Jovan Lukić is fitting right into his first playoffs with the Union

Stories are passed down the years about how the playoffs are different: their intensity, their win-or-go-home stakes, and the different tactics that might result compared to a regular-season game.

If you watched Jovan Lukić in the Union’s series opener against Chicago, you wouldn’t have thought that night was any different. Indeed, you might not have guessed that it was his first playoff contest.

But it was different, he admitted as he prepared for Saturday’s Game 2 at SeatGeek Stadium, the Fire’s old home in Bridgeview, Ill. (5:30 p.m., Apple TV).

“How we prepare our minds and ourselves for the game, it’s like, now it’s playoffs, so anything can happen,” he said. “Even the worst team in the league, the best, it doesn’t matter. It’s just one game — I mean, after this first round, of course.”

Lukić said that last part unprompted — and not to draw cheers from the many critics of MLS’s playoff format. His focus is on what’s most important right now, the moment at hand.

“You just have to win, so it’s not [about] how you play,” he said. “It’s not even important, ‘Is it beautiful? Is it nice?’ You just want to prepare your mind to win the game, and that’s the only important thing — it doesn’t matter how, and you just want that.”

» READ MORE: Union cough up late lead to Chicago Fire but win Game 1 of playoff series in a shootout

In Game 1, Lukić helped control the midfield over the 90-plus minutes, as he has done so often this year: six defensive recoveries, two tackles, and 46-of-58 passing, including seven passes into the attacking third of the field.

Nestled in there also was his ninth yellow card in 37 games this year, which isn’t ideal. But at least that was one of six yellow cards that Sergii Boyko handed out Sunday, plus a red to Chicago’s Sergio Oregel for a shove to Jesús Bueno’s neck. (Chicago appealed this week and was denied.)

For all that’s been written about the heroics of other Union players this year, Lukić’s contributions have often gone under the radar. Now is a good time to spotlight how well he and Danley Jean Jacques have played in their first year together at the base of the Union’s box-shaped four.

“We’re both growing all the time, always, as persons, as players, day by day,” Lukić said. “We fight sometimes on the field, but that’s the reason we love each other even more. Out of the field, then we speak again, and we go again and again.”

» READ MORE: The Union’s postseason return brought intensity — and Andre Blake’s shootout heroics

The cliche that you couldn’t find two more different people is a high bar to clear in soccer, since teammates come from places all over the world. So let’s say that at least within MLS, these two would land high on a list.

Lukić is from Serbia and played professionally there, in Austria, and Portugal before coming here. Jean Jacques is from Haiti and played there and in France. Lukić doesn’t speak French, and Jean Jacques spoke little English until well into this season.

But the sport’s universal language worked right away. Now they land high on another MLS list: the league’s best midfield tandems.

“I’m telling you, in the beginning, we didn’t even understand each other — he didn’t speak English that well,” Lukić said. “Now, he’s way better. But since Day 1, we understood each other somehow on the field, and I’m super happy about it.”

» READ MORE: The Union focus on shoring up their set-piece defense heading into Game 2 vs. Chicago

Lukić also has taken quickly to Milan Iloski, whose midseason arrival livened up the attacking midfield.

“I think it’s really hard right now for somebody to come in this group of people and fit right in, like, in a second,” he said. “And he’s the example. … As a person, as a guy in the dressing room, on the field, his quality is unbelievable, as you can see.”

Lukić values the Union’s Supporters’ Shield triumph in the way that many foreign players in MLS do: as equal to a league title in countries that don’t have playoffs.

“Personally for me, it’s really important, a huge thing, especially as a European — for us to constantly be the first, and be on top, and show that you’re the best team in the league,” he said. “For me, that’s a champion thing.”

» READ MORE: Jay Sugarman wants the Union to get more respect, and knows winning MLS Cup will make that happen

He doesn’t object to playoffs existing, but his words are a reminder of why MLS values its regular season more than other American sports do.

“Of course, in America, people think a little bit different,” he said. “They like more the playoffs because I guess it’s a show. But of course we want, I want, to chase that, and I want to win it all if I can.”

This was the first trophy of Lukić’s professional career. At 23 years old, there is plenty of room for it to not be his last.

There’s also another prize to pursue: making Serbia’s senior national team. He has played for his country’s youth teams, most recently with the under-21 squad in March of last year.

» READ MORE: The long-term vision for Union captain Alejandro Bedoya? Return to the MLS Cup final. Full stop.

Reaching the top level before next year’s World Cup might be a stretch. The Eagles are racing Albania for a place in Europe’s World Cup qualifying playoffs, with the last two group games coming in a couple of weeks, and the current squad has players at a raft of big-name clubs.

If you’ve watched any of the Champions League or Italy’s Serie A, you’ve likely seen Juventus striker Dušan Vlahović. Another striker, longtime captain Aleksandar Mitrović, spent many years at England’s Fulham before moving to Saudi Arabia in 2023. In the midfield, Filip Kostić also is at Juventus, Saša Lukić (no relation) also is at Fulham, and Nemanja Gudelj is at Spain’s Sevilla.

But the Serbian national team program pays attention to MLS. Goalkeeper Djordje Petrović earned his first senior call-up while with the New England Revolution in 2021, two years before a big-money move to Chelsea (he’s now at Bournemouth).

This week, Serbia hired a new manager who coincidentally is a former Union player: Veljko Paunović. Since ending his playing career in Chester in 2012, he has coached Serbian youth teams, the Fire from 2015 to 2019 (including their last playoff berth in 2017), and clubs in England, Mexico, and Spain.

» READ MORE: The Union’s return to the playoffs is a milestone moment for Bradley Carnell

He has kept fond memories of his time here over the years. Though Lukić has never met him, he knows Paunović’s history. So it’s natural to wonder if Lukić might get a look at some point, should he keep playing well.

“I really hope so — that’s the biggest plus for me, to play for my country, to play for the national team,” he said. “I would always say yes to that call, like, even if I’m 40, trust me. ... And I’m waiting for that moment. But I’m focused on things right now, and what is going to happen [Saturday].”