The sound of 90,000-plus opposing fans in awe of your abilities is one you don’t forget.

Veljko Paunovic still vividly recalls that sound as he controlled a long pass on the run while playing for visiting Getafe at a packed Camp Nou in Barcelona in 2006. The stadium was all but silent as Paunovic concentrated on the ball that soared through the air toward him. But it’s his story, let him tell it.

Among Pauno's professional club stops in Europe were two seasons (2005-07) with Getafe in La Liga. (Action Images)

“Our goalkeeper Robert Abbondanzieri gave a long pass, but it was a very difficult pass,” Paunovic said. “I had to manage to control that ball. I was running. It was very difficult to control. I controlled it perfect. I just wanted to play, you know. Then, 90,000 people were like ‘wow’ and they were applauding. I will never forget that moment.”

Paunovic is recounting the memorable play on a recent afternoon not to impress anyone or reflect on his glory days. He had been introduced as the Chicago Fire’s new head coach at a press conference at The PrivateBank Fire Pitch nearly an hour before. He had conducted interviews in English, Serbian and Spanish and spoken on many topics. The one he was currently on, the reason he was telling this story, was to further explain his philosophy of player development.

Paunovic doesn’t credit himself with that subtle yet significant display of skill.

“The credit is to my coach,” said the 38-year-old Paunovic, who identifies two youth coaches at Partizan Belgrade, Florian Matelko (U-10) and Milos Radakovic (U-17), as particularly influential in his own growth. “The credit goes to him because he gave me that at a very early age. My development of the players, my idea of development, it’s not mine. It’s something I just learned. This is something I was taught, and this is how I was raised as a soccer player.”

Paunovic was hired by general manager Nelson Rodriguez to guide the Fire for an assortment of reasons, and Paunovic’s proven ability to develop players is high on that list. Paunovic seized Rodriguez’s attention with what he accomplished in a three-year span while coaching his native country’s youth international teams. Serbia’s U-18, U-19 and U-20 teams flourished under Paunovic, and the world especially took notice when Serbia defeated Brazil to win the FIFA U-20 World Cup title in June.

What Rodriguez seeks from Paunovic as the Fire’s head coach isn’t necessarily the exact same as what his duties were with Serbia, but Rodriguez envisions Paunovic being able to tap into all of his soccer knowledge, including that development portion, to benefit the Fire in the years to come. “I think that his ability to develop young players is an advantage,” Rodriguez said. “It’s an advantage in a few different ways. First, it allows us to have a better chance of creating succession planning within the team because then he can assist those on working in the Academy on a daily basis as well. As players get through our pipeline, they’re more ready to step on the field. He can finish their soccer education. I think that’s important.

Chicago Fire GM Nelson Rodríguez (left) and head coach Veljko Paunovic believe youth development is especially key to sustained success in today's MLS. (Stephen Serio)

“The league is getting younger," Rodriguez continued. "The importance of the MLS SuperDraft is starting to wane because teams are investing more in their Academy players or opting to go Academies and pro even before going to college or leaving college early. Again, I think it’s important to have someone who understands how to continue and finish the soccer education of young players. We do see that as a big advantage.”

Mitar Mrkela, the youth teams director for the Football Association of Serbia, worked closely with Paunovic the past few years, and Mrkela saw a coach on the rise.

“He was with good ideas,” Mrkela said from Serbia by phone. “We understood each other well in football meetings. I tried to support him to achieve his ideas. He’s a very honest guy. He’s a very direct person in the relationship with me as a director and also very direct with the players.

“The main thing what he did is he found new players. He took over our next generation of players. They already had some competition. Veljko found some other players. He had a big influence in the development of those players.”

Mrkela was optimistic Paunovic would have similar success in MLS. He witnessed growth in Paunovic from the time he was hired by Serbia’s Football Association and believes he was capable of more.

“He’s very dedicated and very enthusiastic,” Mrkela said. “He’s better than he was 3-4 years ago when he came to work in the FA.”

WATCH: Nelson Rodríguez Discusses Veljko Paunovic

Paunovic’s philosophy on development originates from his own experience in developing as a player. He came through FK Partizan Academy in Belgrade, Serbia. It was the skills he learned there which led to a 16-year professional career.

