Serbia national football team

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Serbia

Nickname(s)	White Eagles (Бели Орлови, Beli Orlovi)
Association	Football Association of Serbia (Фудбалски савез Србије, Fudbalski savez Srbije)
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Radomir Antić
Captain	Dejan Stanković
Most caps	Savo Milošević (102)
Top scorer	Savo Milošević (37)
Home stadium	Stadion Crvena Zvezda, Belgrade
FIFA code	SRB
FIFA ranking	30
Highest FIFA ranking	6 (December 1998)
Lowest FIFA ranking	55 (October 2004)
Elo ranking	T24
Home colours Away colours
First international
As Yugoslavia Brazil 2 - 0 Yugoslavia (Porto Alegre, Brazil; 23 December, 1994) As Serbia Czech Republic 1 - 3 Serbia (Uherské Hradiště, Czech Republic; 16 August, 2006)
Biggest win
Faroe Islands 1 - 8 Yugoslavia (Toftir, Faroe Islands; 6 October 1996)
Biggest defeat
Argentina 6 - 0 Serbia & Montenegro (Gelsenkirchen, Germany; 16 June, 2006)
World Cup
Appearances	10 (First in 1930)
Best result	Semi Finals 1930, 1962
European Championship
Appearances	5 (First in 1960)
Best result	Final 1960, 1968

The Serbia national football team (Serbian: Фудбалска репрезентација Србије / Fudbalska reprezentacija Srbije) represents Serbia in international football competitions and is controlled by the Football Association of Serbia. It was previously known as the Yugoslavia national football team from January 15, 1992 until February 4, 2003, and then as the Serbia and Montenegro national football team until June 3, 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 June 28, 2006, while the Montenegro national football team was created to represent the new state of Montenegro.

Both FIFA and UEFA consider the Serbia national team the direct descendant of the Serbia and Montenegro national team.

Between 1921 and 1992, this team did not exist as we know it today, since Serbia was part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1918-1943) and later on, the Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia (1945-1991). The Serbia national team existed from 1919 to 1921, and then ceased to exist following the creation of the first Kingdom of Yugoslavia. The new national team formed in 1992 was considered the direct descendant of the Yugoslavia national team, as it kept Yugoslavia's former status, which was not the case for any other country resulting from the breakup of Yugoslavia.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Heritage from Yugoslavia 1.2 The beginnings and the 1998 FIFA World Cup 2 Tournament records 2.1 World Cup record 2.1.1 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualification 2.2 European Championship record 3 Players 3.1 Current squad 3.2 Recent Call Ups 3.3 World Cup 2006 squad 4 Competitions 4.1 2006 World Cup 5 Statistics 5.1 Managers 5.2 Most appearances 5.3 Leading goalscorers 6 Record against other countries 7 Notable matches 8 Notable players 8.1 As Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) 8.2 As Serbia 9 Nickname 10 See also 11 External links

[edit] History

See also: Yugoslavia national football team

[edit] Heritage from Yugoslavia

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 May 21, 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.

[edit] The beginnings and the 1998 FIFA World Cup

Although the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was formed on April 28, 1992, its teams were banned from all international sporting events, including the national football team. Consequently, the national team did not play its first name as a new country before December 23, 1994, a friendly match played in Porto Alegre and in which Brazil won by the mark of 2-0. This was the first ever team composed of Serbian and Montenegrin players exclusively, while Slobodan Santrač, a former Yugoslavia national team player, was named the team's first ever manager. The next game was played only three days later, this time in Buenos Aires, resulting in 1-0 loss to Argentina. Despite two losses in two games, the team was honoured to play its first two games ever against such football powerhouses.

Also due to the United Nations international sanctions, the team could not take part in the 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification, nor the UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying process.

On March 31, 1995, the team recorded its first official win in history, a 1-0 friendly against Uruguay, simultaneously marking the team's first ever home game, played at Stadion Crvena Zvezda in Belgrade, and the first ever goal scored, courtesy of Savo Milošević. Slightly more than one year later, the team records its first ever win in a FIFA World Cup qualifying tournament in what would also appear to be its first game in such a tournament, a 3-1 win over the Faroe Islands. Shortly after, the team would also record its biggest win in history, once again against the Faroe Islands, 8-1. Yugoslavia would finish second in Group 6, just behind Spain, meaning it had to go through the play-off system in order to qualify. Yugoslavia was paired up with Hungary, and what was believed would be a tough matchup turned out to be an easy win for Yugoslavia, 7-1 in Budapest and 5-0 in Belgrade, for an aggregate score of 12-1. This was enough to secure Yugoslavia its first ever FIFA World Cup appearance as a new country.

