The Hindu : Sport / Football : Serbia aims to banish ghosts of 2006

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jun 13, 2010
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Sport

Sport - Football

Serbia aims to banish ghosts of 2006

— Photo: AP

KEEPING FINGERS CROSSED:Serbia's defender Branislav Ivanovic (left) and captain Dejan Stankovic limbering up before the team's crucial match against Ghana on Sunday.

JOHANNESBURG: Laying to rest the ghosts of a dismal last appearance at the World Cup will be the only thing on the Serbian players' minds when they face Ghana in their Group D opener in Pretoria on Sunday. The clash is one that neither side can afford to lose in a tough pool, which also has Germany and Australia.

In tight groups any defeat can put a team under pressure and such a reverse in this game could see the loser potentially needing to beat Germany to reach the knock-out stage. It all suggests a tight and cagey affair for which neither side has had an ideal build-up.

Stankovic confident

Dejan Stankovic, one of the three survivors from Serbia and Montenegro's 2006 campaign when it lost all three group games including a 6-0 mauling by Argentina, was confident Serbia would shine in its maiden appearance as an independent nation.

“There is positive tension at every training session because we have invested a lot of effort and emotion to represent Serbia on its own in the World Cup,” captain Stankovic told a news conference at the squad's Sunnyside Park hotel base.

“There is a bit of stage fright too and we know our fans will be outnumbered because the Ghanaians have the advantage of playing on their own continent but that shouldn't affect us.

“My Inter Milan Ghanaian teammate Sulley Muntari told me their ambition was to reach the last four but we are confident that we can thwart their ambitions although we are a bit more realistic about our own chances,” he added.

Tougher nut

Marko Pantelic, also expected to start after scoring in a 4-3 win over Cameroon in Serbia's final warm-up game, believes Ghana will be a tougher nut to crack.

“Ghana are probably the best African team in the tournament with several outstanding individuals,” the long-haired striker said. “They are a better team than Cameroon because they are faster, more solid and tougher in midfield.”

With Ghana's midfield powerhouse Michael Essien ruled out of the World Cup with a long-term injury, Muntari could fill the void after recovering from a thigh injury he picked up in training on Thursday.

Ghana's Serbian coach Milovan Rajevac, who has said several times he would not be overwhelmed by patriotic sentiment, has a plethora of young players to choose from to inject fresh blood into the team.

Young squad

Skipper Stephen Appiah, one of the stalwarts expected to provide much-needed steel to the World Cup's youngest team, whose average age is 24, said Ghana faces an uphill task against Serbia at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium.

“I am scared of Serbia because they are aggressive and technically very good,” he said.

The 30-year-old playmaker backed Rajevac's likely decision to field a conservative 4-5-1 formation, after the coach came under fire for being overly cautious in January's African Nations Cup where Ghana lost in the final.

“Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan were called defensive and yet they went all the way to win the Champions League,” Appiah said. “In the end, people remember glory more than anything.”

Likely XI:

Serbia: Vladimir Stojkovic; Branislav Ivanovic, Nemanja Vidic, Aleksandar Lukovic, Ivan Obradovic; Milos Krasic, Nenad Milijas, Dejan Stankovic, Milan Jovanovic; Marko Panetlic and Nikola Zigic.

Ghana: Richard Kingson; Samuel Inkoom, John Mensah, Isaac Vorsah, Hans Sarpei; Kevin-Prince Boateng, Anthony Annan, Kwadwo Asamoah; Prince Tagoe, Asamoah Gyan and Andre Ayew . — Agencies

Serbia (4-4-2): The team is solid at the back, containing in its back line English Premier League stars Branislav Ivanovic and Nemanja Vidic. Inter Milan's Dejan Stankovic will look to bomb forward from the centre of midfield at every opportunity, while the 6'8” tall Nikola Zigic offers an imposing physical presence up front.

Ghana (4-3-3): Solid in the centre of midfield, Ghana's main concern ahead of its opening game is lack of creativity. Much of its vision and imagination will have to come from winger Andre Ayew, son of the legendary Abedi Pele .

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport