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It was November 15, 2011.
Going into the playoff game with a two-goal deficit on account of a defeat to Czech Republic in the first leg at Prague, Montenegro are still confident of turning it around at home with their near-flawless record in the Euro 2012 qualifiers.
The match kicks off and the home side controls proceedings without really applying any pressure. The visitors look only too happy to sit back on their two-goal advantage. Things liven up in the second half and the Montenegrins are now getting desperate for a goal. Mirko Vucinic comes close to scoring for the hosts not once, but twice – heading over the bar and then having his shot saved by the Czech goalkeeper Petr Cech on the rebound.
With 10 minutes remaining on the clock, a goal is scored. But the stadium falls silent, because it’s the Czechs who have scored through a visibly ecstatic Petr Jiracek. There are a few nervy moments thereon as Czech Republic hold onto their 1-0 lead and as the referee blows the final whistle at full time, it sounds more like a death knell for the 12,000 Montenegrin fans present in the Podgorica City Stadium.
“It wasn’t easy for players, fans. I was disappointed but at the same time proud of our players. They achieved amazing results and gave us some unforgettable memories,” says Vanja Bojanovic on Montenegro’s near-miss in the Euro 2012 qualifiers. Vanja, a sports journalism student, grew up in a sports family and fell in love with football as a kid, watching it everyday with her father. She is one of those numerous Montenegrins who bore witness to the national team’s marvellous run in the quest for their first international tournament as an independent nation.
Ask Vanja about her most memorable moment from the Euro 2012 qualifying rounds and the match against England immediately comes to mind. Most football fans would remember it for English striker Wayne Rooney’s moment of stupidity when he kicked out at Miodrag Dzudovic (which eventually cost him in the form of a three-game ban, resulting in his absence from England’s first two games in Euro 2012), but Montenegro fans remember the night as the one when they took another step closer to competing against Europe’s elite.
But the same fans are also aware that seeing a Montenegro national football team was only a distant possibility some two decades ago, when war and skirmishes were rife. The Yugoslav Wars, fought between the different republics that sought sovereignty and the government which wanted to retain control, ravaged the region with bitter ethnic conflict. Often depicted as Europe’s deadliest post-WWII conflict, the war became notorious for the war crimes reportedly perpetrated, including mass murder and genocide which claimed the lives of more than 130,000 people.
The Yugoslav Wars
Podgorica-based lawyer and sports enthusiast Marko Djikanovic clarifies that Montenegro wasn’t as involved in the war as other republics like Serbia and Croatia were. “In Montenegro, we didn’t feel war a lot. Besides the difficult times – because of the sanctions, we didn’t have problems with shooting,” he recalls. He also reveals that he was aware of all the war crimes that took place during the war, despite his parents trying to protect him by not allowing him to watch those scenes on TV.
Prior to the war, Yugoslavia had a fledgling football culture. The national football team had achieved reasonable success in international competitions, most notably at the Olympic football tournaments, which they won in 1960 at Rome – having finished runners-up in the earlier three editions. Their record at the World Cups wasn’t bad either – two semifinal appearances (1930 and 1962) and three quarterfinal appearances (1954, 1958 and 1990), besides reaching the last four once in the Euro when they hosted the tournament in 1976.
Yugoslavia were a dominant force in Europe in the 1960s
When asked about the 1990 World Cup – also the team’s last international tournament – Marko remarks, “World Cup 1990 and Yugoslavia – a big, strong team but not the strongest that ever could be, because at that time the best players in this region who ruled Europe in the 90s were still young.” He reckons they could’ve gone one better than the last eight though. “We were knocked out by Argentina on penalties but we were a better team.”
Their success in the sport was not restricted to the national team itself. Red Star Belgrade, the most successful club in the Balkans as of today, was one of the top clubs in European club football since the 1970s before the dissolution of Yugoslavia in 1992. The pinnacle of their success came in 1991, when they beat Marseille to win the European Cup and subsequently clinched the Intercontinental Cup to become the only Eastern European side to achieve the feat.
