It is 19 years this week since Goran Milosavljevic first arrived at Chester City.
Swapping the glorious sunshine of the south of France for the North West of England, the Serbian midfielder had finally realised his dream of playing football in England.
He was part of the international flavour that American owner/manager Terry Smith had sought to bring to the club, arriving alongside the likes of Martin Nash, Kwik Ajet, Angus Eve, Kamu Laird and Joe Carver.
The 1999/2000 season was one to forget for players and staff alike, with the Blues seeing their 69-year stay in the Football League come to an end in the May, despite a valiant effort in the second half of the season after Smith had finally stepped away from managing the side and handed the reins over to director of football Ian Atkins.
But Milosavljevic was frozen out after Atkins' arrival and his Chester career officially came to an end at the conclusion of the campaign. The dream of English football had last six months.
"My agent at the time had called me and told me that a team in England, Chester, were looking for players," recalled Milosavljevic, who made 17 appearances in all competitions for Chester, with his final game coming in a 4-1 loss at Carlisle United on January 3, 2000.
"At the time I was playing in the south of France with a team in Division Four. It had always been my dream to play in England and as soon as I knew that I would be able to I decided to sign.
"It was very difficult. I could speak French but I could not speak English. I was lucky that one of the players at Chester, Nick Richardson, could speak a little French and was able to translate some things for me.
"Terry Smith was in charge at the time and I spent about six months there and it was a difficult time. When Ian Atkins came in he wanted players and defenders who could kick the ball clear. He did not want footballers and so I left."
And while his time at Chester may have been fleeting, Milosavljevic still keeps abreast of what is happening at the Deva and remains in contact with some of his teammates from that time.
He said: "Chester were unlucky to be relegated at the end of that season I was there. I still check to see how they are doing now and I still speak to some of my old teammates on Facebook, people like Nick Richardson, Wayne Brown and Paul Berry.
"It will take a lot of hard work for the club to get back to the National League but hopefully it won't be too long and then they can start to try and get back to the Football League. It is still a club that I follow and one that I want to do well."
Former Chester player features
After a career that had seen him play lower level football in Austria, Germany and France, among others, Milosavljevic made the step into scouting, training and player representation in the early 2000s, working in partnership with clubs such as Arsenal, Bordeaux, Montpellier, Red Star Belgrade, Vitesse Arnhem and FC Zurich.
His relationship with Arsenal, and particularly Arsene Wenger, would last for 15 years, right up until Wenger's departure from the Gunners at the end of last season.
Milosavljevic would be the eyes and ears of the Gunners in Serbia and recommend some of their bright young things, with former Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic and current Crystal Palace midfielder Luka Milivojevic two who got away for the Gunners despite Milosavljevic's recommendations.
"I had worked with Arsenal closely for 15 years when Arsene Wenger was there," said Milosavljevic, who played for clubs including Grenoble, Oldenburg, Red Star Belgrade and FC Winterthur during his time as a player.
"Early on it took time to get people to trust you with players. I remember in 2005 with Nemanja Vidic when he was playing for Spartak Moscow. I told Arsenal that he is a quality player and someone that they should sign. I had known him since he had been playing for Red Star Belgrade.
"But they didn't trust my judgement on the player and nothing happened and he ended up signing for Manchester United a year later. He could have ended up playing for Arsenal if they would have trusted me on that one.
"Luka Milivojevic is another player who I recommended. I started working with him at a young age, around 12, and then seriously when he was about 15. He has gone on to play for Crystal Palace and is doing well in the Premier League. He is one of their top players.
"Another player I saw very early was Stevan Jovetic when he was with Partizan. He has gone on to play for Fiorentina, Manchester City and Inter Milan.
"I don't work so closely with Arsenal anymore after Arsene Wenger left but I am scouting and representing players across Europe. I'm currently in France and finding clubs for players who have been playing in Greece.
"One thing I would like to be able to do in the future is find a player for Chester who could make a difference. The English game is a very tough one and a lot of players are not ready for it."
