ARTICLES – The Brilliance of Radomir Antic by Djuradj “George” Vujcic, Canadian writer and translator.
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Urban Book Circle® (UBC)
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The Brilliance of Radomir Antic
Radomir Antic was born on November 22, 1948 in Zitiste (a small town in a region known as Banat), Serbia, Yugoslavia to a Serb family from Bosnia. His father Jovo was from Janj near Sipovo and his mother Milka (née Brkic) was from the Grmec region. His parents settled in Zitiste shortly before his birth and moved to Uzice when Radomir was six years old. It was in Uzice where Antic would start his playing career with local side Sloboda Uzice in 1967–68.
Antic then married his lifelong love Vera, graduated from a higher mechanical school and worked parallelly as a mechanical engineer. He applied for a position in the Raketa bus company but was rejected as he already had a salary as a Sloboda player. This rejection was a blessing in disguise setting Antic on the path for what he was about to become.
Antic then moved to the club where he would play most of his career – Partizan (playing from 1968 to 1976). With Partizan, he won the national Championship in 1976.
I had the opportunity to speak with Miodrag Jesic who played with Antic at Partizan Belgrade.
“Antic is the real deal. Antara (as we called him at Partizan) was Partizan captain when Ante ‘Bice’ Mladinic called me up from the juniors to the first team at the pre-season preliminaries in Rovinj. I remember – because Bice called me up late – I arrived in Rovinj but I didn’t bring my passport as I didn’t know that we were going to Trieste for shopping on our day off. So everyone went to Trieste but only I stayed in the Eden Hotel in Rovinj. When we were all together again at dinner, Antara (as captain) presented me with a beautiful watch that they bought me in Trieste as a gift and souvenir for my first pre-season with the Partizan first team. That was a long time ago but I will never forget that. That was something special that I will always remember. Antara is a great man firstly and a great player and expert.”
Antic then went on to make a name for himself abroad where he played for Turkish side Fenerbahce, Spanish side Real Zaragoza and English side Luton Town led by David Pleat who would have an impactful influence on Antic. In fact, it was Pleat who would give Antic the nickname Raddy – a mispronunciation of his Serbian language nickname Rade.
“Turkey was a great experience for me to live abroad. But the overall political situation forced me to go to Spain before the end of the contract. There were riots in Turkey that preceded a coup, so I signed a contract with Zaragoza in a hurry, on a napkin in a restaurant in Pirot where they were preparing! Spain won me over with its respect for tradition, cheerfulness, laughter at every step, and England with serious and dedicated work,” Antic once said.
When Antic joined Real Zaragoza, he admitted to having prejudices because he was coming from a communist country to Francoist Spain. He said he quickly became embarrassed with his opinion when he saw happy people in the streets and realized that a government and the people it governs are two different things.
Curiously, he capped only once for the Yugoslav national team – appearing as a substitute in the 80th minute for injured Franjo Vladic in a friendly against Hungary on September 26, 1973, in Belgrade.
After finishing his playing career at age 36, Antic found his true calling as a coach, starting his coaching career as an assistant with his hometown club Partizan in 1985 working under head coach Nenad Bjekovic (his former teammate). Partizan went on to win the 1985–86 and 1986–87 league titles.
In 1988, he went to Spain where he gained fame coaching Real Zaragoza, Real Madrid, Real Oviedo, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona and Celta Vigo. He became one of only two men to have managed both long-time bitter rivals Barcelona and Real Madrid (the other one being Enrique Fernandez Viola) and he is the only man to have coached Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Atletico Madrid. His biggest statistical success came in the 1995–96 season when he won the Double (La Liga and the Copa del Rey) with Atletico Madrid, popularly nicknamed Los Colchoneros (The Mattress Makers).
Years later, he would thank his mentor Vujadin Boskov for having opened that part of Europe to Serbian coaches.
Antic felt at home in Spain and came to love the Spanish culture – listing paella as his favourite food. The Spaniards loved him back as well. In a 1991 issue of Tempo, Antic talked about how when he was a footballer, he looked at food as fuel. “Food is a way of life here. It took me some time to get used to the numerous-course meals,” Antic was quoted as saying. Antic left his mark in Spain. When he left Real Madrid in 1992, then-Real player Michel stated that the players cried.
Antic arrived at FC Barcelona at the beginning of February 2003 (taking over from Louis van Gaal) with Barcelona in 15th place in the table but well placed in the second phase of the Champions League. Antic’s tenure did not last long (until June) but he stayed enough to do a number of things that would transform the club in the years to come.
Antic immediately brought in Juan Pablo Sorin from Lazio. More notably, he put Carles Puyol at centre-back, started giving regular first team appearances to young goalkeeper Victor Valdes and threw in another youngster named Andres Iniesta into the first team. Antic also moved Xavi further up the field, just behind the line of forwards, freeing him up from the defensive duties he had under Louis van Gaal. This allowed Xavi to fully showcase his creativity and Xavi himself now says that Antic was one of the first coaches to give him importance. These moves set the pace for Barcelona’s later success in the 2000s and this is Antic’s legacy at the club. In his short stay in charge, Antic managed to guide the team to UEFA Cup qualification by finishing sixth in the league. In the Champions League, Barcelona was knocked out by Juventus in extra time at Camp Nou in unlucky circumstances.
But – having said all that – it was Antic’s qualities as a person that made him memorable and brilliant and for the author of this article who was born in 1992, it was Antic’s tenure as head coach of the Serbian national team that was most memorable.
Antic then married his lifelong love Vera, graduated from a higher mechanical school and worked parallelly as a mechanical engineer. He applied for a position in the Raketa bus company but was rejected as he already had a salary as a Sloboda player. This rejection was a blessing in disguise setting Antic on the path for what he was about to become.
Antic then moved to the club where he would play most of his career – Partizan (playing from 1968 to 1976). With Partizan, he won the national Championship in 1976.
I had the opportunity to speak with Miodrag Jesic who played with Antic at Partizan Belgrade.