Red Star Belgrade – Champions of Europe in 1991
Most football fans know that Denmark won the Euro in 1992 but not many are aware that they were inducted into the competition just 10 days prior to the start of the competition, at the expense of Yugoslavia. A UN Resolution led to the dissolution of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the team split up, thereby ruling them out of the competition despite having finished on top of their group in the qualifying stages.
Unsurprisingly, Marko does not have great memories of this unfortunate turn of events. He believes the team could have perhaps gone on to win the competition had they not been deprived of rightful participation. “We were disqualified, so Denmark went instead of us and took first place. This generation was perfect. With all those names, though young, we would have been able to win. Pancev, Boksic, Suker, Savicevic, Mijatovic, Prosinecki are just some of the names. Obviously it hurt,” he recollects. Though he does admit that much bigger problems back home meant not a lot of people were thinking about football.
As the wars raged on and the Socialist Federal Republic was dissolved, different regions in the Balkans claimed sovereignty – though Serbia and Montenegro still carried the name of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. With the political unrest throughout the region, football, like everything else, experienced a total meltdown. The only silver lining was qualifying for the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France and the Euro 2000 under the managerial tenure of Slobodan Santrac, though the performances and results went pretty much unnoticed.
Failure to qualify for the 2002 FIFA World Cup coincided with the turning point in the political affairs of the country. As Serbia declared independence in early 2003 from the FRY, a Constitutional Charter was adopted on 4 February in the same year by which each state could seek full independence through a referendum that could be held no earlier than 2006. Montenegro enforced its right on May 21, 2006 and 55.5% of Montenegrins voted in favour of independence, thereby giving rise to an independent Montenegro on 3 June.
Simultaneously on the football field, things were getting better. Ilija Petkovic, who assumed charge as the first coach of the newly-formed State Union of Serbia and Montenegro in 2003, oversaw the transition of the national team. Despite the failure to qualify for Euro 2004, the side that participated in the qualifiers for the 2006 World Cup was a transformed side. The presence of Spain in their group didn’t deter them as they played a defensive but nonetheless impressive style of football and finished on top of their group undefeated while conceding only one goal in 10 games – the best defensive record among all 51 teams involved in the qualifying stages.
Serbia and Montenegro at WC ’06 – Full of promise but failed miserably
As the World Cup began, Serbia and Montenegro were already being called as ‘dark horses’ on account of their defence – the back four comprising the likes of Nemanja Vidic and Ivica Dragutinovic was well-supported by their goalkeeper Dragoslav Jevric, who also happened to be the only Montenegrin in the entire squad. But things went awry and they were unceremoniously dumped out of the tournament in the group stage itself – losing all their 3 games, including a 6-0 loss to Argentina.
By the time the team got back home from Germany, the situation in both countries had changed. Montenegro had become an independent nation and the national football authority was already looking forward to the next tournament on hand – the Euro 2008. However, the Montenegrin Football Association was unable to meet the FIFA ratification deadline of September 2006 and the UEFA could only grant provisional membership at that time. In January 2007, the Montenegrin FA was acknowledged as a full member of UEFA and was also given its first FIFA ranking of joint 199th place – the last on the list.
The first man to take charge of this new team was the Montenegro-born Serbian Zoran Filipovic, who played regularly as a striker for Red Star Belgrade when they were among the top clubs in Europe back in the 70s. Unanimously elected as coach, his appointment was hailed by both the fans as well as the press.
Zoran Filipovic – First manager of the Montenegro national team
Montenegro played their first friendly game against Hungary on 24 March, 2007 at Podgorica – a game that had much at stake for the players as well as the fans. But the fans suffered a jolt straightaway when Hungary struck in the very first minute, Tamas Priskin tapping in a cross from close range. The nervousness of the home side mounted as the Hungarians pressed on and only a string of impressive saves from the keeper Vukasin Polesik kept them at bay. The home side eventually regained their composure after the break and were rewarded when Milan Purovic was brought down inside the penalty box. Mirko Vucinic stepped up to take the resultant penalty and then ensured his name would go down in history as the first goal scorer for Montenegro.
