Antic Announces Serbia World Cup Squad!

Hey, I have expected more drama, more anxiety, more twists and turns. But it looks like Radomir Antić didn’t want to see any of that, so he has announced the list of 24 men that will board to plane to South Africa. True, there is one more player to miss out, but it is going to be one of the goalkeepers on the list since there are four of them, it it looks like it’s only a question of who are second and third choice keepers with Stojković cemented as our no. 1 goalie. So, who is on the list? Or even better, who is NOT on the list?

It turned out to be just a bit different from what I’ve guessed. Defenders Jagoš Vuković and Slobodan Rajković didn’t make the cut, and that is something that probably hasn’t surprised anyone in the world, including these players themselves. In midfield, we’ll be without the services of Nemanja Matić and Nemanja Tomić, which was also expected, but I kept dreaming of seeing Matić in South Africa anyway. But it’s the attack that is quite interesting. Antić has decided to keep Lazović in the list, drop out Miralem Sulejmani and bring Dragan Mrđa of Vojvodina, recently voted as a player of the JSL season, instead of Crvena Zvezda’s Dejan Lekić, already seen by many as a sure passenger to the World Cup. And while I’m satisfied that Mrđa got the nod before Lekić, I’m dissapointed that Sulejmani didn’t make the final 23-squad, we may be thin on wingers and he has the ability to spark from time to time when he gets the chance. So, here is the list of those who DID make the cut:

Goalkeepers:

Vladimir Stojković (Wigan)
Željko Brkić (Vojvodina)
Bojan Isailović (Zaglebie)
Anđelko Đuričić (Leiria)

Defenders:

Branislav Ivanović (Chelsea),
Antonio Rukavina (Munchen 1860)
Nemanja Vidić (Manchester United)
Neven Subotić (Borusssia Dortmund)
Aleksandar Luković (Udinese)
Ivan Obradović (Zaragoza)
Aleksandar Kolarov (Lazio)

Midfielders:

Dejan Stanković (Inter)
Gojko Kačar (Hertha Berlin)
Nenad Milijaš (Wolverhampton)
Zdravko Kuzmanović (Stuttgart)
Radosav Petrović (Partizan)
Miloš Krasić (CSKA Moscow)
Zoran Tošić (Köln)
Miloš Ninković (Dinamo Kyiv)
Milan Jovanović (Standard Liege)

Attackers:

Nikola Žigić (Valencia)
Marko Pantelić (Ajax)
Danko Lazović (Zenit)
Dragan Mrđa (Vojvodina)

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Edwin van der Sar

Due to their second position, Yugoslavia saw itself face the Netherlands in the Round of 16. Yugoslavia entered in the match with a sole attacker, but its defensive tactics proved unsuccessful as Dennis Bergkamp put the Netherlands in front in the 38th minute. Immediately following the start of the second half, Yugoslavia pressured the Dutch, who inevitably conceded a header from Slobodan Komljenović. However, the turning point of this match was be a penalty awarded to Yugoslavia after Vladimir Jugović was fouled in the penalty area. Predrag Mijatović's shot dazzled Edwin van der Sar, but not the crossbar, and the scoreline remained the same at 1 – 1. Such an event demoralized the Yugoslavs, as the Dutch took the initiative. In the late seconds of the game, as everybody was preparing for extra time, Edgar Davids shot towards the Yugoslav net from a distance of 20 meters and beat goalkeeper Ivica Kralj, to the pure disbelief of the Yugoslav players and fans. This marked the end of Yugoslavia's run in the 1998 FIFA World Cup, since there was not much time left to do anything.

Unlucky events forced Yugoslavia out of the tournament, but the team definitely demonstrated its great ability and proved it had a spot among the world's best teams. This was also reflected in the FIFA World Rankings following the 1998 FIFA World Cup, in which Yugoslavia was constantly ranked in the Top 10 for a long period of time.

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2002 FIFA World Cup

The 2002 qualifiers marked the first time that Yugoslavia failed to reach a major tournament ever since its return to the big stage after the UN sanctions. The problems started with the major political turmoil in the country as well in the Yugoslav FA, which prompted the new coach Ilija Petković to resign only after one game (2 – 0 away victory against Luxembourg).

Milovan Đorić took over the team, but under his leadership, the team managed only two draws (1 – 1 at home vs. Switzerland and also 1 – 1 away in Slovenia, in both games the opponents managed to equalise in late stages of the game) and a 0 – 1 home loss to Russia (which marked the team's first, and to this date only home defeat in official matches). After Đorić's resignation, a three-man commission, consisting of Dejan Savićević, Vujadin Boškov, and Ivan Ćurković, took over the coaching duties, until Savićević ultimately took over on his own. The team managed to bounce back with a draw in Russia and a win in Switzerland, but failed to defeat Slovenia in the penultimate game, thus ended the qualifiers in third position.


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Nemanja Vidic: Serbia star player

He may not be enjoying his best season at Old Trafford, but on any day, Serbia's Nemanja Vidic is a formidable opponent. Shaven-headed and with eyes of pure granite, Vidic manages the feat of looking both bigger and more athletic than he actually is.

He began his career with Red Star Belgrade at the age of 14, leading them to the domestic league and cup double in 2004 before moving to Spartak Moscow.

In January 2006 he signed for Manchester United for a fee of £7 million, and immediately set about forging a defensive partnership with Rio Ferdinand that has yielded three league titles and a Champions League.