“Antic is the real deal. Antara (as we called him at Partizan) was Partizan captain when Ante ‘Bice’ Mladinic called me up from the juniors to the first team at the pre-season preliminaries in Rovinj. I remember – because Bice called me up late – I arrived in Rovinj but I didn’t bring my passport as I didn’t know that we were going to Trieste for shopping on our day off. So everyone went to Trieste but only I stayed in the Eden Hotel in Rovinj. When we were all together again at dinner, Antara (as captain) presented me with a beautiful watch that they bought me in Trieste as a gift and souvenir for my first pre-season with the Partizan first team. That was a long time ago but I will never forget that. That was something special that I will always remember. Antara is a great man firstly and a great player and expert.”
Antic then went on to make a name for himself abroad where he played for Turkish side Fenerbahce, Spanish side Real Zaragoza and English side Luton Town led by David Pleat who would have an impactful influence on Antic. In fact, it was Pleat who would give Antic the nickname Raddy – a mispronunciation of his Serbian language nickname Rade.
“Turkey was a great experience for me to live abroad. But the overall political situation forced me to go to Spain before the end of the contract. There were riots in Turkey that preceded a coup, so I signed a contract with Zaragoza in a hurry, on a napkin in a restaurant in Pirot where they were preparing! Spain won me over with its respect for tradition, cheerfulness, laughter at every step, and England with serious and dedicated work,” Antic once said.
When Antic joined Real Zaragoza, he admitted to having prejudices because he was coming from a communist country to Francoist Spain. He said he quickly became embarrassed with his opinion when he saw happy people in the streets and realized that a government and the people it governs are two different things.
Curiously, he capped only once for the Yugoslav national team – appearing as a substitute in the 80th minute for injured Franjo Vladic in a friendly against Hungary on September 26, 1973, in Belgrade.
After finishing his playing career at age 36, Antic found his true calling as a coach, starting his coaching career as an assistant with his hometown club Partizan in 1985 working under head coach Nenad Bjekovic (his former teammate). Partizan went on to win the 1985–86 and 1986–87 league titles.
In 1988, he went to Spain where he gained fame coaching Real Zaragoza, Real Madrid, Real Oviedo, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona and Celta Vigo. He became one of only two men to have managed both long-time bitter rivals Barcelona and Real Madrid (the other one being Enrique Fernandez Viola) and he is the only man to have coached Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Atletico Madrid. His biggest statistical success came in the 1995–96 season when he won the Double (La Liga and the Copa del Rey) with Atletico Madrid, popularly nicknamed Los Colchoneros (The Mattress Makers).
Years later, he would thank his mentor Vujadin Boskov for having opened that part of Europe to Serbian coaches.
Antic felt at home in Spain and came to love the Spanish culture – listing paella as his favourite food. The Spaniards loved him back as well. In a 1991 issue of Tempo, Antic talked about how when he was a footballer, he looked at food as fuel. “Food is a way of life here. It took me some time to get used to the numerous-course meals,” Antic was quoted as saying. Antic left his mark in Spain. When he left Real Madrid in 1992, then-Real player Michel stated that the players cried.
Antic arrived at FC Barcelona at the beginning of February 2003 (taking over from Louis van Gaal) with Barcelona in 15th place in the table but well placed in the second phase of the Champions League. Antic’s tenure did not last long (until June) but he stayed enough to do a number of things that would transform the club in the years to come.
Antic immediately brought in Juan Pablo Sorin from Lazio. More notably, he put Carles Puyol at centre-back, started giving regular first team appearances to young goalkeeper Victor Valdes and threw in another youngster named Andres Iniesta into the first team. Antic also moved Xavi further up the field, just behind the line of forwards, freeing him up from the defensive duties he had under Louis van Gaal. This allowed Xavi to fully showcase his creativity and Xavi himself now says that Antic was one of the first coaches to give him importance. These moves set the pace for Barcelona’s later success in the 2000s and this is Antic’s legacy at the club. In his short stay in charge, Antic managed to guide the team to UEFA Cup qualification by finishing sixth in the league. In the Champions League, Barcelona was knocked out by Juventus in extra time at Camp Nou in unlucky circumstances.
But – having said all that – it was Antic’s qualities as a person that made him memorable and brilliant and for the author of this article who was born in 1992, it was Antic’s tenure as head coach of the Serbian national team that was most memorable.
It was August 19, 2008 when the 59-year-old Radomir Antic said the fateful “yes” to the Football Association of Serbia and it was August 20, 2008 when he (along with his coaching staff consisting of his former team-mate Resad Kunovac, Aleksandar Rogic and goalkeeper coach Rade Zalad) was officially presented as the head coach of the Serbian national team. Antic’s job was to return a positive reputation to a team that, along with failing to qualify for Euro 2008, did not know what a victory is that whole year – up until his arrival.
Antic (the national team’s 49th head coach) was taking over a team whose Euro 2008 qualifying campaign led by Javier Clemente was a spectacular failure culminating in Serbia playing against Poland at home in November 2007 with there being more Poles than Serbs in the stadium. That more or less sums up the atmosphere surrounding the team at that time. Antic took over from Miroslav Djukic who did not find a rapport with management and did not manage to mesh the various types of personalities found in the national team – eventually getting the boot after a disappointing 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. A public spat ensued where Djukic blamed Football Association president Tomislav Karadzic for his departure.
It was messy but Antic immediately showed that he has the knowledge and will to change things for the better.
When asked what type of play he is looking for from his players, Antic said: “The one that is in line with the mentality of the Serbs. This means that there is nothing without a great fight, speed and respect for all agreements. And no distinction must be made between foreign and domestic terrain. Our game must be the same in all conditions. Of course, in order to accept this idea, it is necessary to acquire this habit through work. And habit is second nature. That rhythm of the game must be maintained at the same level for all ninety minutes.”
Antic favoured an attacking strategy and played with two forwards up front – something Serbia had not done in years.
