Serbia Montenegro World Cup '06 Team Profile

Serbia Montenegro Kit 1	Serbia Montenegro Kit 2

Ozren Podnar reports on the Serbia Montenegro national side for Germany

Serbia and Montenegro are a mystery to all those who do not follow the changes on the political scene, which in the case of the Balkans can be pretty frequent and less than transparent.

Let us remove the shroud of mystery from this country and its national team: Germany 2006 will be the second appearance of Serbia and Montenegro at World Cup final stages. The first was in France 1998, under the name of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

Serbia and Montenegro was founded in April of 1992 under the name of FR Yugoslavia, after the disintegration of the old, six-member Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (which is sometimes referred to as "the former Yugoslavia").

The country now called Serbia and Montenegro comprises these two republics, but did not officially assume the current name until 2002.

Second WC finals

Serbia and Montenegro, itself a federation that could soon be dissolved if tiny Montenegro votes in favour of independence in the referendum this May, are therefore not a debutant at a World Cup, nor will this be their tenth appearance.

Away from the politics, the national team bearing this short-lived denomination may be as good as any of those produced by the old multiethnic Yugoslav federation before its infamous and bloody collapse in the 1991/92 conflict.

This team proved its worth finishing top of a strong qualifying group which included Spain, Belgium and Bosnia-Hercegovina, another splinter of the former Yugoslavia.

Serbia and Montenegro return to the international stage six years after participation at Euro'2000 in Belgium and Holland. In both subsequent campaigns they failed dismally, notably in the qualifiers for Euro'2004, where they somehow managed to take just one point in two games against Azerbaijan (2-2 in Podgorica, 1-2 in Baku) and lose 3-0 away to Finland.

A Serb-Montenegrin rennaissance of sorts has been confirmed by the successes of their U-17 and U-20 squads, who have also qualified for the final stages of their respective competitions.

Their past two appearances in the final stages of big competitions have been mixed; in France eight years ago, Serbia and Montenegro (still playing under the name of FR Yugoslavia) went down to Holland in the second round after Predrag Mijatovic missed a penalty that would have seen them through. Two years later, in Belgium and Holland, they reached the quarterfinals, where they were thrashed 1-6 by the Dutch, after coming through a difficult group which included Spain, Norway and Slovenia.

Boys play tough

The current squad lacks the glamour provided earlier by Dragan Stojkovic, Predrag Mijatovic and Dejan Savicevic, three of the most skilful Slavic players in history, but still possesses an impressive core, especially at the back.

Much of the credits go to the coach Ilija Petkovic, himself a great ex-player for OFK Beograd and Yugoslavia (46 caps, 6 goals), who picked up the reins of the team when Dejan "Il Genio" Savicevic quit after losing to Azerbaijan. Petkovic, has a wealth of experience and has coached in Switzerland, China, Japan and Greece.

A clever, unassuming and practical midfielder in his playing days, Petkovic chose the right players, physically strong and good in the air. The strategy paid off because the team did not lose a single game in the qualifiers and conceded just one goal, scored by Raúl Gonzalez at Atlético's Vicente Calderón.

Their defensive line-up consisting of Dragoslav Jevric, Nemanja Vidic (now at Manchester United), Goran Gavrancic, Mladen Krstajic and Ivica Dragutinovic is one of the most respected in Europe and, for Serbia and Montenegro fans, reminiscent of the mythical Arsenal defense with Seaman, Dixon, Adams, Bould and Winterburn.

As well , Serbia and Montenegro's midfielders and forwards should not be underestimated, whether we speak of "water bearers" like Nadj, Duljaj and Koroman, or the more creative and incisive Stankovic of Inter or Djordjevic of Olympiakos.

Upfront, the veteran Savo Milosevic is still going strong at 33 and stays willing to defend the Serbia and Montenegro colours even though he has to put up with an inexplicable animosity from nearly half of the team's supporters.

Milosevic originally comes from Partizan Belgrade and was so brilliant while in the Army Team (74 goals in three seasons) that the rival fans of Red Star Belgrade can barely stand to see his face - even when he pulls on the blue Serbia and Montenegro shirt.

Alongside Milosevic, a record holder with 97 caps and 35 goals, Petkovic plays the fast and tricky finisher Mateja Kezman, but the 6ft 7 (202 cm) Nikola Zigic is another option upfront - a magnificent header of the ball, prolific both as a goal scorer or as a maker of chances. His headed pass enabled top scorer Kezman to secure the vital point in Madrid.

Ambitions: Make it through the "Group of Death" with Argentina, Holland and Ivory Coast.

Strengths: Defense, physique, experience, players' pride and team spirit.

Stars: Mateja Kezman (27, Atletico Madrid), Dejan Stankovic (27, Inter), Mladen Krstajic (32, Schalke)

Serbia and Montenegro: A Last Joint Venture?

