After scoring his first goal for Wolves in 12 months, Sasa Kalajdzic is eager to put his frustrating year behind him.
In addition to his professional success, he is also expecting the birth of his first child with his fiancée, Lorena Grabovac. She was in the crowd at Goodison Park to cheer him on as he bounced back from an ACL injury to score an 87th-minute header, which gave his team their first victory of the season over Everton.
The 6ft 7in Austrian, signed from Stuttgart for £15million last summer only to injure seriously himself 45 minutes into his first appearance, welcomes the opportunity for a new start in all aspects of his life.
“A lot of bad things happened over the last year. That is why I am even more happier things are going like this now,” said Kalajdzic, who marked his goal with a thumb-in-the-mouth-ball-up-his-shirt celebration.
“It is very good news for me and my fiancee. We are very happy and I tried to keep it (the celebration) for a special occasion. We are halfway (through the pregnancy).
“I think it was like killing two birds with one stone. My missus was in the crowd but I couldn’t find her (to celebrate with) but she texted me to say she had seen it.
“For strikers the opening goal is always the hardest. Now it is about continuing and I will try to do that but at the end it is more about the team, that we can reward ourselves with some points to get ourselves out from down there – even if it just the beginning.
“Just to get confidence. When the team is getting sharper, getting better, I profit from that as well so I am happy for the team.”
Kalajdzic described the last year as “challenging” but he is now looking to resuming a career which saw him score at almost a goal every other game for his former Bundesliga side.
“It was a long journey for me. This is a good start to start a new journey,” he added.
“That’s why it is even more special when things like this happen. I just want to continue like that.”
