Serbia national football team

Serbia

Nickname(s)	Beli Orlovi (White Eagles)
Association	Football Association of Serbia
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	13
Highest FIFA ranking	13 (September 2009, March 2010, July 2010)
Lowest FIFA ranking	47 (Jun 2006)
Elo ranking	14
Highest Elo ranking	8 (June 2009)
Lowest Elo ranking	41 (September 2008)
Home colours Away colours
First international
Czech Republic 1–3 Serbia (Uherské Hradiště, Czech Republic; 16 August 2006)
Biggest win
Azerbaijan 1–6 Serbia (Baku, Azerbaijan; 17 October 2007) Serbia 6–1 Bulgaria (Belgrade, Serbia; 19 November 2008) Serbia 5–0 Romania (Belgrade, Serbia; 10 October 2009)
Biggest defeat
Ukraine 2–0 Serbia (Kiev, Ukraine; 26 March 2008)
World Cup
Appearances	11[1] (First in 1930)
Best result	4th 1930, 1962
European Championship
Appearances	5[1] (First in 1960)
Best result	2nd 1960, 1968
Honours Olympic medal record Men's Football Silver 1948 London Team Silver 1952 Helsinki Team Silver 1956 Melbourne Team Gold 1960 Rome Team Bronze 1984 Los Angeles Team

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. Both FIFA and UEFA consider the Serbia national team the direct descendant of the SFR Yugoslavia national football team. In 2010, for the first time in history, Serbia was represented as an independent nation in the FIFA World Cup.

History

1920–1992 Heritage from Yugoslavia

Serbian national team was previously known as the Yugoslav national football team from 15 January 1991 until 4 February 2003, and then as the Serbia and Montenegro national football team until 3 June 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 28 June 2006, while the Montenegro national football team was created to represent the new state of Montenegro.

Serbia vs. Belgium at Marakana, 7 October 2006

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 Federal 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 21 May 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.

1992–2000

Although the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was formed on 28 April 1992, its teams were banned from all international sporting events, including the national football team. Consequently, the national team did not play its first game as a new country before 23 December 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 31 March 1991, 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 recorded its first ever win in a FIFA World Cup qualifying tournament in its first game in such a tournament, a 3 – 1 win over the Faroe Islands. Shortly after, the team also recorded its biggest win in history, once again against the Faroe Islands, 8 – 1. Yugoslavia finished 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 in 21st position, but the Yugoslav national football team went to France as one of the shadow favorites for the World Cup. The justification for such an estimation was partially found in the names of the Yugoslav players, members of great European teams and proven footballers. The draw put the team in Group F alongside Germany, the United States, and Iran. Yugoslavia won its first game 1 – 0 against Iran thanks to a goal from defender Siniša Mihajlović. The next game was a heartbreaker for Yugoslavia. After leading Germany 2 – 0, last game's hero, Mihajlović, scored an unlucky own goal following a German freekick, and Oliver Bierhoff equalised at 2 – 2 with only about ten minutes to the match. Nonetheless, Yugoslavia responded in the next game against the United States and won 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 won the group thanks to a better goal difference.

Due to their second position, Yugoslavia saw itself face the Netherlands in the Round of 16. Yugoslavia entered in the match with a sole attacker, but its defensive tactics proved unsuccessful as Dennis Bergkamp put the Netherlands in front in the 38th minute. Immediately following the start of the second half, Yugoslavia pressured the Dutch, who inevitably conceded a header from Slobodan Komljenović. However, the turning point of this match was be a penalty 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 definitely 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.

2000–2006

The draw for Euro 2000 qualifiers saw many eyebrows raised as first-seeded Yugoslavia was drawn in a group with Croatia, thus marking the first games between the two teams after the breakup of Yugoslavia. Other teams in the group were Republic of Ireland, Macedonia, and Malta. The coach of the national team first was Milan Živadinović, while Vujadin Boskov took over after his resignation.

Due to the NATO bombing of the country that started on 24 March 1999, Yugoslavia played its home fixture against Malta in Thessaloniki, Greece, winning 4 – 1.

The two highly anticipated games versus Croatia both ended in draws. First game in Belgrade ended with a scoreline 0 – 0 (the game was interrupted due to power outage at the beginning of the second half and resumed after 43 minutes^[2]), while the other (which was the last fixture of the qualifying stage) ended 2 – 2 in Zagreb. The latter result however amounted to victory as was enough for Yugoslavia to secure a direct qualifying berth and knock Croatia out of European championship.

