Browsing through the football lexicon, I was trying to find the definition of the expression “easy job”. I couldn’t find it; obviously it’s not invented in terms of football, at least not yet. But, good as he is, Avram Grant decided to provide the material for the next edition of this valuable book. After he managed teams in his homeland and England, the Israeli manager took over FK Partizan Belgrade, proudly announcing a ‘title march and Champions League tilt’.

After that depressing wet night in Moscow, when his Chelsea side failed to win a Champions League title, Avram Grant’s management career suffered blow. He decided to take over Portsmouth in the worst possible moment, when the club was falling apart and was destined to go down. Grant succeeded only to escort Pompey to the Championship. As if that was not painful enough, he went to Upton Park and provided his critics with new material. West Ham won only seven league matches, gained the worst start to the league in the club’s history and Grant managed to become - like no one before - a Millwall legend. Of course, the result was again good enough just for relegation and he was not only sacked, but dismissed from Upton Park.

Here on the Balkans we have a saying - the one who gets burned by hot milk once blows the yoghurt afterwards. Grant, who has been hammered by Israeli and English critics in the past two years, this time decided to be cautious. He had some offers, but his side of the scale was packed - he had to find a club willing to pay enough, but also a club with the tradition and huge fan base so he could remain his ratings and celebrity status. At the end, he wanted the club that provides, from a sporting point of view, an easy job.

Partizan presented what he desired. Serbian media have speculated on the figures, but Grant will earn at least 400, 000 euros before the end of the season. He could double his income if he delivers Champions League football to his employer, his main goal. Grant can use the upcoming part of the league to get his team playing together and prepare them for crucial matches in the CL qualifiers. In the meantime he can gain sympathy across the black and white part of Belgrade simply by playing attacking football and introducing some of young and talented local boys to the team.

These are not assumptions - these are the facts. He arrived after the job was already done. Partizan is absolutely dominant in Serbian football. They’ve won the last four championships, leading the current one by 10 points from Red Star. They’ve also won fourteen out of fifteen matches this season, the last defeat came in August, they conceded just five (the least) and scored thirty-six (the most)...All this in addition to the fact that Partizan has by far the best individuals in the league and a winning system established by his predecessor Aleksandar Stanojević. Hence Avram Grant is in the perfect situation - his team has huge advantage, it is in great form, and it is packed with talent and quality. What’s more, the competition is poor and the pressure is off.

Could it be better? All Grant has to do is to beat Red Star in the Eternal derby (to win over the fans) and prepare the team for Champions League qualification. Four, maybe five difficult matches, the rest should be a relaxing springtime in beautiful Serbia. And it doesn’t get any easier than that.