With eight minutes left on the clock, Vucinic was again in the thick of things when his frolicking run was halted inside the box and the referee again pointed towards the spot. Igor Burzanovic took responsibility this time and moments later, the crowd inside the Stadion Pod Goricom erupted as Montenegro took the lead. The jubilation was even more when the referee blew the full-time whistle – Montenegro had managed to carve out a hard-fought 2-1 victory in their first ever game.
Mirko Vucinic celebrates Montenegro’s first ever goal
“It is a fantastic feeling to get off to a winning start. We weren’t at our best but it was the first time we played together as a team and this result will certainly boost our confidence,” said a delighted Montenegro coach Zoran Filipovi?, as he savoured his team’s win. The nation’s president Filip Vujanovi?, who attended the game, hailed it as “a historic sporting victory for our small nation”.
More good news followed as Montenegro was admitted as FIFA’s 208th member, which meant they would participate in the qualifying stages of the upcoming World Cup. However, it all wasn’t rosy in the next one and a half year as Montenegro first finished last (behind Columbia and Japan) in the Kirin Cup and then collapsed to its biggest defeat till date – a 4-0 loss to Romania in Bucharest on May 31, 2008.
Montenegro’s first competitive match came in the form of their World Cup qualifier against Bulgaria at home – a game which ended 2-2. Stiliyan Petrov netted early for the visitors but Montenegro went ahead through second half goals from Vucinic and Stevan Jovetic. Just as the fans prepared to celebrate their first ever competitive win, Blagoy Georgiev proved to be the party-pooper with a last-minute equalizer.
The games that followed had the team putting out decent performances but the results didn’t justify them. They lost twice to Italy, once away to Bulgaria and managed draws against the Republic of Ireland, Georgia and Cyprus before finally beating Georgia in the return fixture to secure their first competitive win. An away draw against the Republic of Ireland in their final group game meant that Montenegro finished fifth in their group, level on points with Cyprus but below them on account of goal difference.
Despite their failure to qualify for the World Cup, Montenegro had notched quite a number of impressive performances, which were better than most had expected to be. As a result, they reached their highest position (till then) of 73rd in the FIFA rankings. However, the fans were disappointed to see Zoran Filipovic leave when his contract expired in January 2010. His contribution had undoubtedly been immense – overseeing the progress of a team from 199th place to a high of 73rd in just over three years.
Filipovic was replaced by former Yugoslavian and Croatian international Zlatko Kranjcar, who set to work right away towards their bid to qualify for Euro 2012. The perseverance paid off as Montenegro recorded 3 wins and 2 draws in their first five games, including a narrow away win against Bulgaria and a goalless draw against England in London which propelled them into second place in their group. It also saw Montenegro rise to 16th place in the FIFA rankings, which remains their highest ranking till date.
Zlatko Kranjcar – Fairytale ended earlier than expected
A 2-1 loss to Wales however considerably harmed their chances of making the play-offs as Switzerland were then only 3 points behind them. A loss to Albania in a friendly game thereafter resulted in the unforeseen sacking of Kranjcar, a month ahead of the vital tie against England. The reasons given for his dismissal were hardly convincing, but there was hardly any time to ponder as the game against England loomed large in the minds of fans and players alike.
Friday, October 7 – it was a rainy October night and the atmosphere was hostile towards the visitors in the Podgorica City Stadium. The game kicked off and England, who needed only a draw to confirm their spot in the Euro, started brightly and were 2-0 up within the first half hour thanks to goals from Darren Bent and Ashley Young. But the hopes of the home side were revived when Elsad Zverotic scored a deflected volley with the last kick of the first half.
