn from him, to see how he thinks in the dressing room, on the pitch, the kind of instructions he gives, how he makes you understand the game – it opens up your mind and takes you to a whole new level.”
After a decade at Barcelona, Babunski joined Red Star Belgrade, where he found it hard to adapt. He added: “At Barca it was like living a dream and I was there for 10 years. It is not easy to stay so long there because every year you have to prove yourself, to be given the green light to move forward. When you go to a different country you can see the ball flying over you but you have to adapt otherwise you won’t survive in the world of football.”
Next was Yokohama Marinos in Japan, where former Celtic boss Postecoglou impressed Bubanski. Babunski said: “He is a fantastic coach, probably one of the best I have had. When Ange arrived at Yokohama Marinos, I was really impressed.
“He did a good job when he was in Scotland. I did an interview when he signed for Tottenham and I told them if they let him work, he might achieve some success – he is obsessed with that.”
Babunski also explained why he was so delighted to sign for Premiership new boys United. He said: “Who wouldn’t want to come here to the UK, Scotland with such a massive football culture? It is something in recent years I have been dreaming about, it was very easy to agree to come here.”