The draw for the Finals placed Yugoslavia in group C along with Spain, Norway, and Slovenia. The first game against Slovenia saw yet another former Yugoslav republic take a surprising 3 – 0 lead at Stade du Pays de Charleroi, but Yugoslavia managed to equalise by scoring three goals in only six minutes in mid-second half. The team's only victory in the tournament came in the second game versus Norway in Liège, thanks to an early Savo Milošević backheel strike. Final group game in Bruges was another high-scoring, but ultimately heartbreaking for Yugoslavia, as Spain won 4 – 3 with two late goals, despite the Yugoslavs taking the lead three times,the game has received 15min extension and immediately finished after spain get the 4th goal thus, received many plaudits and critics. Yugoslavia ended the group in second place, as Norway failed to defeat Slovenia in Arnhem. In each of the three games, Yugoslavia had one player sent off (Siniša Mihajlović, Mateja Kežman, and Slaviša Jokanović, respectively).

In the quarter-finals, Yugoslavia was once again paired with Netherlands. Unlike the last time, the co-hosts made easy work of Yugoslavia, winning 6 – 1 in Rotterdam with Patrick Kluivert scoring a hat trick.

One of the few bright spots of Yugoslav team in the whole tournament was Savo Milošević, who was crowned the joint top scorer of the tournament, alongside Patrick Kluivert. Both players scored five goals, although Milošević played one game fewer.

The 2002 qualifiers marked the first time that Yugoslavia failed to reach a major tournament ever since its return to the big stage after the UN sanctions. The problems started with the major political turmoil in the country as well in the Yugoslav FA, which prompted the new coach Ilija Petković to resign only after one game (2 – 0 away victory against Luxembourg).

Milovan Đorić took over the team, but under his leadership, the team managed only two draws (1 – 1 at home vs. Switzerland and also 1 – 1 away in Slovenia, in both games the opponents managed to equalise in late stages of the game) and a 0 – 1 home loss to Russia (which marked the team's first, and to this date only home defeat in official matches). After Đorić's resignation, a three-man commission, consisting of Dejan Savićević, Vujadin Boškov, and Ivan Ćurković, took over the coaching duties, until Savićević ultimately took over on his own. The team managed to bounce back with a draw in Russia and a win in Switzerland, but failed to defeat Slovenia in the penultimate game, thus ended the qualifiers in third position.

Another failure came in the Euro 2004 qualifiers while competing for the first time as Serbia and Montenegro. Despite drawing both games against group favorites and eventual group winners Italy and winning both games against runner-ups Wales, Serbia and Montenegro failed to qualify, mostly due to embarrassing 2 – 2 home draw and 2 – 1 away loss to Azerbaijan.

Serbia and Montenegro vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina at Marakana, 12 October 2005

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.

For the 2006 qualifiers, Serbia and Montenegro was drawn in a group with Spain, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Lithuania and San Marino. Led once again by Ilija Petković as coach, Serbia and Montenegro played some impressive defensive football—the "Famous Four" defense, consisting of Nemanja Vidić, Mladen Krstajić, Goran Gavrančić, and Ivica Dragutinović, with Dragoslav Jevrić as goalkeeper, allowed only one goal in ten games, finishing first with a 6 – 4 – 0 record, ahead of Spain.

However, after the injury of Mirko Vučinić before the start of the tournament in Germany, coach Petković caused massive controversy when he picked his own son Dušan as replacement. Dušan eventually decided to withdraw himself from the World Cup squad due to immense media pressure. All this events have greatly deteriorated the atmosphere in the team. Drawn in the "group of death" with Argentina, Netherlands, and debutants Côte d'Ivoire, for the first time in its history, the Serbian and Montenegrin national team lost all three group stage games and finished in dead last—32nd place.

After yet another defeat to Netherlands in the opening game (1–0), coach Petković fell victim of the media criticism of his too defensive-orientated play and used more offensive tactics in the second match against Argentina. This proved to be a huge mistake, as Serbia and Montenegro recorded its biggest ever defeat in the World cup history—6–0. In a meaningless game for both teams, Cote d'Ivoire defeated Serbia and Montenegro 3–2, despite Serbia and Montenegro taking a two-goal lead.

FIFA World Cup record

Serbia have played at eleven FIFA World Cups, including four consecutive from 1950 to 1962 then as SFR Yugoslavia. The team qualified for the 2010 World Cup under the name of Serbia. The team was banned from qualifying for the 1994 tournament due to international sanctions that were placed on the country and region due to the Yugoslav wars. The Serbian Football Association is deemed the direct successor to both SFR Yugoslavia and Serbia and Montenegro by FIFA, and therefore the inheritor to all the records of the defunct nation.