“That culture of developing came to me from the days I was six years old,” Paunovic said. “I had a coach where we were practicing every day all the technical elements before we played. We would have to practice controls, all the parts of the foot with both feet. We had to practice passing, basically all the technical elements before we go and play. That really helped me to develop huge technique because technique is important for our creativity as a player.”

When Paunovic decided to retire in 2011 after a season with MLS’ Philadelphia Union and transitioned into a coach for Serbia in 2012, he found the passion he once had for learning the game carried over to teaching it. He especially thought he and Serbia had a knack in recent years for helping youth players get through what he described as a “barrier”.

“I love everything -- work on and off the field, work on mentality, which is very important for young players, especially at the ages at that point where they have to make the move from amateur to professional soccer or junior to senior player,” he said. “That’s critical for them. Many of the players disappear in those ages. They just don’t get through.

Photo Gallery: Veljko Paunovic Career Snapshot

“This is where I believe we in the national team, the Serbian national teams, in the last years we were very successful at. There were a huge amount of players who were selected, developed. They passed. They went through that barrier that is always there for young players. We worked on every aspect of the game. It’s teaching the game and how to use the tools in order to perform well. That applies perfectly to all ages, all levels. Of course, it’s a process that requires a lot of energy, a lot of resources, a lot of knowledge and good results.”

Homegrown Fire midfielder Harry Shipp, a product of the club’s Academy and PDL systems, is hopeful Paunovic could assist in further building the organization's Academy and help young players with a smoother transition into the First Team.

Harry Shipp (left) looks forward to the fruits of Veljko Paunovic's emphasis on player development, both in the First Team and the Chicago Fire Academy.

“I think that’s something in general U.S. soccer is starting to put a greater focus on,” Shipp said of youth development. “You look at the rest of the world, and you know a lot of clubs put a huge focus on investing money hoping that it will pay off down the road. I think that’s something the Fire has done a better job in.

“Hopefully now the next step with that is bridging the gap to the First Team. I think for me when I was in high school I played in the Academy, but I didn’t have any exposure to the First Team. It was almost like we played for two separate clubs. I think you’re starting to see it more and more with guys training with us during the summer when they’re home from college or they’re home from high school they’re training with us. I think hopefully you’re going to see more and more throughout the year guys training with us when they’re 16, 17, 18 even if they decide to go to college after that. I think having that familiarity with the level that’s expected of them day in and day out will better prepare them to contribute as 20, 21, 22-year olds for the First Team.”

There are three qualities Paunovic looks for when identifying youth talent. He analyzes how a player interprets the game, understands the game and their physical tools.

“We have these three basic things to detect,” he said. “We try to unite all three aspects and try to develop them to their full potential in all aspects.”

Paunovic recently spoke at an elite national coaches conference in the U.S., and his ideas caught the ear of one longtime soccer mind. The individual wished to speak anonymously because the event was for a private group.

“It is was an event based upon creating a dialogue amongst the premier coaches in the U.S. and Pauno is a coach with the intellectual curiosity and humility you see from those who succeed here,” the source said. “That means a desire to glean knowledge from his colleagues, a continuing education via analysis of other approaches -- for example, his time spent analyzing MLS and speaking with MLS contacts from Serbia -- and the openness to allow the players to be the primary drivers in their own development.

“There's a clear delineation you can see often with coaches. So many people get in to coaching because they played soccer and coaching is the best job available off the field. Pauno is a coach who just happened to play in the meantime. You never know with the cultural adjustment if it will work out, but he has the personality and receptiveness to shorten the learning curve.”

"Pauno is a coach with the intellectual curiosity and humility you see from those who succeed here. ... (He's) a coach who just happened to play in the meantime."

Paunovic’s desire is to develop players so they can someday experience something like he did in Barcelona nearly a decade ago. He understands development takes time, patience, a lot of hard work and the players also buying into it, but it’s a process that he’s committed to with the Fire.

“It’s very important the development,” Paunovic said. “It’s a process. The people have to enjoy the process, the process of development. That will be very important. To enjoy the everyday of improvements of every player. In terms of coaching when we’re talking about the player, he also has to feel that this will help him become a better player. Of course, we’ll never forget the person. Because when we’re working on the player, the same time you’re working on the person. Those things I think are very important.”