Group D - Serbia

Group D

Germany

Australia

Serbia

Ghana

Nickname: Beli Orlovi (White Eagles) – from the coat of arms.

Colors: Red, White, Blue

Current World Ranking: 15

Manager: Radomir Antic

The Serbian is a former player who has been managing for the better part of 2 decades now and has the distinction of being the only man to coach Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. He’s been managing the Serbia national team since 2008 after turning the job down multiple times before then. He employees an attack minded system and often uses a veteran squad injected with young talent.

History: From 1992 to 2003 the Serbian team was known as the Yugoslavia National Football team and then as Serbia and Montenegro until 2006 when they became the Serbia National Football Team after declaring independence. Interestingly though, both FIFA and UEFA allowed Serbia to inherit the records and status from both Yugoslavia and Serbia and Montenegro.

Yugoslavia was banned from international competitions in the early 90’s so their first World Cup of the modern era came in 1998 in France. They were underdogs but played amazingly well, beating Iran and the US and drawing Germany after being up 2-0. They finished second in the Group to Germany due to goal difference, which earned them a Round of 16 match against the Netherlands that they lost in the dying seconds of the match.

Serbia and Montenegro failed to qualify for the 2002 Cup in Asia but finished atop their Group in the 2006 Cup qualification ahead of favorites Spain by going undefeated and allowing only 1 goal in 10 matches. They were unlucky to draw the “Group of Death” in the tournament though, along with Netherlands, Argentina, and Ivory Coast. They lost the opening game against the Dutch 1-0 then got owned by Argentina 6-0. They had only pride to play for in the final match against Ivory Coast but lost that as well 3-2, to complete a thoroughly embarrassing tournament. Part of the reason for their poor play was an injury to one of their top players, Mirko Vucinic just before the tournament. The coach, Ilijia Petkovic controversial chose his son to fill that spot, only to have his son back out due to intense pressure and scrutiny from the fans and media.

Serbia finished atop their group in qualification for the 2010 Cup ahead of France and a disappointing Austria.

Players: The Serbian players compete all over Europe in some of the top leagues. They are extremely tough defensively but as stated before, the manager has adopted an attacking style that served them well through qualifying.

Nemanja Vidic – Center-back

This dude is hard as nails. Just look at him; he eats gravel for breakfast and shits out concrete. There is no one tougher in the air in the world and no one more fearless. He plays his club ball with Manchester United, where he was named Premier League Player of the Year last season. While any striker not named Fernando Torres is more likely to wet himself than score on Vidic’s watch, he’s been injured for long spells this season and is always on the verge of a yellow card no matter what he’s doing. If he’s fit for the Cup though he will be a force in the central defense for Serbia.

Dejan Stankovic – Midfield (Captain)

The 32-year-old first made an international appearance in 1998 and has been an integral part of the team ever since, racking up nearly twice as many caps as the next nearest player. He has been playing his club ball and scoring as an attacking midfielder with Italy’s Inter Milan since 2004. No doubt this will be Stankovic’s last Cup and he certainly has a lot to prove after the disappointing showing in ’06.

Milan Jovanovic – Midfield

The 29 year-old currently plays for Belgian side Standard Liege but will be making the move to Liverpool over the summer. He only earned his first cap for Serbia in 2007 but has made 24 appearances and 9 goals since then. He and Stankovic should anchor the midfield with a lot of veteran leadership.

Prediction: This Group should really come down a competition for second place as Germany are heavy, heavy favorites to win. Serbia will have to get the job done against Ghana and Australia and that won’t be easy. Their only advantage in this group is the experience they have playing against the top talent in Europe, which is far superior to what Ghana or Australia see in their Confederations. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them come out as runners-up and I also wouldn’t be surprised to see them upset Germany.