Year	Round	Position	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA
1930	Fourth Place	4	3	2	0	1	7	7
1934	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1938	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1950	Round 1	5	3	2	0	1	7	3
1954	Quarterfinals	7	3	1	1	1	2	3
1958	Quarterfinals	5	4	1	2	1	7	7
1962	Fourth Place	4	6	3	0	3	10	7
1966	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1970	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1974	Round 2	7	6	1	2	3	12	7
1978	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1982	Round 1	16	3	1	1	1	2	2
1986	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1990	Quarter-finals	5	5	3	1	1	8	6
1994	Suspended	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1998	Round of 16	9	4	2	1	1	5	4
2002	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2006	Round 1	32	3	0	0	3	2	10
2010	Round 1	23	3	1	0	2	2	3
2014
Total	11/20	-	43	17	8	18	62	59

European Championship record

Year	Round	Position	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA
1960	Runners-up	2	2	1	0	1	1	2
1964	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1968	Runners-up	2	3	1	1	1	2	3
1972	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1976	Fourth place	4	2	0	0	2	4	7
1980	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1984	Round 1	8	3	0	0	3	2	10
1988	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1992	Qualified/Suspended	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1996	Suspended	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2000	Quarter-finals	8	4	1	1	2	8	13
2004	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2008	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2012
2016
Total	5/15	-	14	3	2	9	17	35

Euro 2012

Qualification

Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  Italy 4 3 1 0 10 1 +9 10  Slovenia 4 2 1 1 7 3 +4 7  Estonia 4 2 0 2 6 5 +1 6  Northern Ireland 3 1 2 0 2 1 +1 5  Serbia 4 1 1 2 5 7 −2 4  Faroe Islands 5 0 1 4 3 16 −13 1

Estonia  — 2–1 1–2 6 Sep '11 29 Mar '11 0–1 Faroe Islands  7 Jun '11 — 2 Sep '11 1–1 0–3 3 Jun '11 Italy  3 Jun '11 5–0 — 11 Oct '11 3–0* 6 Sep '11 Northern Ireland  7 Oct '11 10 Aug '11 0–0 — 2 Sep '11 29 Mar '11 Serbia  1–3 6 Sep '11 7 Oct '11 25 Mar '11 — 1–1 Slovenia  2 Sep '11 5–1 25 Mar '11 0–1 11 Oct '11 —

Top Goalscorers during Qualification

2 goals

• Nikola Žigić

1 goal

• Danko Lazović
• Dejan Stanković

Recent results and forthcoming fixtures

Date	Venues	Opponents	Results*	Scorers	Type of Games
9 September 2009	Belgrade, Serbia	France	1:1 (1:1)	Milijaš (12') Henry (36')	WC quali.
10 October 2009	Belgrade, Serbia	Romania	5:0 (1:0)	Žigić (37') Pantelić (50') Kuzmanović (78') Jovanović (87', 90+3')	WC quali.
14 October 2009	Kaunas, Lithuania	Lithuania	1:2 (0:1)	Kalonas (20') Tošić (60') Stankevičius (68')	WC quali.
14 November 2009	Belfast, Northern Ireland	Northern Ireland	1:0 (1:0)	Lazović	Friendly
18 November 2009	London, England	South Korea	1:0 (1:0)	Žigić (7')	Friendly
6 March 2010	Algiers, Algeria	Algeria	3:0 (1:0)	Pantelić (16') Kuzmanović (55') Tošić (65')	Friendly
7 April 2010	Osaka, Japan	Japan	3:0 (2:0)	Mrđa (15', 23') Tomić (60')	Friendly
29 May 2010	Klagenfurt, Austria	New Zealand	0:1 (0:1)	Smeltz (22')	Friendly
2 June 2010	Kufstein, Austria	Poland	0:0 (0:0)		Friendly
5 June 2010	Belgrade, Serbia	Cameroon	4:3 (4:2)	Webo (5') Krasić (16') Webo (20') Stanković (25') Milijaš (44') Pantelić (45') Choupo-Moting (67')	Friendly
13 June 2010	Pretoria, South Africa	Ghana	0:1 (0:0)	Gyan (85')	WC 2010
18 June 2010	Port Elizabeth, South Africa	Germany	1:0 (1:0)	Jovanović (38')	WC 2010
23 June 2010	Nelspruit, South Africa	Australia	1:2 (0:0)	Cahill (69') Holman (73') Pantelić (84')	WC 2010
11 August 2010	Belgrade, Serbia	Greece	0:1 (0:1)	Salpigidis (45')	Friendly
September 3, 2010	Tórshavn, Faroe Islands	Faroe Islands	3:0 (2:0)	Lazović (14') Stanković (18') Žigić (90+3')	Euro 2012 Quali.
September 7, 2010	Belgrade, Serbia	Slovenia	1:1 (0:0)	Novaković (63') Žigić (86')	Euro 2012 Quali.
October 8, 2010	Belgrade, Serbia	Estonia			Euro 2012 Quali.
October 12, 2010	Genoa, Italy	Italy			Euro 2012 Quali.

