A city of some 200,000 people on the windswept north-east coast of Scotland, Aberdeen became a home from home for Bojan Miovski. It was the place where the North Macedonia striker felt most welcome, most appreciated and, after two years of rattling in goals, most loved.
The hairs on his forearms still stand to attention when he recalls his final farewell to Pittodrie. A late substitute in a 3-1 win over St Mirren in August, the 25-year-old stood on the cusp of his dream move to a top-five European league. Jimmy Thelin’s red revolution would have to be staged without the Swede’s best player.
A life-changing £6.8million switch to Girona in Spain was too good to turn down. Offering Champions League football, a significant hike in pay and a welcome escape from the leaden chill of another Scottish winter, this was the optimum time for the 25-year-old to leave after 44 goals and 97 appearances.
Miovski gave a tearful farewell to Aberdeen fans before his move to Girona
The North Macedonia striker became a huge favourite with Dons supporters
Miovski remains grateful to the club for helping him secure a dream move to La Liga
Accepting the reality of the situation, supporters rose to their feet to say goodbye and the tears began to flow.
‘I was so emotional because I knew that was my last game at the club,’ Miovski tells Mail Sport. ‘The fans showed me huge respect, everyone stood up and the feeling was unbelievable.
‘For the last time, for that game, they showed me how much they truly loved me. The connection between me and Aberdeen fans is incomparable with anything and, for me, that was the key for my performance on the pitch. I will be always grateful to them.’
Jim Goodwin’s reign as Aberdeen boss ended with the Irishman trudging across the Easter Road pitch, man bag over his shoulder, after a 6-0 thrashing by Hibs. History shows that the biggest impact he made at the Dons was the unheralded signing of a beanpole striker from MTK Budapest in the summer of 2022.
In hindsight, Goodwin’s words were prophetic. Hailing the 6ft 3ins attacker as mobile and athletic with a good turn of pace, he identified Miovski’s knack for being in the right place at the right time, while detecting ample scope for improvement.
‘He will be a very good striker in the Scottish Premiership,’ said Goodwin, ‘but we can make him better and, hopefully in two or three years’ time, we have got a very sellable asset here at Aberdeen.’
Even the time scale was accurate. With Miovski’s useful habit of scoring big goals in big games against the Old Firm, amongst those taking an interest were Southampton and Italian pair Genoa and Parma. Celtic sent scouts to have a look, but preferred to spend their money on Adam Idah. Where Espanyol baulked at the Aberdeen asking price of £7million, Girona – part of the City Football Group – could afford the outlay. For both parties, Miovski’s move to La Liga was the natural conclusion to a mutually-beneficial arrangement.
‘Aberdeen changed my life,’ says the striker now. ‘How the players and the fans welcomed me was unbelievable.
‘I felt very happy from the very first day and this was the key for my success at the club.
‘The support I get on and off of the pitch, I never felt that before – and how they treated me in public was unbelievable. I really enjoyed every moment at the club.
‘I will always be grateful to the club, they gave me the opportunity to make my dream come true. They gave me my chance to be part of the club, and I was giving everything on the pitch.
‘I feel very grateful to everyone who believed in me, from Jim Goodwin – the coach who give me the first opportunity – and all the staff at the club, to the coaches that I worked with after. Including everyone involved in the club like chairman Dave (Cormack), director of football Steven (Gunn) and chief executive Alan (Burrows).’
Asked if he would like to return to Pittodrie one day – to make the half-time draw perhaps – Miovski interprets the question in a more permanent sense than it was intended.
‘In football, you never know. My career definitely will be long enough and everything can happen, but what I experienced there definitely is something I want to happen again.’
For now, he prefers to focus his attention on making something happen at Girona. Yet to score a goal for his new club, he came closest when he was fouled by Feyenoord goalkeeper Timon Wellenreuther in his first Champions League start earlier this month.
The German redeemed himself when he saved Miovski’s spot kick and, despite favourable reviews of the North Macedonian’s performance, the wait for his first Girona goal continued as the Dutch giants won 3-2.
Miovski loved the atmosphere at Aberdeen games and would love to go back one day
Penalty miss against Feyenoord was tough, but Miovski is confident he can score for Girona
‘First of all, I got goosebumps listening to the Champions League theme song,’ recalls Miovski. ‘For every football player, that really is something special, a dream come true. Then, after that, the feeling of the game itself was a unique feeling for me.
‘I missed a few penalties in my career and, unfortunately, one of them was in my Champions League debut. I had a good match actually and I won the penalty, but unfortunately I missed it.
‘In life, everything happens for a reason. Maybe that penalty was part of my career. Some things make me more stronger and even better.
‘You always need to stay calm and patient when you join a new club. You are coming into a new country and new surroundings with new people and coaches, and everything takes time. I signed here for four years and I have plenty of time to show my qualities in La Liga. Every day I am getting better and I hope I will continue that way.’
After changing his club and changing his footballing landscape, Miovski changed his marital status as well.
Weeks after leaving Aberdeen, he married fiancee Sara and, together, the couple plan to make the most of their new life in Spain.
Goals always help, and a superb strike against Armenia in the Nations League last Sunday has restored a spring to the forward’s step.
‘As a striker, you need to always have confidence, otherwise you will never score goals,’ says Miovski. ‘You need to believe always in your quality and what you are capable of.
‘For me, the main target always was to play in one of the top five leagues.. Every club I was at before, and every club I chose to join, was to be one step closer to my dream.
‘It was not a hard decision for me to choose Spain, because that was my always my dream, to be there and to play in the Champions League. Aberdeen made that possible.’