One of Antic’s first moves was holding press conferences at the Kuca fudbala (House of Football) in Kovilovo instead of the Hyatt Hotel or the Intercontinental Hotel saying that “psychology is extremely important, as is double communication.” This is where the players would stay as well and they were allowed to roam the town for as long as needed. This is not to say that Antic was without authority however. Well-known Serbian sports commentator Aleksandar Stojanovic once commented that at team lunches, players would first wait for Antic to finish eating and leave his seat before they would which showed both discipline and a mutual respect.
As head coach, Antic left out previous call-ups Milan Smiljanic, Nenad Kovacevic, Pavle Ninkov, Igor Duljaj and Marjan Markovic. Antic also did not call up Mateja Kezman who left on bad terms after the 2006 FIFA World Cup which would prove to be the end of Kezman’s national team career. Antic also re-called Milos Krasic who would prove to be a key addition. Krasic was left out of the national team by previous coach Miroslav Djukic who explained the move by claiming Krasic isn’t a player who runs in both directions. Antic proved that this could easily be remedied.
Antic was appointed with very little time to prepare for the World Cup qualifiers. Serbia was drawn in Group 7 with France, Austria, Lithuania, Romania, and the Faroe Islands. France, Austria and Romania had all just featured in Euro 2008 – albeit France (in Group C with Romania) finished the group in a disastrous last place.
Antic begun his tenure as head coach in the first qualifier on September 6, 2008 in front of just 9,615 people at Red Star Stadium against the Faroe Islands. Antic led with a 4–4–2 formation and debuting for Serbia were the young Ivan Obradovic from Partizan and Nenad Milijas from Red Star Belgrade who were both in the starting line-up. The match ended with a 2–0 win thanks to an own goal by Faroese defender Jon Roi Jacobsen in the 30th minute and an 88th minute goal by Nikola Zigic.
Serbia continued on September 10, 2008 in Saint-Denis against France featuring an aging Mladen Krstajic and an agile Bosko Jankovic. France took the win 2–1 thanks to goals by Thierry Henry and Nicolas Anelka but Serbia showed promise.
On October 6, 2008, Antic called up Standard Liege forward Milan Jovanovic to replace the injured Stefan Babovic. Antic made a decision which would put the rest of the qualifiers on a different path, stating: “I'll have to sleep on it – we know him as a centre-forward but I count on him more on the flank but that doesn’t mean he can’t answer to other needs as well. ” Antic (or Mister as the players began calling him) must have got a good sleep that night because putting Jovanovic on the flanks proved to be a crucial move.
Serbia’s next match was at home against Lithuania on October 11, 2008. Serbian opera singer Oliver Njego sang the national anthem and his baritone voice set the tone for the match. Left out of the team due to injuries and/or not playing in their clubs were Miralem Sulejmani, Gojko Kacar, Ivan Ergic, Dusko Tosic and Sasa Ilic. Milan Jovanovic was put in the starting line-up and this was the first time a tandem was crystalized with Milan Jovanovic on the left flank and Milos Krasic on the right flank. Goals by Branislav Ivanovic in the sixth minute, Milos Krasic in the 34th minute and Nikola Zigic in the 82nd minute gave Serbia a convincing 3–0 win.
Next up was Austria in Vienna. Out of the 47,998 spectators at Ernst-Happel-Stadion, a whopping 15,000 were Serbs – making the atmosphere seem as if it were at home in Belgrade. Antic made only one change since the Lithuania match, re-calling Udinese defender Aleksandar Lukovic instead of the injured Ivica Dragutinovic. Mladen Krstajic was also left out of the squad due to an injury the night before the match. Goals by Milos Krasic in the 15th minute, Milan Jovanovic in the 18th minute and Ivan Obradovic in the 24th minute put Serbia up 3–0 in front of an ecstatic crowd. Serbia would hold on and control the tempo of the match as Austrian forward Marc Janko scored a consolation goal in the 80th minute.
As a formal farewell from football, Antic called up Savo Milosevic for a friendly with Bulgaria on November 19, 2008, with Milosevic scoring twice and missing two penalties in a thunderous 6–1 win before being subbed off for Dragan Mrdja.
Serbia (featuring a young squad with the average age being 21.4) played a friendly on December 14, 2008 against Poland. Poland would win 1–0 but this match is remembered today as the debut of then-twenty-year-old Dusan Tadic who would go on to captain Serbia in the years to come.
When the winter break began, many fans complained that the Serbian team would lose momentum and that a wonderful series of wins had been broken.
In the spring of 2009 however, that winning series continued.
Next up was a key match against Romania in Constanta in March 2009 with the Serbian media billing it the match of the decade. Romania – led by Adrian Mutu – had recently played well at Euro 2008. This would be the first time twenty-year-old Neven Subotic would feature in the Serbian squad after choosing to represent Serbia (turning down offers from Germany, the United States and Bosnia and Herzegovina) in late 2008. The fact that Subotic chose Serbia was largely thanks to Antic and Serbia’s success up to that point (Antic had also tried to convince Bojan Krkic to play for Serbia in August 2008 but Krkic chose Spain). Subotic was able to play in a number of defensive positions and Antic compared him to Fernando Hierro – someone who Antic coached during his time at Real Madrid.
The match was a real back-and-forth encounter. Milan Jovanovic opened the scoring at the 18th minute mark, followed by a Dorel Stoica Romanian own-goal at the 44th minute mark, a Ciprian Marica goal in the 50th minute for Romania and a beautiful Branislav Ivanovic side-ways volley from close range in the 59th minute after a Milos Krasic corner.
With Serbia up 3–1, Antic decided to strengthen the defense and substitute Marko Pantelic with Neven Subotic in the 66th minute – giving Subotic his debut. The young Subotic appeared nervous and pulled down a Romanian player just outside of the penalty area in the 73rd minute resulting in a yellow card and a free kick which Romania then scored from thanks to Dorel Stoica in the 74th minute. Serbia held on and won 3–2. After the match, Antic proved a worthy pedagogue and showed his knack for psychology. When asked by journalists what he thought of Subotic’s performance, Antic called him the Man of the Match.
