Last week, Dragan Stojković took over from his namesake Đilas the primacy of the state's and people's enemy number one in the media under the control of Aleksandar Vučić, and, day by day, the nasty name-calling continues, and the true rant of the football national team selector began after the inevitable Vučić called the performance the Serbian national team at the European Championship - a debacle.
And again, as with other topics, the orchestrated media noise stifled reasonable public discussion, and Stojković - of course responsible for the modest performance and desperate game - was clearly told that he was spent and that all the anger would be directed at him and a few officials of the Football Association. Federation of Serbia. That's why next week, when the football debacle fades into the background, Đilas or another of the culprits on duty will replace Stojković on the front pages of the tabloid press, and the fate of the selectors and head of the FSS, far from the public and any serious discussion, will be decided by that very person. who, with his previous personnel decisions, contributed not only to the national team, but to the general debacle of football in Serbia.
VASSAL SELECTOR
The game of the selection of Serbia after the World Cup in Qatar, and all the standard bad things that go along with our football, the Association and the clubs, indicated that its placement at the EURO itself was a success and that it will be difficult to get through to the second round, and that picture of Vučić and Stojković at the top of a bus stuck at the construction site of the future National Stadium two months ago spoke volumes about our football moment. Then Pixi tried to be funny in front of Vučić and his entourage, and explained that the problem was not with them on the floor of the double decker, but with those below them, on the ground floor, and then experienced, after getting "stuck" with the national team already in the group stage of the EP, that they move him from the top to the ground floor and laconically declare him the biggest culprit.
There is no doubt that Stojković let go of the strings a long time ago and that he turned from a football fighter into a calculator in a short time, as well as that he willingly clung to the leader, who pushed him into the jaws of the tabloids, but again, no one deserves to be instead of reasoned criticism exposed to abominations and torture.
And until two years ago, the vast majority wanted to share the glory with Pixie. The euphoria after a series of good games, highlighted by the victory in Portugal at the end of 2021 and qualification to the World Cup, gave the coach strength and authority, so he practically took over the management of the Football Association of Serbia - dissolved after the mandate of Vučić's companion Slavisa Kokeza and under the formal leadership of Vice President Nenad Bjeković . It seemed that such a situation would be legalized at the Assembly of the FSS, but many powerful people were threatened and a twist happened - the session and the election of Stojković's candidate failed. Then he was clearly told from the top how far he was allowed to expand, as the director of Red Star Zvezdan Terzić, a person under the protection of Aleksandar Vučić, had made it clear to him months earlier directly and through paid fans.
Just before the failure of the FSS Assembly, the Serbian national team recorded its last victory with a good game and a positive atmosphere - in Norway, at the end of November 2022, placement in the elite group of the League of Nations was secured and it seemed that the Pixies would lead us at least to the quarter-finals of the World Cup. But then, before the trip to Qatar, his position was shaken and there he showed insecurity, nervousness and calculation for the first time, which, of course, affected the team and the results, so Serbia ended the competition quickly. Great expectations produced great disappointment, and Stojković's position was further weakened by the elections in the FSS and the installation of many who are not in favor of him.
The famous Pixi then sought salvation on Andrić's venc. He agreed, obviously, to be the regime's mascot - he was on the support lists, at every opportunity he emphasized the contribution of the president, how he listens to him when needed, and to be on hand for his picture taking. Thus, he secured the position for a while, but also eroded his authority and integrity. All this was reflected in the game and the results of the national team. Since the triumph in Norway, Serbia has recorded only four victories in official matches, Lithuania and Montenegro were defeated twice each in the EURO qualifiers, while they lost five times and drew. Modest results and an increasingly mindless game have reduced interest in national football, but, as it happens before major competitions, hope is awakened that it can be done better. And as the current government adores national gatherings, the vassal coach has been given the task of making Serbia skip the group stage, and later, if possible, beat Croatia as well.
GEORGIAN EXAMPLE
Optimism that the Serbian team can do better was based on the players' names, their former games and results in the national team, but also the hope that Stojković and the coaching staff will come to their senses. Unfortunately, everything dissipated in eight June days in Germany: the Serbian team, apart from defensive tasks, seemed clueless and worn out, and was deservedly included in the group of the most unwatchable. The fear of failure, especially in the premiere against England, turned the famous striker into a defensive calculator, which only brought him two draws and the satisfaction that "we were not a punching bag".