The 1998 FIFA World Cup seeding had Yugoslavia ranked on 21st position, but the Yugoslav national football team was received in France as one of the shadow favorites for the highest place at the World Cup. The justification for such estimation was partially found in the names of the Yugoslav players, members of great European teams and proven footballers. The draw puts the team in Group F alongside Germany, the United States, and finally, Iran. Yugoslavia wins its first game by the mark of 1-0 against Iran thanks to a goal from defender Siniša Mihajlović. The next game is a heartbreaker for Yugoslavia. After leading Germany 2-0, last game's hero, Mihajlović, scores an unlucky own goal following a German freekick, and Oliver Bierhoff equalises at 2-2 with only about ten minutes to the match. Nonetheless, Yugoslavia responds in the next game against the United States and wins 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 wins the group thanks to a better goal differential.

Due to its second position, Yugoslavia sees itself face the Netherlands in the Round of 16. Yugoslavia enters in the match with a sole attacker, but its defensive tactics prove unsuccessful as Dennis Bergkamp puts the Netherlands in front in the 38th minute. Immediately following the start of the second half, Yugoslavia pressures the Dutch, who inevitably concede a header from Slobodan Komljenović. However, the turning point of this match would be a penalty shot 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 definately 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.

[edit] Tournament records

[edit] World Cup record

• 1930 to 1990 – Not applicable; Was part of SFR Yugoslavia.
• 1994 – Could not enter ; Banned because of international sanctions due to Yugoslav wars (as Federal Republic of Yugoslavia)

Year	Round	Position	Matches	Wins	Draws	Losses	GF	GA
1998	Round 2	9	4	2	1	1	5	3
2002	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-
2006	Round 1	32	3	0	0	3	2	10
Total	2/3	-	7	2	1	4	7	13

[edit] 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualification

Main article: 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification - UEFA Group 7

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  Serbia 4 3 0 1 9 3 +6 9  Lithuania 4 3 0 1 6 3 +3 9  France 3 1 1 1 5 6 −1 4  Austria 4 1 1 2 5 7 −2 4  Romania 3 1 1 1 3 5 −2 4  Faroe Islands 4 0 1 3 1 5 −4 1

Austria  – 5 Sep 3 – 1 10 Oct 1 Apr 1 – 3 Faroe Islands  1 – 1 – 12 Aug 9 Sep 0 – 1 10 Jun France  14 Oct 10 Oct – 1 Apr 5 Sep 2 – 1 Lithuania  2 – 0 1 – 0 28 Mar – 6 Jun 14 Oct Romania  9 Sep 14 Oct 2 – 2 0 – 3 – 28 Mar Serbia  6 Jun 2 – 0 9 Sep 3 – 0 10 Oct –

[edit] European Championship record

• 1960 to 1992 –Not applicable; Was part of SFR Yugoslavia.
• 1996 – Could not enter ; Banned because of international sanctions due to Yugoslav wars (as Federal Republic of Yugoslavia)

Year	Round	Position	Matches	Wins	Draws	Losses	GF	GA
2000	Quarterfinals	7	4	1	1	2	8	13
2004	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2008	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Total	1/3	-	4	1	1	2	8	13

[edit] Players

[edit] Current squad

Most recent team called up for the World Cup qualifying matches.