After this match, things were looking good. Fans were delighted: out of five matches, Serbia won four, scored twelve goals, conceded only five and the only loss was against France. Antic said that “the most important thing is that we are getting people to be excited about football again, for their national team. The first objective that I set for myself when I took over the team is for the people to re-identify with their colours and the best formula to do so was with a winning team, with character. The atmosphere is almost euphoric. I think that is what people lacked – being happy – after Serbian football went through a tough time in many ways and for many reasons.”
An April friendly at home versus Sweden (featuring an aged Henrik Larsson) resulted in an easy 2–0 victory for Serbia. This game would be remembered as the debut of Milos Ninkovic who would play an important role in Antic’s team in the matches to come.
On June 6, 2009, Serbia played Austria at home before a crowd of 41,000. An early Nenad Milijas penalty kick gave Serbia an important three points.
Up next was an important away match against the Faroe Islands. Serbia took an easy 2–0 victory thanks to goals by Milan Jovanovic and Neven Subotic – his first for the national team.
An August away friendly against South Africa in Pretoria proved Serbia now has the know-how to both win and win with ease. Serbia won 3–1 with Zoran Tosic solidifying his place in the team with two goals in the 56th and 77th minute while Danko Lazovic scored in the 68th minute and Katlego Mphela got the consolation goal for South Africa in the 90th minute.
On September 9, 2009 (09-09-09), Serbia played a highly touted home match against group favourites France in front of an electric 49,456 fans. The match featured a young Gojko Kacar playing just behind Nikola Zigic up front. Things were off to a great start: in the 8th minute, Zigic was alone with a breakway in front of France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris who tackled Zigic in the penalty area. Roberto Rosetti called a penalty kick and Lloris was shown the red card and was replaced in net by Steve Mandanda who entered the match as a substitution instead of Andre-Pierre Gignac. Nenad Milijas delivered from the penalty spot in the 12th minute and Serbia was up 1–0 but Thierry Henry would tie it in the 31st minute. The match ended 1–1 and France had to be the more satisfied of the two teams considering they played the majority of the match with only ten men on the field.
Then it happened.
On October 10, 2009, at home against their northeast neighbours Romania, a dream of a nation was fulfilled – Serbia qualified for its first ever FIFA World Cup (under that name). A true footballing rhapsody was witnessed as Romania was dismantled 5–0 (thanks to goals by Nikola Zigic, Marko Pantelic, Zdravko Kuzmanovic and two late goals by Milan Jovanovic) and Serbia was headed to the first ever FIFA World Cup held in Africa.
With the World Cup in their back pocket, up next was a match against Lithuania on a cold October night in Marijampole. Serbia played for the win but ended up losing 2–1 with both Lithuanian goals questionably coming from the penalty spot. An anti-climactic finish to qualifying after the mesmerizing 5–0 display against Romania but that was less important.
Serbia continued its newly founded tradition (under Antic) of winning friendly matches. Friendly victories in November away against Northern Ireland in Belfast and South Korea at the Craven Cottage in London were achieved with ease.
Serbia went on to easily beat Algeria 3–0 in Algiers in March 2010 thanks to goals by Marko Pantelic in the 16th, Zdravko Kuzmanovic in the 55th and Zoran Tosic in the 65th minute.
The prelude to the World Cup however was not without issues.
There were early inklings that the atmosphere might be a bit off. The winter break in late 2009 resulted in Antic extending his contract until 2012 but only after a public back-and-forth in the media with both Football Association president Tomislav Karadzic and media pundits lamenting the amount of money Antic was making per month.
Seemingly unhappy with his lack of playing time, backup goalkeeper Vladimir Disljenkovic gained Ukrainian citizenship and gave up his Serbian citizenship in the process which caused dismay and outrage among Serbian fans.
Bosko Jankovic, who had an important role throughout the qualifiers coming in as a “joker” from the bench as is known in that part of Europe, was ruled out of the World Cup in March due to a knee injury. Antic now needed to find a replacement for Jankovic who was known for his speedy runs on the wing during counter-attacks.
Ivica Dragutinovic – who played six out of the ten qualifiers – suffered an Achilles tendon injury while training for Sevilla and was also ruled out of the World Cup.
With all that in mind, Serbia then embarked on its series of pre-World Cup friendlies.
First up was a friendly against Japan in Osaka on April 7, 2010 with the Serbian team being comprised of only domestic league players and being led by Radovan Curcic from the bench. Impressively, Serbia easily won 3–0 again thanks to goals by Dragan Mrdja in the 15th and 23rd minute and Nemanja Tomic in the 60th minute. It was this match that cemented Mrdja's place in the team as he proved he earned a World Cup call-up beyond any reasonable doubt.
The remainder of the World Cup warmup matches were rocky.
On May 21, 2010, Antic presented the media with his official list of players headed to the World Cup. From the previous preliminary list, Jagos Vukovic, Slobodan Rajkovic, Nemanja Matic, Nemanja Tomic, Dejan Lekic and Miralem Sulejmani were dropped.
There were the usual calls to call-up Dejan “Rambo” Petkovic from Brazil but mostly on the unserious corners of forums and in article comments.
One of the only surprise changes in the national team was the call-up of goalkeeper Andjelko Djuricic – instead of the expected Zeljko Brkic – as third goalkeeper behind Bojan Isailovic and first choice Vladimir Stojkovic. Antic explained that Brkic is young and his time awaits. I contacted Djuricic to hear his thoughts on Antic and World Cup 2010. “I was glad to hear that you’re writing this article because a man and coach like Antic deserves that. It was an honour to play for him and at a FIFA World Cup no less”, Djuricic told me.
Serbia played New Zealand on May 29, 2010 in the Austrian city of Klagenfurt with New Zealand winning thanks to a lone Shane Smeltz goal in the 22nd minute. What was most worrisome was that Serbia was unrecognizable in the match.
Serbia (again unrecognizable) then tied Poland 0–0 in the Austrian town of Kufstein.