Of the 24 teams at the European Championship, Serbia was 13th in terms of player value (a total of 313 million euros) and 14th in terms of chances to reach the finals, but did not even make it into the top 16. She scored only one goal, had the fewest shots on goal and the most back passes. In short, it was a pale shadow of a team that until recently played with more goals. And the positive atmosphere that accompanied the "turnip" since Pixie's arrival has long since disappeared, since Qatar, everything seems forced and insincere, which is exposed in Germany in the relationship between coach and captain Dušan Tadić. Once again, the national team became the image and opportunity of FSS and domestic football, and they are again the image and opportunity of society.
And that it didn't have to be like that was shown by the national teams whose playing staff is worth the same or less on the market than the value of the Serbian national team, first of all Switzerland and Austria, which are worth a little less (around 280 and 230 million euros), then Slovakia, Slovenia and Romania. And to single out the Georgian national team, which represents a country with a permanently unstable political situation and divided between East and West, but with a rich football history and a famous team - Dinamo from Tbilisi was at the top of football in the USSR for decades, and in the early eighties won the European Cup Winners' Cup.
Elem, after the collapse of the USSR and the independence of Georgia, football also fell into a dead end, regardless of the fact that many Georgians made notable careers in European clubs. In that unstable country, nine years ago, former national team player and international player Levan Kobiashvili took over the local football association and with his team, using UEFA's development programs, began to change the system. Many stadiums were renovated, several training centers were built and the work with the younger selections was improved, so the results started to come: last year they hosted the continental youth championship (U21) and reached the quarterfinals, and then the "A" selection, after the victory over Greece in the play-off, for the first time won placement in a major competition. This is the path for our Alliance, and it would only be normal if what was announced by the "president of all Serbs" and the man who asks about everything - reports, public discussion, new people, a new plan and program. But we all know that nothing will come of it, at least as long as Vučić and his team are in power. This is evidenced by Nemanja Vidić's announcement that he is retiring from the Assembly of the FSS because he saw that the vast majority of football officials will not change anything in their work - they do not even want to listen to him as a person, and on the way they still insult and disparage him.
Instead of a conclusion, we will use the words of another opposition voice in the FSS Assembly, the president of the Independent Union of Professional Footballers, Mirko Poledica, who says that the performance of the national team at a major competition is the crown of the work and strategy of a football organization in a country, adding that "Serbian football a hotbed of corruption, organized crime and nepotism", and "Serbia is the country where the most fixed matches are played".
Prediction for the final: Spain - Switzerland
As this text goes to press, on Tuesday afternoon, the six quarter-finalists are known: Switzerland, Germany, England, Spain, France and Portugal. In the remaining two meetings of the round of 16, Austria is the favorite in the duel with Turkey, and the Netherlands in the match with Romania.
The role of favorites was fully justified by Spain, followed by host Germany, while Italy, still the current champion of Europe, followed by Croatia, but also England, were the most disappointing among those predicted to reach the finals. According to many, along with Serbia and Poland, "Gordie Albion" under the leadership of coach Gareth Southgate provided the most idealess and boring game at the championship in Germany, but big (and expensive) names, such as Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane, managed to use their muscles and with a lot lucky to overcome the group and then Slovakia in the round of 16.
The rejuvenated Spanish team showed by far the most and with four convincing victories highlighted the main candidacy for the title. The combination of youth and experience under the leadership of the experienced expert Luis de la Fuente seems powerful, which the teams of Croatia, Italy, Albania and Georgia have felt on their skin so far, and the real test follows in the quarterfinals, so to speak, the final before the final, in which the "red fury ” meets with Germany.
After the Spanish national team, Switzerland showed the most, also made up of hardened players and young stars. It is obvious that the selector Murat Jakin has integrated the team very well and leads it expertly, and they have a leader on the field, the experienced captain Granit Xhaka. They almost beat Germany in the group, and then they easily cleaned up Italy and removed it from the European throne, and since they are in the easier half of the elimination draw, many predict them to go to the finals. The upcoming quarter-final meeting with England, a six times more expensive team, will be decisive for them, and according to the game so far, their chances are, if not greater, at least equal.