No. Pos. Player DoB (Age) Caps Goals Club 1 GK Vladimir Stojković 28 July 1983 (1983-07-28) (age 25) 20 0 Sporting CP 12 GK Vladimir Dišljenković 2 July 1981 (1981-07-02) (age 27) 4 0 FC Metalurh Donetsk 33 GK Bojan Isailović 25 March 1980 (1980-03-25) (age 28) 0 0 FK Cukaricki 2 DF Antonio Rukavina 26 January 1984 (1984-01-26) (age 24) 14 0 Borussia Dortmund 3 DF Ivica Dragutinović 13 November 1975 (1975-11-13) (age 33) 42 0 Sevilla 20 DF Igor Đurić 22 February 1985 (1985-02-22) (age 23) 1 0 Vojvodina 4 DF Mladen Krstajić 4 March 1974 (1974-03-04) (age 34) 59 2 Schalke 04 5 DF Nemanja Vidić 21 October 1981 (1981-10-21) (age 27) 36 2 Manchester United 6 DF Branislav Ivanović 22 February 1984 (1984-02-22) (age 24) 17 3 Chelsea 13 DF Ivan Obradović 25 July 1988 (1988-07-25) (age 20) 3 1 FK Partizan 16 DF Aleksandar Luković 23 October 1982 (1982-10-23) (age 26) 10 0 Udinese 23 DF Aleksandar Kolarov 10 November 1985 (1985-11-10) (age 23) 3 0 Lazio 7 MF Boško Janković 3 March 1984 (1984-03-03) (age 24) 19 4 Genoa 10 MF Dejan Stanković (captain) 11 September 1978 (1978-09-11) (age 30) 78 13 Internazionale 16 MF Zoran Tošić 28 April 1987 (1987-04-28) (age 21) 12 0 FK Partizan 18 MF Zdravko Kuzmanović 22 September 1987 (1987-09-22) (age 21) 15 2 Fiorentina 17 MF Miloš Krasić 1 November 1984 (1984-11-01) (age 24) 16 2 CSKA Moscow 11 MF Nenad Milijaš 30 April 1983 (1983-04-30) (age 25) 4 1 Red Star Belgrade MF Stefan Babović 7 January 1987 (1987-01-07) (age 21) 4 0 FC Nantes 8 FW Danko Lazović 17 May 1983 (1983-05-17) (age 25) 24 7 PSV Eindhoven 9 FW Marko Pantelić 15 September 1978 (1978-09-15) (age 30) 22 3 Hertha Berlin 15 FW Nikola Žigić 25 September 1980 (1980-09-25) (age 28) 33 13 Valencia 22 FW Dragan Mrđa 23 January 1984 (1984-01-23) (age 24) 1 0 FK Vojvodina

[edit] Recent Call Ups

The following players have also been called up to the Serbia squad in 2008.

Goalkeepers

Name	Date of birth	Club	Caps (goals)	Most Recent Call up
Vlada Avramov	05 April 1979	Fiorentina	2 (0)
Radiša Ilić	September 20, 1977	OFK Beograd	1 (0)	v. Macedonia, 6 February 2008

Defenders

Name	Date of birth	Club	Caps (goals)	Most Recent Call up
Pavle Ninkov	20 April 1985	Red Star Belgrade	2 (0)	v. Russia, 28 May 2008
Slobodan Rajković	3 February 1989	Twente	2 (0)	v. Russia, 28 May 2008
Nemanja Rnić	September 30, 1984	Anderlecht	3 (0)	v. Ukraine, 26 March 2008
Marjan Marković	28 September 1981	Red Star Belgrade	16 (0)	v. Republic of Ireland, 24 May 2008
Duško Tošić	January 19, 1985	Werder Bremen	8 (1)

Midfielders

Name	Date of birth	Club	Caps (goals)	Most Recent Call up
Milan Smiljanić	19 November 1986	Espanyol	6 (1)	v. Germany, 31 May 2008
Dejan Milovanović	21 January 1984	Lens	2 (0)	v. Germany, 31 May 2008
Nenad Kovačević	11 October 1980	Lens	25 (0)	v. Russia, 28 May 2008

Strikers

Name	Date of birth	Club	Caps (goals)	Most Recent Call up
Ranko Despotović	21 January 1983	Real Murcia	2 (0)	v. Russia, 28 May 2008
Milan Jovanovic	18 April 1981	Standard Liège	11 (4)	v. Bulgaria, 19 November 2008

[edit] World Cup 2006 squad

Main Article: 2006 World Cup squads (Serbia and Montenegro)

[edit] Competitions

[edit] 2006 World Cup

See also: 2006 World Cup qualification (UEFA)

Serbia and Montenegro began their 2006 World Cup campaign by finishing first with an undefeated record in their qualification group ahead of favourites Spain. The Serbia and Montenegro team also allowed only one goal in the 10 matches, the best defensive record out all 51 teams participating in qualification.

In the group stage, Serbia and Montenegro lost their opening game to joint group favourite, the Netherlands. The final score was 1-0 after Arjen Robben scored the only goal of the game. They also lost their second game to Argentina 6-0, the country's worst ever international result. With the team's two losses and with Netherlands and Argentina winning both their games, Serbia and Montenegro could no longer qualify for the knockout matches, and was playing for pride alone in their final group game against Côte d'Ivoire. Despite having a 2-0 lead for much of the first half, the Elephants managed to come back and win 3-2, leaving Serbia and Montenegro with a disappointing 0-0-3 World Cup run.

[edit] Statistics

[edit] Managers

Name	Tenure	Games	Won	Drawn	Lost	Win %
Santrač, SlobodanSlobodan Santrač	1994–1998	43	26	10	7	60%
Živadinović, MilanMilan Živadinović	1998–1999	6	3	2	1	50%
Boškov, VujadinVujadin Boškov	1999–2000	15	6	5	4	40%
Petković, IlijaIlija Petković	2000–2001	4	2	1	1	50%
Đorić, MilovanMilovan Đorić	2001	3	0	2	1	0%
Boškov, VujadinVujadin Boškov Ćurković, IvanIvan Ćurković Savićević, DejanDejan Savićević	2001	8	4	2	2	50%
Savićević, DejanDejan Savićević	2001–2003	17	4	3	10	24%
Petković, IlijaIlija Petković	2003–2006	30	11	10	9	37%
Clemente, JavierJavier Clemente	2006–2007	16	7	7	2	44%
Đukić, MiroslavMiroslav Đukić	2008	5	0	2	3	0%
Antić, RadomirRadomir Antić	2008–present	5	4	0	1	80%

Last updated: Serbia 6–1 Bulgaria, November 19, 2008.

[edit] Most appearances

#	Name	National Team career	Caps	Goals
1	Savo Milošević	1994–2008	102	37
2	Dragan Stojković	1983–2001	84	15
3	Dejan Stanković	1998–present	78	13
4	Predrag Mijatović	1989–2003	73	28
5	Slaviša Jokanović	1991–2002	64	10
5	Siniša Mihajlović	1991–2003	64	9
7	Darko Kovačević	1994–2004	59	10
7	Mladen Krstajić	1999–present	59	2
7	Zoran Mirković	1995–2003	59	0
10	Dejan Savićević	1986–1999	56	19

Statistics do not include Serbian players who have played for the SFR Yugoslavia national team exclusively. Last updated: Serbia 6–1 Bulgaria, November 19, 2008.

[edit] Leading goalscorers

#	Name	National Team career	Goals	Caps	Average
1	Savo Milošević	1994–2008	37	102	0.36
2	Predrag Mijatović	1989–2003	28	73	0.38
3	Dejan Savićević	1986–1999	19	56	0.34
4	Mateja Kežman	2000–2006	17	49	0.35
5	Dragan Stojković	1983–2001	15	84	0.18
6	Dejan Stanković	1998–present	13	78	0.17
7	Nikola Žigić	2004–present	13	33	0.39
8	Darko Kovačević	1994–2004	10	59	0.17
8	Slaviša Jokanović	1991–2002	10	64	0.16
10	Siniša Mihajlović	1991–2003	9	63	0.14

Statistics do not include Serbian players who have played for the SFR Yugoslavia national team exclusively. Last updated: Serbia 6–1 Bulgaria, November 19, 2008.

[edit] Record against other countries

Opponent	Games	Wins	Draws	Losses	Goals For	Goals Against	Goal Differential
Argentina	4	1	0	3	4	12	-8
Armenia	2	1	1	0	3	0	+3
Austria	1	1	0	0	3	1	+2
Azerbaijan	4	2	1	1	10	5	+5
Belgium	4	2	1	1	5	3	+2
Bosnia and Herzegovina	3	2	1	0	3	0	+3
Bulgaria	3	1	1	1	7	3	+4
Brazil	3	0	1	2	1	4	-3
China PR	3	3	0	0	5	0	+5
Colombia	1	0	1	0	0	0	0
Côte d'Ivoire	1	0	0	1	2	3	-1
Croatia	2	0	2	0	2	2	0
Czech Republic	4	3	0	1	6	7	-1
Ecuador	1	0	0	1	0	1	-1
Egypt	1	0	1	0	0	0	0
El Salvador	1	1	0	0	4	1	+3
England	1	0	0	1	1	2	-1
Faroe Islands	5	5	0	0	21	2	+19
Finland	4	2	1	1	4	3	+1
France	2	0	0	2	1	5	-4
Germany	3	0	1	2	3	5	-2
Ghana	1	1	0	0	3	1	+2
Greece	2	1	1	0	3	1	+2
Hungary	2	2	0	0	12	1	+11
Iran	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1
Israel	1	0	0	1	0	2	-2
Italy	3	0	3	0	3	3	0
Japan	4	1	0	3	1	3	-2
Kazakhstan	2	1	0	1	2	2	0
Korea Republic	6	2	3	1	5	4	+1
Lithuania	4	4	0	0	11	1	+10
Luxembourg	2	2	0	0	8	2	+6
FYR Macedonia	4	3	1	0	10	5	+5
Malta	4	4	0	0	18	1	+17
Mexico	3	2	1	0	6	2	+4
Nigeria	1	1	0	0	3	0	+3
Northern Ireland	2	1	1	0	3	2	+1
Norway	3	1	1	1	2	2	0
Paraguay	2	0	0	2	0	2	-2
Poland	4	0	2	2	8	10	-2
Portugal	2	0	2	0	2	2	0