The last match prior to the World Cup was at home against Cameroon. Serbia won the whopper of a match 4–3 but the defense looked a bit shaky at times. Pierre Webo opened the scoring in the 5th minute, Krasic tied it up in the 16th minute, Webo again scored at 20 minutes, Stankovic tied it up in the 25th minute, Milijas scored from the penalty spot in the 44th minute while Marko Pantelic made it 4–2 for Serbia in the 45th minute. A young Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting reduced the lead to 4–3 in the 67th minute. The victory was still a victory and the four goals (albeit against a Cameroon side that didn't feature Samuel Eto’o) gave Serbia a reason to be hopeful.
Serbia traveled to the World Cup in South Africa feeling confident, being drawn in Group D with Ghana (led by Serb coach Milovan Rajevac), Germany, and Australia.
For the opening group match against Ghana at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Antic came out with a 4–4–2 formation that he favoured in qualifying. In the underwhelming first half, neither team created much – with key midfielders Krasic, as well as Jovanovic, completely taken out of the match by the Ghanaian pressure tactics of double-teaming the Serbian wingers in order to cut off the supply from the flanks. Since Milijas and Stankovic also achieved little through the middle, Serbia was quickly reduced to launching long balls from the back thus bypassing its own midfield that was completely disrupted by the quick and physical Ghanaians playing in a 3–6–1 formation.
Hoping to inject some energy in the second half, Antic took out the invisible Milijas and brought on Zdravko Kuzmanovic. While some openings were finally created (Zigic latching onto Pantelic's cross and mis-hitting the ball away from goal in the 59th minute), the match was still mostly a sedated and disjointed affair. Swapping forward for forward, Antic took off the misfiring Zigic and inserted Danko Lazovic. As the match seemed headed for a goalless draw, central defender Lukovic pulled down a Ghana player in the 74th minute and got sent off for a second bookable offence. As a result of going down to ten men, Antic was forced to patch a hole in central defense by bringing on Subotic instead of Jovanovic. Surprisingly, Serbia started playing much better, creating two excellent scoring opportunities in quick succession.
In the 85th minute however, following a harmless-looking Ghana cross, Kuzmanovic inexplicably handled the ball with his hand in his own penalty area thus gifting the Ghanaians the penalty and a 1–0 lead after Asamoah Gyan made no mistake. Forced to chase the result for the remaining five or so minutes, ten-man Serbia pushed forward in numbers in a desperate attempt of coming up with an equalizer thus leaving itself vulnerable to counter-attacks from the quick Ghanaians and were lucky not to concede a second goal as Ghana hit the post in a one-on-one situation with goalkeeper Stojkovic.
But, Serbia had quality and would show that in the next match which was a must-win.
That must-win match was on June 18, 2010 at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth in front of 38,294 people against renowned powerhouse Germany which had dismantled Australia in its first match.
Antic decided to switch the tactical formation to 4–3–3 which, when needed, adapted to a more defensive 4–5–1 with young Subotic replacing suspended Lukovic in central defense while the three-man midfield had a surprise Ninkovic (who didn't feature against Ghana), Kuzmanovic and Stankovic with the up-front tall target-man Zigic joined by wingers Krasic and Jovanovic.
A Miroslav Klose yellow card (awarded in the 12th minute by Spanish referee Alberto Undiano Mallenco) led to a second yellow in the 37th minute. With Germany now down to ten men, Serbia had a chance to capitalize on the opportunity.
Then, in the 38th minute, came a majestic and victorious moment of Serbian football.
After a cross from Milos Krasic who managed to out-run Holger Badstuber on the right flank, the six-foot-eight Zigic lowered the ball with his head from five metres out and Milan Jovanovic, while falling, acrobatically and skillfully placed the ball past Manuel Neuer – the first goal ever of the Serbian national team (under that name) at a World Cup.
Jovanovic then jumped over the sponsorship ads in indescribable joy after the goal and disappeared into a deep ditch between the fans and the field. Fortunately, he soon emerged unharmed and continued to rejoice, together with all of us.
In the 59th minute, Manchester United legend Nemanja Vidic, all alone in the penalty area, shockingly hand-balled a Lukas Podolski cross from the left flank. This was the second hand-ball in two matches for Serbia. Podolski would take the penalty kick as well but Vladimir Stojkovic would prove to be Man of the Match as he made a crucial save.
In the 75th minute, Antic subbed in 21-year-old Radosav Petrovic – a widely criticized call-up due to his youth – for Zdravko Kuzmanovic. Petrovic played with confidence and showed why he was called up.
Serbia held on for the miraculous 1–0 victory and things were looking good. Happiness was brought to millions of Serbs worldwide and it was a moment still fondly remembered today. The cynic in young me – hearing horror stories of the “oscillating Slavic mentality” when it comes to sports – feared what would happen against Australia. I quickly brushed off those thoughts and hoped for the best.
In the final group match against Australia, Serbia only needed a single point to reach the knockout stages and fielded an unchanged line-up from the 1–0 win over Germany. In an entertaining match where Serbia dominated in the first half and in periods of the second half, Serbia was defeated at the hands of Australia by a score of 2–1. Serbia’s failure to convert many chances again proved costly with Australia scoring two goals in the second half through a header from Tim Cahill and a long shot by Brett Holman from about thirty metres. A late Marko Pantelic goal in the 84th minute served only as consolation.
In all, Serbia finished last in the group with three points (missing out on advancing further by just one point), the epic victory against Germany was a Pyrrhic one and things would spiral downwards quickly.
After the match, Antic angrily shared some choice words in Spanish with referee Jorge Larrionda for which he received a touchline ban made by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee banning him from leading Serbia for the next four competitive matches. Antic was upset that Larrionda denied Serbia a penalty late in the match when Nemanja Vidic headed the ball which then appeared to hit Tim Cahill's arm. Larrionda also made headlines earlier in the World Cup when he failed to award a goal after the shot of England's Frank Lampard crossed the line in their second-round clash with Germany – a decision which would lead to the innovation of goal-line technology.
