Each day between May 10 and the day before the start of the 2010 FIFA World Cup on June 11, FoxSoccer.com analyst Jamie Trecker will preview each of the 32 teams playing in South Africa and tell you everything you need to know about each nation represented at the world's greatest sporting event.
Country: Serbia
Nickname: “Beli Orlovi” (White Eagles)
The former Yugoslavia was occupied by Nazi Germany until being expulsed by a coalition of paramilitary outfits who organized under Josip Broz, better know as Marshall Tito. Tito founded a Communist government that lasted, and succeeded, until his death in 1980. Then, sadly, the nation -- once 23 million strong -- unraveled along traditional ethnic lines.
Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina formed their own Balkan states in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Serbia and Montenegro, under then-president Slobodan Milosevic, declared itself to be a “Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.”
Things went downhill from there as Milosevic's government began uniting "ethnic" Serbs and killing and expelling Albanians. Those actions brought intervention by NATO and resulted in Milosevic being tried at the Hague on accusations of sponsoring war crimes and crimes against humanity.
In 2003, politicians in the nation reformed into “Serbia and Montenegro,” a looser confederation that allowed either bloc to break away and form a separate state. Montenegro, the smaller of the two bodies (600,000 citizens), proceeded to do just that prior to the 2006 Cup. The political environment took its toll on that particular Cup team, which devolved into fighting, finger-pointing and brutal fouling.
The country remains troubled. It has tremendous problems with unemployment, as well as organized crime which specializes in human trafficking, oil and gun-running as well as narcotics. Serbia is also the headquarters of the Pink Panther jewel-thief gang.
It cannot go unnoted, however, that from a soccer standpoint, the country remains remarkable. Yugoslavia was such a rich fountain of talent that all of the former republics are competitive in the European theater. Despite the fact that their soccer league is a mess, wracked by violent hooligans and all sorts of shenanigans, this is a good Serbian side.
PAST WORLD CUP SUCCESS: Until 2003, Serbia played international football as Yugoslavia. They have attended the World Cup finals eight times previously (1930, 1950, 1958, 1962, 1974, 1990, 1998, 2006). They made it to the semifinals of the first ever World Cup in 1930 in Uruguay, as well as the 1962 competition in Chile, when they were considered one of the best teams in the competition.
REGIONAL SUCCESS: None as Serbia. As Yugloslavia, they made five appearances, and are two-time runners up (1960, 1968). They did not qualify for the last two Euros.
LEAGUE OVERVIEW: Red Star Belgrade and Partizan have dominated the 16-team Superleague, but financial instability, match-fixing and violence at matches have prevented Serbian teams from making much of an impact on the European stage. Red Star -- then a multi-ethnic side -- won a European Cup just before things fell apart.
MANAGER: Radomir Antic, the only man to have managed Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid. A former defender who once played for Luton Town in England, he is considered a top manager.
KEY PLAYERS: Dejan Stankovic (Inter) is the playmaker out of the back; he helped take Inter to the European Cup title. An excellent crosser and tough defensively, he's a key piece. He'll deliver to Marko Pantelic (Ajax) and Nikola Zigic (Birmingham City), two able forwards. But it's defense that defines Serbia. Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United) is the hard man in the back, and is well known for his ability -- and his recklessness. Branoslav Ivanovic (Chelsea) had a great year; he'll probably go out wide with the Serbs. Neven Subotic (Borussia Dortmund) is the one that got away -- a former U.S. U-20 player, he's the poster child for what's wrong with American development. The only question the Serbs have is in net. Vladimir Stojkovic (Wigan) didn't have a great season in England and is off form. He's in the window, as they say.
FIFA RANKINGS: 16th. Might be a tad low. Highest was 8th (1998); lowest 47th (2005).
FIRST ROUND OPPONENTS: Australia, Germany, Ghana.
HEAD TO HEAD AGAINST AUSTRALIA: They have never met at the senior level. They've met twice in the Olympics, with the Aussies winning and drawing. The most recent match was in Shanghai during the Beijing Games, a 1-1 draw. It's worth noting that, thanks to the vagaries of history, these teams are rivals: many from the old Yugoslavia migrated Down Under.
HEAD TO HEAD AGAINST GERMANY: As Serbia, the sides have only met twice, at friendlies staged in Germany. Germany won both of them, most recently in 2008 at Gelsenkirchen, 2-1. As Yugoslavia, the teams were very familiar with one another, playing 25 matches as far back as 1939. The two teams also have a lot of World Cup meetings under their belts, meeting six times in six Cups. Germany won five of those meetings, with Yugoslavia's lone win coming back in 1962 in Chile, 1-0.
HEAD TO HEAD AGAINST GHANA: Serbia has never played Ghana since it became an independent state. As Yugoslavia, they beat Ghana 3-1 in Seoul way back in 1997.
HOW THEY QUALIFIED: They lost two games, but that was still enough to top the group and send the French to that famous playoff with the Irish. Interestingly enough, the Serbs lost 2-1 to the French and then drew 1-1 in the return. Their only other loss was to Lithuania on the final day, but Serbia's 5-0 whipping of Romania has already seen them through.
PERCENTAGE CHANCE TO PROGRESS: 35%. Let's get this straight: The Serbs are good. They are in a brutal group, however, and are going to need a break or two.
TO WATCH: See if Vidic can stay on the field, and if Stankovic is still fresh after a very long season. If these guys are sharp, this is a very tough team to beat.
ROSTER
Goalkeepers: Vladimir Stojkovic (Wigan), Zeljko Brkic (Vojvodina Novi Sad), Bojan Isailovic (Zaglebie Lubin), Andjelko Djuricic (Leiria)
Defenders: Branislav Ivanovic (Chelsea), Antonio Rukavina (1860 Munich), Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United), Neven Subotic (Borussia Dortmund), Aleksandar Lukovic (Udinese), Ivan Obradovic (Zaragoza), Aleksandar Kolarov (Lazio)
Midfielders: Dejan Stankovic (Inter Milan), Nenad Milijas (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Milos Krasic (CSKA Moscow), Milan Jovanovic (Standard Liege), Milos Ninkovic (Dynamo Kiev), Zdravko Kuzmanovic (Stuttgart), Zoran Tosic (FC Cologne), Gojko Kacar (Hertha Berlin), Radosav Petrovic (Partizan Belgrade)
Forwards: Nikola Zigic (Birmingham City), Marko Pantelic (Ajax), Danko Lazovic (Zenit St. Petersburg), Dragan Mrdja (Vojvodina)
TOMORROW'S TEAM: Paraguay