The former Yugoslavs - we mean the united Yugoslavia - used to be accused of playing pretty soccer. Well, Serbia and Montenegro will not "disappoint" you in that sense. They will play very hard in what may turn out to be their last joint venture; Montenegro may well go their own way politically and sporting-wise as early as next summer. Still, Serbia has a rich pool of footballing talent which will enable it to stay very competitive even without the aid of their current companions, whereas Montenegro is bound to field a pretty good squad themselves; Montenegrins are the tallest nation in Europe (and not short of strength either).

The probable final phase of the Yugoslav desintegration, 15 years after the process began, will produce yet another valid soccer nation, the sixth derived from the former Yugoslavia. Let us not forget that Mijatovic, Savicevic and Anton Drobnjak are all Montenegrins.

Fact File

Football Association

Fudbalski savez Srbije i Crne Gore (FSSCG)

Address: Terazije 35, Belgrade

Founded: 1919 (1992)

Chairman: Tomislav Karadzic

Coach: Ilija Petkovic (61)

Official web site: www.fsj.co.yu

Top clubs: Red Star, Partizan, Vojvodina, Obilic, Buducnost

World Cup appearances: 1 (1998)

European Championship appearances: 1 (2000)

Famous players: Dragan Stojkovic, Dejan Savicevic, Predrag Mijatovic, Vladimir Jugovic, Sinisa Mihajlovic, Darko Kovacevic, Savo Milosevic, Mladen Krstajic, Mateja Kezman

Likely line-up: Dragoslav Jevric; Nemanja Vidic, Goran Gavrancic, Mladen Krstajic, Ivica Dragutinovic; Ognjen Koroman (Zvonimir Vukic), Igor Duljaj, Dejan Stankovic, Predrag Djordjevic; Savo Milosevic (Nikola Zigic), Mateja Kezman

Path to Germany 2006

San Marino 0 - Serbia and Montenegro 3

Bosnia and Hercegovina 0 - Serbia and Montenegro 0

Serbia and Montenegro 5 - San Marino 0

Belgium 0 - Serbia and Montenegro 2

Serbia and Montenegro 0 - Spain 0

Serbia and Montenegro 0 - Belgium 0

Serbia and Montenegro 2 - Lithuania 0

Spain 1 - Serbia and Montenegro 1

Lithuania 0 - Serbia and Montenegro 2

Serbia and Montenegro 1 - Bosnia and Herzegovina 0.

Qualified as Group 7 winners

A Glimpse into History

Former Yugoslavia (incl. Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia, Macedonia)

World Cup appearances: 8

European Championship appearances: 5 (+1 disqualified)

Honours: Olympic tournament winners (1960); three Olympic silver medals (1948, 1952 and 1956); European Championship runners-up (1960 and 1968); World Cup semifinalists (1930 and 1962); Youth World Cup winners (1987)

Famous players: Bernard Vukas (CRO), Stjepan Bobek (CRO), Branko Zebec (CRO), Rajko Mitic (SER), Vladimir Beara (CRO), Dragoslav Sekularac (SER), Ivan Osim (BOS), Dragan Dzajic (SER), Vladislav Bogicevic (SER), Ivica Surjak (CRO), Branko Oblak (SLO), Vladimir Petrovic (SER), Safet Susic (BOS), Velimir Zajec (CRO), Ivan Gudelj (CRO), Zlatko Vujovic (CRO), Darko Pancev (MAC)

Famous coaches: Vujadin Boskov (SER), Miljan Miljanic (SER), Tomislav Ivic (CRO), Ante Mladinic (CRO), Miroslav Blazevic (CRO), Ivan Osim (BOS)

Squad

Goalkeepers Dragoslav Jevric (Anakaraspor, Turkey), Oliver Kovacevic (CSKA Sofia, Bulgaria), Vladimir Stojkovic (Nantes, France)
Defenders Goran Gavrancic (Dynamo Kiev, Ukraine), Ivica Dragutinovic (Sevilla, Spain), Mladen Krstajic (Schalke 04, Germany), Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United, England), Milan Dudic (Red Star Belgrade), Nenad Djordjevic (Partizan Belgrade), Dusan Basta (Red Star Belgrade)
Midfielders Dejan Stankovic, (Inter Milan, Italy), Igor Duljaj (Shakhtar Donetsk, Ukraine), Predrag Djordjevic (Olympiakos Piraeus, Greece), Ognjen Koroman (Portsmouth, England), Albert Nadj (Partizan Belgrade), Sasa Ilic (Galatasaray, Turkey), Zvonimir Vukic (Partizan Belgrade), Ivan Ergic (Basle, Switzerland)
Forwards Savo Milosevic (Osasuna, Spain), Mateja Kezman (Atletico Madrid, Spain), Nikola Zigic (Red Star Belgrade), Danijel Ljuboja (VfB Stuttgart, Germany), Mirko Vucinic (Lecce, Italy)

Serbia World Cup 2010 Team Profile

Ozren Podnar

World Cup '06 Teams

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