This was out of character for Antic who would also go on to say after the match that "The referee, including the fourth official, did not want to see a foul that was quite obvious. We had two goals disallowed and the first one was definitely not offside and we were also denied a penalty for the kind of handball that resulted in two penalties given against us in the two previous matches. This is not a dark day for Serbian soccer, it was the referee and his assistants who had a dark day and their poor decisions put us to the sword, albeit along with chances we missed in the first half. I can only say that football was unfair to us. We played well and I have no complaints. We had many chances, showed a quality game and we can only regret the missed opportunities. This match showed that the better team doesn't always win but we also have to be completely honest and say that Australia's first goal stunned us and we didn't recover until very late in the match, when we could have rescued our bid to reach the last sixteen.”
Members of the FIFA Appeal Committee (a three-member panel consisting of chairman Larry Mussenden of Bermuda, vice-chairman Ahmad of Madagascar and member Randall Cunliffe of Guam) rejected the appeal of the Football Association of Serbia against the suspension of Antic.
After that, Football Association president Tomislav Karadzic and the Association Board of Directors denounced the World Cup as a failure and began using the four-match touchline ban as an excuse to publicly criticize Antic in the press. At a post-World Cup press conference, Antic defended himself by claiming that his coaching staff is capable of leading matches without a boss and showed his disdain for the treatment he and his players were receiving – going as far as labelling critics as "Quislings."
Up next was a friendly match in Belgrade against Greece on August 11, 2010. Antic was able to lead the team from the bench as the FIFA ban was only for competitive matches. Serbia lost 1–0 thanks to a Greece goal by Dimitris Salpingidis but the home crowd of 10,000 showed their support by chanting “there is only one Radomir Antic” in unison several times throughout the match.
Antic and the team now looked towards the Euro 2012 qualifiers with the campaign starting on September 3, 2010 in Torshavn against the Faroe Islands. Led from the bench by Antic’s assistant Resad Kunovac, Serbia was superior and easily recorded a 3–0 away win thanks to goals by Danko Lazovic, Dejan Stankovic and Nikola Zigic.
Up next was Slovenia at home on September 7, 2010 with Resad Kunovac leading from the bench. The atmosphere Antic had worked on diligently for so long had begun taking its toll. Slovenia came out running and went up 1–0 thanks to a 63rd minute goal by Milivoje Novakovic. Serbia clawed back and – thanks to a late Nikola Zigic goal in the 86th minute – earned a frustrating 1–1 draw.
As it would turn out, this would be the last match for Radomir Antic as manager of the Serbian national team as he was sacked on September 15, 2010 after two years and twenty-one days as head coach. His replacement was Vladimir “Pizon” Petrovic whose first match was a dismal 3–1 loss at home to Estonia. Petrovic would go on to seemingly call up anyone and everyone and the Euro 2012 qualifying campaign resulted in another colossal embarrassment as Serbia missed out on the European Championship for the third consecutive time.
Firing Radomir Antic was a colossal mistake for Football Association president Tomislav Karadzic. Antic sued the Football Association and received compensation worth around two million euros after proving in court that his firing was a breach of contract. Antic was let go for the most minute of reasons and for what? What ensued was a long drought of three missed tournaments (Euro 2012, the 2014 World Cup, and the epic failure of missing out on Euro 2016) and years of agony up until qualifying for the 2018 World Cup.
In all, Antic led the national team in twenty-eight official matches with seventeen wins, three draws and eight losses. But statistics do not fully explain his impact. Antic’s tenure as national team manager will be remembered – from beginning to end. One word is most often repeated when it comes to Antic's tenure at the helm of Serbia: the kult reprezentacije (the cult of the national team). Antic’s team had a cult following after just a few matches as fans noticed a different Serbia. Antic brought in order, a work ethic, discipline but also a friendly family atmosphere – with Antic calling his players his children. Antic was a father figure who evoked both respect and authority. He found every member of the team a perfect spot, maximally emphasizing the personal qualities of each individual player and putting him in the service of the team. Stands were full, training sessions had up to 5000 spectators, national pride was felt, players would visit citizens in factories and on the street. It was a wonderful time.
Aleksandar Rogic who was in Antic’s coaching staff as an assistant during his tenure as national team manager shared with me some insight into that time.
“Being in Radomir Antic’s coaching staff was a privilege because you could learn a lot about football and about life from him on a daily basis. His daily routines, habits, organization of life and dedication and passion towards football were for me – then a young coach – always a true example and direction of how to work in this profession.”
Antic then went on to coach in China and said that he was delighted with the country and felt he was reliving his youth. He coached Chinese Super League side Shandong Luneng from December 2012 to December 2013 and lead the team (that finished 12th the year before) to second place in the league. I direct-messaged Antic during his time with Shandong and he messaged me back – a highlight of my young life – and we agreed to do an interview if I am ever in Madrid. In China, Antic also coached Second Division side Hebei China Fortune from January to August 2015.
There was a last-ditch attempt by the Football Association of Serbia in the summer of 2019 to try and re-hire Antic as national team head coach but to no avail.
Then, out of the blue, bad news struck: Antic passed away on April 6, 2020 in Madrid, aged 71 after contracting COVID-19 and having struggled for several years with pancreatitis. The football world was shocked as tributes poured in from across the globe.
On July 17, 2021 (a prolonged fifteen months after Antic’s passing due to the pandemic and prescribed measures), Antic’s remains were repatriated from Spain to Uzice where his funeral was held at the Dovarje City Cemetery. On August 12, 2021, Antic was honoured as the name of the FK Sloboda Uzice stadium was officially re-named the Radomir Antic Stadium.
Today, Antic is remembered for his qualities as a coach and as a human being. He proved that the role of the coach is pivotal as the coach is the one who makes the overarching narrative which sets the tone for the overall atmosphere. He said that his players are winners and they acted like winners. In turn, opposing teams looked at them as winners and treated them as such. This mentality quickly spread to the fans as well and his abilities as a coach – as well as his character and charm – is his legacy. He will always be fondly remembered as people smile and straighten up with pride as they reminisce how Antic made them feel.
Antic (the national team’s 49th head coach) was taking over a team whose Euro 2008 qualifying campaign led by Javier Clemente was a spectacular failure culminating in Serbia playing against Poland at home in November 2007 with there being more Poles than Serbs in the stadium. That more or less sums up the atmosphere surrounding the team at that time. Antic took over from Miroslav Djukic who did not find a rapport with management and did not manage to mesh the various types of personalities found in the national team – eventually getting the boot after a disappointing 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. A public spat ensued where Djukic blamed Football Association president Tomislav Karadzic for his departure.