* Serbia's scores are always listed first

Head coaches

Last update 7 September 2010

Manager	Period	Record
		Matches	Won	Drawn	Lost
Radomir Antić	2008 –	29	18	3	8
Miroslav Đukić	2007–2008	5	0	2	3
Javier Clemente	2006–2007	16	7	7	2
Ilija Petković	2003–2006	30	11	10	9
Dejan Savićević	2001–2003	17	4	3	10
Vujadin Boškov Ivan Ćurković Dejan Savićević	2001	8	4	2	2
Milovan Đorić	2001	3	0	2	1
Ilija Petković	2000–2001	4	2	1	1
Vujadin Boškov	1999–2000	15	6	5	4
Milan Živadinović	1998–1999	6	3	2	1
Slobodan Santrač	1994–1998	43	26	10	7

• For the period before 1992 see: Yugoslavia national football team#Head coaches

Squad

Current squad

Squad called up for the Euro 2012 qualfiying matches against Faroe Islands on 3 September 2010 and Slovenia on 7 September 2010. ^[3]

Caps and goals updated as of 7th September 2010.

0#0 Pos. Player Date of Birth (Age) Caps Goals Club 1 GK Anđelko Đuričić 21 November 1980 (1980-11-21) (age 30) 4 0 União Leiria 12 GK Željko Brkić 9 July 1986 (1986-07-09) (age 24) 2 0 Vojvodina GK Bojan Isailović 25 March 1980 (1980-03-25) (age 30) 4 0 Zagłębie Lubin 2 DF Antonio Rukavina 26 January 1984 (1984-01-26) (age 27) 22 0 1860 München 5 DF Nemanja Vidić 21 October 1981 (1981-10-21) (age 29) 51 2 Manchester United 6 DF Pavle Ninkov 20 April 1985 (1985-04-20) (age 25) 3 0 Red Star 13 DF Aleksandar Luković 23 October 1982 (1982-10-23) (age 28) 25 0 Zenit Saint Petersburg 16 DF Ivan Obradović 25 July 1988 (1988-07-25) (age 22) 15 1 Real Zaragoza 20 DF Neven Subotić 10 December 1988 (1988-12-10) (age 22) 18 1 Borussia Dortmund DF Jagoš Vuković 10 June 1988 (1988-06-10) (age 22) 2 0 PSV DF Branislav Ivanović 22 February 1984 (1984-02-22) (age 26) 35 4 Chelsea 4 MF Gojko Kačar 26 January 1987 (1987-01-26) (age 24) 20 0 Hamburg 7 MF Zoran Tošić 28 April 1987 (1987-04-28) (age 23) 24 4 CSKA Moscow 10 MF Dejan Stanković (C) 11 September 1978 (1978-09-11) (age 32) 93 15 Internazionale 11 MF Nenad Milijaš 30 April 1983 (1983-04-30) (age 27) 19 4 Wolverhampton Wanderers 14 MF Milan Jovanović 18 April 1981 (1981-04-18) (age 29) 32 10 Liverpool 17 MF Miloš Krasić 1 November 1984 (1984-11-01) (age 26) 37 3 Juventus 18 MF Miloš Ninković 25 December 1984 (1984-12-25) (age 26) 14 0 Dynamo Kyiv 19 MF Radosav Petrović 8 March 1989 (1989-03-08) (age 21) 12 0 Partizan 22 MF Zdravko Kuzmanović 22 September 1987 (1987-09-22) (age 23) 33 4 Stuttgart MF Nemanja Tomić 21 January 1988 (1988-01-21) (age 23) 1 1 Partizan 8 FW Danko Lazović 17 May 1983 (1983-05-17) (age 27) 42 11 Zenit Saint Petersburg 15 FW Nikola Žigić 25 September 1980 (1980-09-25) (age 30) 51 18 Birmingham City 21 FW Dragan Mrđa 23 January 1984 (1984-01-23) (age 27) 7 2 Sion