That goal gave both the players and the supporters a fresh boost and as the game proceeded in the second half, the home side pressed on. England tried to reinforce their midfield superiority with a couple of substitutions but a moment of misjudgement from striker Wayne Rooney handed the advantage to the hosts when he was sent off for a reckless challenge on Miodrag Dzudovic. The latter made the English pay when his cross to the far post allowed Andrija Delibasic to head in the equalizer in stoppage time and send the Montenegro supporters into delirium. Their glee was magnified when it was announced on the public address system that Wales had beaten Switzerland 2-0, which meant that Montenegro were assured of a place in the playoffs.
Delibasic equalises to take Montenegro one step closer to Euro ’12
A 2-0 defeat to Switzerland in their last group game made no difference to Montenegro’s position and soon they were preparing to face Czech Republic, against whom they had been drawn in the qualifying playoffs.
Hopes were high when the Montenegro team took the field in Prague for the first leg on 11 November, 2011. Everything went according to plan in the first half for the visitors, save for a scare in the 35th minute when Petr Jiracek somehow managed to blast the ball over the bar from close range after being set up by Tomas Pekhart. The Montenegrins amped up the pressure in the second half as Czech goalkeeper Petr Cech was forced to clear Simon Vukcevic’s 20-yard shot.
Pilar scores – Beginning of the end for Montenegro’s Euro qualifying
But the home side took the lead when Czech skipper Tomas Rosicky’s through ball found Vaclav Pilar, who unleashed a powerful right-footed shot into the net past the diving Montenegro goalkeeper Bozovic. The goal effectively stamped the hosts’ authority for the remainder of the game and while they continued to miss chances, sweeper-back Tomas Sivok doubled their lead with an injury-time header from Rosicky’s free-kick.
Four days later, the dream was over.
“It ain’t over till it’s over”
Yogi Berra, the legendary coach of the New York Yankees, once said, “It ain’t over till it’s over.” And abiding by the same, the Montenegro team under manager Branko Brnovic refuses to give up and justifies their moniker ‘Hrabri Sokoli’, which translates into ‘The Brave Falcons’. The road to the 2014 FIFA World Cup has been an entirely different matter so far. The disappointment over the failure to qualify for the Euro seems to have been long forgotten and the Brave Falcons are already making their way towards Brazil.
Drawn in Group H with the likes of bigger European teams like England, Ukraine and Poland, Montenegro is currently on top of their group with 11 points from 5 games. These include closely-contested draws at home against Poland (2-2) and England (1-1), a vital 1-0 win over Ukraine in Kiev and two big victories over San Marino (including 6-0 at home, their biggest win since formation) in which Montenegro plundered nine goals past their hapless defenders.
Montenegro celebrate a goal in a World Cup 2014 qualifier
One might say that with five more games to go in the qualifying round, anything can happen. But on current form, it will take a brave man to bet against Montenegro being part of the football carnival next year.
Noted football journalist Jonathan Wilson, writing for the Guardian, pointed out that Montenegro has a proud past to look back on. He stated instances in the recent past such as former Real Madrid striker Predrag Mijatovic scoring the winner in the 1998 Champions League final against Juventus and the presence of three Montenegrins in the European Cup-winning Red Star Belgrade side of 1991. So that leaves no doubt that Montenegro has been a producer of good football talent, albeit not a regular one.
The current generation of Montenegrin footballers is exceptional by their own standards. The national team captain Mirko Vucinic is one of the first names on the Juventus team sheet while youngsters like Stevan Jovetic and Stefan Savic are building their reputation at Fiorentina. It therefore doesn’t come across as a surprise that the fans have pinned major hopes on the players to achieve success on the international level. Their spectacular rise in the FIFA rankings has made the world stand up and take notice, besides capturing the imagination of the Montenegrin fans. “It’s amazing. We went from 199th to 16th (by June 2011). Now we are 31st but it is not bad considering how many top-class professional players we have compared to higher ranked teams,” opines Vanja joyously, while conceding that a poor national league has not helped.
Montenegrin football indeed has a proud past to look back on. But it has a brighter future to look forward to.