It was messy but Antic immediately showed that he has the knowledge and will to change things for the better.
When asked what type of play he is looking for from his players, Antic said: “The one that is in line with the mentality of the Serbs. This means that there is nothing without a great fight, speed and respect for all agreements. And no distinction must be made between foreign and domestic terrain. Our game must be the same in all conditions. Of course, in order to accept this idea, it is necessary to acquire this habit through work. And habit is second nature. That rhythm of the game must be maintained at the same level for all ninety minutes.”
Antic favoured an attacking strategy and played with two forwards up front – something Serbia had not done in years.
One of Antic’s first moves was holding press conferences at the Kuca fudbala (House of Football) in Kovilovo instead of the Hyatt Hotel or the Intercontinental Hotel saying that “psychology is extremely important, as is double communication.” This is where the players would stay as well and they were allowed to roam the town for as long as needed. This is not to say that Antic was without authority however. Well-known Serbian sports commentator Aleksandar Stojanovic once commented that at team lunches, players would first wait for Antic to finish eating and leave his seat before they would which showed both discipline and a mutual respect.
As head coach, Antic left out previous call-ups Milan Smiljanic, Nenad Kovacevic, Pavle Ninkov, Igor Duljaj and Marjan Markovic. Antic also did not call up Mateja Kezman who left on bad terms after the 2006 FIFA World Cup which would prove to be the end of Kezman’s national team career. Antic also re-called Milos Krasic who would prove to be a key addition. Krasic was left out of the national team by previous coach Miroslav Djukic who explained the move by claiming Krasic isn’t a player who runs in both directions. Antic proved that this could easily be remedied.
Antic was appointed with very little time to prepare for the World Cup qualifiers. Serbia was drawn in Group 7 with France, Austria, Lithuania, Romania, and the Faroe Islands. France, Austria and Romania had all just featured in Euro 2008 – albeit France (in Group C with Romania) finished the group in a disastrous last place.
Antic begun his tenure as head coach in the first qualifier on September 6, 2008 in front of just 9,615 people at Red Star Stadium against the Faroe Islands. Antic led with a 4–4–2 formation and debuting for Serbia were the young Ivan Obradovic from Partizan and Nenad Milijas from Red Star Belgrade who were both in the starting line-up. The match ended with a 2–0 win thanks to an own goal by Faroese defender Jon Roi Jacobsen in the 30th minute and an 88th minute goal by Nikola Zigic.
Serbia continued on September 10, 2008 in Saint-Denis against France featuring an aging Mladen Krstajic and an agile Bosko Jankovic. France took the win 2–1 thanks to goals by Thierry Henry and Nicolas Anelka but Serbia showed promise.
On October 6, 2008, Antic called up Standard Liege forward Milan Jovanovic to replace the injured Stefan Babovic. Antic made a decision which would put the rest of the qualifiers on a different path, stating: “I'll have to sleep on it – we know him as a centre-forward but I count on him more on the flank but that doesn’t mean he can’t answer to other needs as well. ” Antic (or Mister as the players began calling him) must have got a good sleep that night because putting Jovanovic on the flanks proved to be a crucial move.
Serbia’s next match was at home against Lithuania on October 11, 2008. Serbian opera singer Oliver Njego sang the national anthem and his baritone voice set the tone for the match. Left out of the team due to injuries and/or not playing in their clubs were Miralem Sulejmani, Gojko Kacar, Ivan Ergic, Dusko Tosic and Sasa Ilic. Milan Jovanovic was put in the starting line-up and this was the first time a tandem was crystalized with Milan Jovanovic on the left flank and Milos Krasic on the right flank. Goals by Branislav Ivanovic in the sixth minute, Milos Krasic in the 34th minute and Nikola Zigic in the 82nd minute gave Serbia a convincing 3–0 win.
Next up was Austria in Vienna. Out of the 47,998 spectators at Ernst-Happel-Stadion, a whopping 15,000 were Serbs – making the atmosphere seem as if it were at home in Belgrade. Antic made only one change since the Lithuania match, re-calling Udinese defender Aleksandar Lukovic instead of the injured Ivica Dragutinovic. Mladen Krstajic was also left out of the squad due to an injury the night before the match. Goals by Milos Krasic in the 15th minute, Milan Jovanovic in the 18th minute and Ivan Obradovic in the 24th minute put Serbia up 3–0 in front of an ecstatic crowd. Serbia would hold on and control the tempo of the match as Austrian forward Marc Janko scored a consolation goal in the 80th minute.
As a formal farewell from football, Antic called up Savo Milosevic for a friendly with Bulgaria on November 19, 2008, with Milosevic scoring twice and missing two penalties in a thunderous 6–1 win before being subbed off for Dragan Mrdja.
Serbia (featuring a young squad with the average age being 21.4) played a friendly on December 14, 2008 against Poland. Poland would win 1–0 but this match is remembered today as the debut of then-twenty-year-old Dusan Tadic who would go on to captain Serbia in the years to come.
When the winter break began, many fans complained that the Serbian team would lose momentum and that a wonderful series of wins had been broken.
In the spring of 2009 however, that winning series continued.
Next up was a key match against Romania in Constanta in March 2009 with the Serbian media billing it the match of the decade. Romania – led by Adrian Mutu – had recently played well at Euro 2008. This would be the first time twenty-year-old Neven Subotic would feature in the Serbian squad after choosing to represent Serbia (turning down offers from Germany, the United States and Bosnia and Herzegovina) in late 2008. The fact that Subotic chose Serbia was largely thanks to Antic and Serbia’s success up to that point (Antic had also tried to convince Bojan Krkic to play for Serbia in August 2008 but Krkic chose Spain). Subotic was able to play in a number of defensive positions and Antic compared him to Fernando Hierro – someone who Antic coached during his time at Real Madrid.