Recent callups

Pos. Player Date of Birth (Age) Caps Goals Club Latest Callup GK Vladimir Stojković 29 July 1983 (1983-07-29) (age 27) 36 0 Partizan v.  Australia, 23 Jun 2010 DF Ivica Dragutinović 13 November 1975 (1975-11-13) (age 35) 49 0 Sevilla v.  Algeria, 3 March 2010 DF Aleksandar Kolarov 10 November 1985 (1985-11-10) (age 25) 16 0 Manchester City v.  Greece, 11 August 2010 DF Slobodan Rajković 3 February 1989 (1989-02-03) (age 22) 2 0 Vitesse 2010 FIFA World Cup 30-man preliminary squad MF Boško Janković 1 March 1984 (1984-03-01) (age 26) 25 5 Genoa v.  Algeria, 3 March 2010 MF Nemanja Matić 1 August 1988 (1988-08-01) (age 22) 2 0 Vitesse 2010 FIFA World Cup 30-man preliminary squad FW Marko Pantelić 15 September 1978 (1978-09-15) (age 32) 35 7 Olympiacos v.  Greece, 11 August 2010 FW Miralem Sulejmani 5 December 1988 (1988-12-05) (age 22) 6 0 Ajax 2010 FIFA World Cup 30-man preliminary squad FW Dejan Lekić 7 June 1985 (1985-06-07) (age 25) 3 0 Osasuna 2010 FIFA World Cup 30-man preliminary squad

Statistics (only since 1992)

Most appearances

Statistics do not include Serbian players who have played for the SFR Yugoslavia national team exclusively.

As of 7 September 2010^[4]

• Players in bold are still active/available for selection.

Leading goalscorers

Statistics do not include Serbian players who have played for the SFR Yugoslavia national team exclusively. Last updated: 7 September 2010.

Team image

Nickname

Serbian team

Former

Ever since the first game ever played by Yugoslavia's on 23 December 1994 the team wore the name of Plavi (cir. Плави), literally translating to the Blues, much like France's famous nickname of Les Bleus. This was notably due to the fact the team wore blue jerseys, which they inherited from the former Yugoslavia national football team. The trend continued even when the team switched names to Serbia and Montenegro, as flags, anthem, and kits remained virtually the same. However, as Montenegro declared independence from State Union on 3 June 2006, on the basis of a referendum held on 21 May 2006, the newly formed Serbia national team needed a new nickname, as red replaced blue as the team's primary colour.

Current

On 16 August 2006, as Serbia played its first international match in history (vs the Czech Republic), B92, a broadcaster with national coverage throughout Serbia, proposed the name of Орлови (Eagles). The name referred to the white double-headed eagle found on the coat of arms of Serbia.

Jerseys and Colour

Home gear in Red-Blue-White tricolour (Serbian tricolour).

• since 2008
  • 2010 FIFA World Cup: Nike
  • UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying: Nike

• 2006
  • 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification: Lotto

Recognized players

International recognized players.

• Nemanja Vidić (Premier League 2006–) Centre Back
  • Barclays Player of the Season (08-09)
  • Part of PFA Team of the Year (2007, 2008 and 2009)
  • Manchester United Fans & Players "Player of the Year" 2008–2009
  • FIFPro World XI Award 2009
  • Premier League Player of the Month – January 2009

• Siniša Mihajlović (Serie A 1992–2006) Left Back / Left Midfielder
  • ranked #2^[5] #8,^[6] #10^[7] of Best free-kickers in history.
  • ranked #30^[8] of Best scorers in defense

• Savo Milošević (La Liga)
  • UEFA Euro 2000 Golden Boot

• Predrag Mijatović
  • Ballon d'Or 1997 – 2nd place

See also

• Serbia national football team results
• Serbia national under-21 football team
• Serbia national under-19 football team

References

External links

Official

• Football Association of Serbia – Official Site (Serbian)
• Serbian National Football Team (Serbian)
• UEFA team profile
• FIFA team profile

Unofficial

• Beli Orlovi (Serbian)
• Serbian football at xtratime.org

Serbia national football team History (1919–1992, 1992–2006) Results and Fixtures (SFR Yugoslavia, 1992–1999, 2000–2009, 2010–2019, World Cup record)

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