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A to Z of WORLD CUP SOUTH AFRICA 2010 - Serbia
SERBIA:
In terms of nationhood they don’t come much younger than Serbia! They played their maiden international football match as recently as 16th August 2006 where they recorded a 3-1 victory away to the Czech Republic. Prior to this they had appeared at a number of Wold Cup Finals: in 2006 as part of the Serbia-Montenegro team and at 9/17 other tournaments under the banner of Yugoslavia. After the separation from Montenegro, Serbia adopted red jerseys and the nick-name Beli Orlovi (White Eagles).
Qualification for South Africa 2010 involved matches against Austria, Romania, France, Lithuania and the Faroe Islands, with the expectation that France would top the group. However Les Bleus’ inability to play to their strengths saw Serbia seize the initiative and go on to win 7 and draw 2 of their 10 qualifying matches. An emphatic 5-0 win in Belgrade over Romania saw the White Eagles finish top of the group, 1 point ahead of the French.
The team is coached by Radomir (Radi) Antic who played for Luton Town and went on to coach Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona. His team captain is Dejan Stankovic (Inter Milan), a multifunctional mid-fielder who has represented his country since 1998. At the heart of the defence will be Manchester United’s Nemanja Vidic, voted the Premier League’s Player of the Season in 2008/9.
Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic will provide excellent cover alongside Vidic whilst Wigan Athletic’s Vladimir Stojkovic is likely to be active between the ‘sticks’. However it’s up front that the Serbs might struggle. Aside from the 5-0 drubbing of Romania, their 9 other qualifying matches yielded only 17 goals. Marko Pantelic of Ajax has the skill but not always the right attitude. Valencia’s Nikola Zigic is his country’s leading scorer (42 caps, 16 goals) but, like Pantelic, age is not on his side.
Serbia, ranked 15th in the world by FIFA, have been drawn in Group D alongside Germany, Australia and Ghana. Everyone and their Auntie expect the Germans to top the group so the crucial matches for Serbia are v Ghana (6/4 from Bluesquare on a Serbian win) and v Australia (Skybet are offering 5/4 on a White Eagles victory). The chances of their winning the group are at 21/5 with Totesport whilst VCBet have them at 5/4 to make the last 16.
Progress beyond that stage becomes much more difficult as evidenced by the odds of 14/1 which bwin have for a semi-final spot. Flights of fancy can be had at 66/1 from Bet365 on the White Eagles soaring away with the trophy in their talons on July 11th.
Posted: Monday, May 10th, 2010 @ 11:05 am by Mark
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