Football Association of Serbia 2007
Coach: Radomir Antic
Confederation: UEFA
FIFA Ranking (Nov 09): 20
Previous Appearances: First as Serbia
Serbia v Ghana 13 June; Pretoria
Serbia v Nigeria 18 June; Port Elizabeth
Serbia v Argentina 23 June; Nelspruit
Background
For long a part of Yugoslavia, and later Serbia and Montenegro, this will be the first appearance of the team as Serbia. Yugoslavia’s, best performance at a World Cup was reaching the semi finals in 1930 and then again in 1962.
The road to the 2010 FIFA World Cup
For the First Round, Serbia was placed in Group 7 along France, Austria, Lithuania, Romania, and Faroe Islands. Serbia began with a 2-0 home victory over the Faroe Islands, but lost to France 2-0, in the next qualifier. However, Serbia bounced back crushing Lithuania 3-0, humbling Austria 3-1, and getting the better of a fighting Romania 3-2 in the next three games. The winning spree went on and they sneaked past Austria 1-0 and Faroe Islands 2-0. But Serbia could not turn the tables against France, but a 1-1 draw was quite satisfying to them. Next was a 5-0 demolishing job against hapless Romania. In the last match of the qualifiers, Serbia surprisingly lost to Lithuania 1-2. However this did not stop Serbia from topping the group with 22 points and qualifying for the World Cup 2010. It is noteworthy that they pushed the mighty France to second position and to a play-off.
Strengths
A strong defence is the main strength of Serbia, as is evident from the qualifiers, in which they lost only two games in 10 matches. Nemanja Vidic and Branislav Ivanovic look after the backline. Serbia have attacking midfielders supporting their wingers. They also execute set pieces to near perfection.
Weaknesses
Attack lack teeth and the absence of a spearhead is quite obvious. There are many to assist, but putting it across the goal line is a different ball game. The forwards appear to be lacking the necessary speed to pierce the opposing defence.
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The Coach
A former Serbian defender, Radomir Antic is the only one ever to have been the boss of the three Spanish majors; Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid. Even though his appointment as coach evoked mixed reactions, the wonderful performance from the team in the qualifiers has made this father figure, the darling of the public.
Star Men
Milos Krasic (CSKA Moscow, Russia);
Krasic runs at electrifying pace, passes the ball accurately and shoots with precision. His fabulous performance in the qualifiers has made this blonde a hero of the Serbian fans.
Milan Jovanovic (Standard Leige, Belgium);
Jovanovic top scored in the qualifying campaign with five goals. He plays intelligent football and possesses good craft.
Nemanja Vidić;
Vidic is well known to the international football followers as the star of the Manchester United. He has over a hundred appearances for the premier English club. The 28-year old centre back will have a stellar role to play in the 2010 edition of the World Cup.
Dejan Stanković;
The senior player and captain of the team, he has the experience of 80 appearances for his country and over 150 for Inter Milan. At 31 the mid fielder will be playing his third and last world cup. He is famous for his precise passing and goal scoring ability from the outfield.
Best Footballing Moment
Serbia will be creating its best moments in South Africa. With so much young and robust talent and the strong desire to perform thrilling moments will come naturally.
World Cup Objective
Looking at the opposition Serbia has in the first round, Serbia has every chance to reach the last 16.
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