Vidic is no longer an unsung hero in United’s recent success, pipping Cristiano Ronaldo to the club’s Player of the Year award last season. He is also the lynchpin of a Serbian team that gained automatic qualification for next summer’s World Cup ahead of France and conceded just one goal in qualifying for the 2006 tournament, a joint record.

He has been below his best this season, hampered by injury and suspension, but then again, none of his defensive colleagues have exactly covered themselves in glory either.

Now he just has to hope he avoids Fernando Torres in next month’s draw.

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Euro 2000

The draw for Euro 2000 qualifiers saw many eyebrows raised as first-seeded Yugoslavia was drawn in a group with Croatia, thus marking the first games between the two teams after the breakup of Yugoslavia. Other teams in the group were Republic of Ireland, Macedonia, and Malta. The coach of the national team first was Milan Živadinović, while Vujadin Boskov took over after his resignation.

Due to the NATO bombing of the country that started on 24 March 1999, Yugoslavia played its home fixture against Malta in Thessaloniki, Greece, winning 4 – 1.

The two highly anticipated games versus Croatia both ended in draws. First game in Belgrade ended with a scoreline 0 – 0 (the game was interrupted due to power outage at the beginning of the second half and resumed after 43 minutes[2]), while the other (which was the last fixture of the qualifying stage) ended 2 – 2 in Zagreb. The latter result however amounted to victory as was enough for Yugoslavia to secure a direct qualifying berth and knock Croatia out of European championship.

The draw for the Finals placed Yugoslavia in group C along with Spain, Norway, and Slovenia. The first game against Slovenia saw yet another former Yugoslav republic take a surprising 3 – 0 lead at Stade du Pays de Charleroi, but Yugoslavia managed to equalise by scoring three goals in only six minutes in mid-second half. The team's only victory in the tournament came in the second game versus Norway in Liège, thanks to an early Savo Milošević backheel strike. Final group game in Bruges was another high-scoring, but ultimately heartbreaking for Yugoslavia, as Spain won 4 – 3 with two late goals, despite the Yugoslavs taking the lead three times. Yugoslavia ended the group in second place, as Norway failed to defeat Slovenia in Arnhem. In each of the three games, Yugoslavia had one player sent off (Siniša Mihajlović, Mateja Kežman, and Slaviša Jokanović, respectively).

In the quarter-finals, Yugoslavia was once again paired with Netherlands. Unlike the last time, the co-hosts made easy work of Yugoslavia, winning 6 – 1 in Rotterdam with Patrick Kluivert scoring a hat trick.

One of the few bright spots of Yugoslav team in the whole tournament was Savo Milošević, who was crowned the joint top scorer of the tournament, alongside Patrick Kluivert. Both players scored five goals, although Milošević played one game fewer.

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1998 FIFA World Cup

The 1998 FIFA World Cup seeding had Yugoslavia ranked in 21st position, but the Yugoslav national football team went to France as one of the shadow favorites for the World Cup. The justification for such an estimation was partially found in the names of the Yugoslav players, members of great European teams and proven footballers. The draw put the team in Group F alongside Germany, the United States, and Iran. Yugoslavia won its first game 1 – 0 against Iran thanks to a goal from defender Siniša Mihajlović. The next game was a heartbreaker for Yugoslavia.

After leading Germany 2 – 0, last game's hero, Mihajlović, scored an unlucky own goal following a German freekick, and Oliver Bierhoff equalised at 2 – 2 with only about ten minutes to the match. Nonetheless, Yugoslavia responded in the next game against the United States and won 1 – 0 due to an early goal in Nantes. Yugoslavia made easy work of Group 6, but despite an excellent record, the game against Germany would prove costly as Germany won the group thanks to a better goal difference.

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Heritage from Yugoslavia

Serbian national team was previously known as the Yugoslavia national football team from 15 January 1992 until 4 February 2003, and then as the Serbia and Montenegro national football team until 3 June 2006 when Serbia declared independence as the successor state to the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro. It was officially renamed the Serbia national football team on 28 June 2006, while the Montenegro national football team was created to represent the new state of Montenegro.
Serbia plays Belgium at Marakana, 7 October 2006

Between 1921 and 1992, the team did not exist as we know it today, since Serbia was part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1918 – 1943) and later on, of the Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia (1945 – 1991). The Serbia national team existed from 1919 to 1921, but ceased to exist following the creation of the first Kingdom of Yugoslavia.

However, the Football Association of Serbia is a FIFA member since 1921 and a UEFA member since its creation in 1954. The Serbia national team is recognized, thanks to a mutual consent between both FIFA and UEFA, as the direct descendant of the Yugoslavia national team. Hence, the new national team formed in 1992 inherited of the full status, results, and achievements from Yugoslavia, which was not the case for any other country resulting from the breakup of Yugoslavia. Consequently, it did not have to apply to obtain a FIFA and UEFA status.

A similar situation happened following Montenegro's decision to secede following a referendum held on 21 May 2006. Once more, Serbia inherited of the Serbia and Montenegro full status, and did not have to apply for a FIFA and UEFA status, while Montenegro was obligated to do so.

The World Cup tickets of all matches are now available for sale. World Cup 2010 tickets of all the matches of World Cup are for sale at ticket4football.com, you can buy the Serbia World Cup tickets for its upcoming matches and World Cup Football tickets of other teams on this website.