The match was a real back-and-forth encounter. Milan Jovanovic opened the scoring at the 18th minute mark, followed by a Dorel Stoica Romanian own-goal at the 44th minute mark, a Ciprian Marica goal in the 50th minute for Romania and a beautiful Branislav Ivanovic side-ways volley from close range in the 59th minute after a Milos Krasic corner.
With Serbia up 3–1, Antic decided to strengthen the defense and substitute Marko Pantelic with Neven Subotic in the 66th minute – giving Subotic his debut. The young Subotic appeared nervous and pulled down a Romanian player just outside of the penalty area in the 73rd minute resulting in a yellow card and a free kick which Romania then scored from thanks to Dorel Stoica in the 74th minute. Serbia held on and won 3–2. After the match, Antic proved a worthy pedagogue and showed his knack for psychology. When asked by journalists what he thought of Subotic’s performance, Antic called him the Man of the Match.
After this match, things were looking good. Fans were delighted: out of five matches, Serbia won four, scored twelve goals, conceded only five and the only loss was against France. Antic said that “the most important thing is that we are getting people to be excited about football again, for their national team. The first objective that I set for myself when I took over the team is for the people to re-identify with their colours and the best formula to do so was with a winning team, with character. The atmosphere is almost euphoric. I think that is what people lacked – being happy – after Serbian football went through a tough time in many ways and for many reasons.”
An April friendly at home versus Sweden (featuring an aged Henrik Larsson) resulted in an easy 2–0 victory for Serbia. This game would be remembered as the debut of Milos Ninkovic who would play an important role in Antic’s team in the matches to come.
On June 6, 2009, Serbia played Austria at home before a crowd of 41,000. An early Nenad Milijas penalty kick gave Serbia an important three points.
Up next was an important away match against the Faroe Islands. Serbia took an easy 2–0 victory thanks to goals by Milan Jovanovic and Neven Subotic – his first for the national team.
An August away friendly against South Africa in Pretoria proved Serbia now has the know-how to both win and win with ease. Serbia won 3–1 with Zoran Tosic solidifying his place in the team with two goals in the 56th and 77th minute while Danko Lazovic scored in the 68th minute and Katlego Mphela got the consolation goal for South Africa in the 90th minute.
On September 9, 2009 (09-09-09), Serbia played a highly touted home match against group favourites France in front of an electric 49,456 fans. The match featured a young Gojko Kacar playing just behind Nikola Zigic up front. Things were off to a great start: in the 8th minute, Zigic was alone with a breakway in front of France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris who tackled Zigic in the penalty area. Roberto Rosetti called a penalty kick and Lloris was shown the red card and was replaced in net by Steve Mandanda who entered the match as a substitution instead of Andre-Pierre Gignac. Nenad Milijas delivered from the penalty spot in the 12th minute and Serbia was up 1–0 but Thierry Henry would tie it in the 31st minute. The match ended 1–1 and France had to be the more satisfied of the two teams considering they played the majority of the match with only ten men on the field.
Then it happened.
On October 10, 2009, at home against their northeast neighbours Romania, a dream of a nation was fulfilled – Serbia qualified for its first ever FIFA World Cup (under that name). A true footballing rhapsody was witnessed as Romania was dismantled 5–0 (thanks to goals by Nikola Zigic, Marko Pantelic, Zdravko Kuzmanovic and two late goals by Milan Jovanovic) and Serbia was headed to the first ever FIFA World Cup held in Africa.
With the World Cup in their back pocket, up next was a match against Lithuania on a cold October night in Marijampole. Serbia played for the win but ended up losing 2–1 with both Lithuanian goals questionably coming from the penalty spot. An anti-climactic finish to qualifying after the mesmerizing 5–0 display against Romania but that was less important.
Serbia continued its newly founded tradition (under Antic) of winning friendly matches. Friendly victories in November away against Northern Ireland in Belfast and South Korea at the Craven Cottage in London were achieved with ease.
Serbia went on to easily beat Algeria 3–0 in Algiers in March 2010 thanks to goals by Marko Pantelic in the 16th, Zdravko Kuzmanovic in the 55th and Zoran Tosic in the 65th minute.
The prelude to the World Cup however was not without issues.
There were early inklings that the atmosphere might be a bit off. The winter break in late 2009 resulted in Antic extending his contract until 2012 but only after a public back-and-forth in the media with both Football Association president Tomislav Karadzic and media pundits lamenting the amount of money Antic was making per month.
Seemingly unhappy with his lack of playing time, backup goalkeeper Vladimir Disljenkovic gained Ukrainian citizenship and gave up his Serbian citizenship in the process which caused dismay and outrage among Serbian fans.
Bosko Jankovic, who had an important role throughout the qualifiers coming in as a “joker” from the bench as is known in that part of Europe, was ruled out of the World Cup in March due to a knee injury. Antic now needed to find a replacement for Jankovic who was known for his speedy runs on the wing during counter-attacks.
Ivica Dragutinovic – who played six out of the ten qualifiers – suffered an Achilles tendon injury while training for Sevilla and was also ruled out of the World Cup.
With all that in mind, Serbia then embarked on its series of pre-World Cup friendlies.
First up was a friendly against Japan in Osaka on April 7, 2010 with the Serbian team being comprised of only domestic league players and being led by Radovan Curcic from the bench. Impressively, Serbia easily won 3–0 again thanks to goals by Dragan Mrdja in the 15th and 23rd minute and Nemanja Tomic in the 60th minute. It was this match that cemented Mrdja's place in the team as he proved he earned a World Cup call-up beyond any reasonable doubt.
The remainder of the World Cup warmup matches were rocky.
On May 21, 2010, Antic presented the media with his official list of players headed to the World Cup. From the previous preliminary list, Jagos Vukovic, Slobodan Rajkovic, Nemanja Matic, Nemanja Tomic, Dejan Lekic and Miralem Sulejmani were dropped.
There were the usual calls to call-up Dejan “Rambo” Petkovic from Brazil but mostly on the unserious corners of forums and in article comments.
One of the only surprise changes in the national team was the call-up of goalkeeper Andjelko Djuricic – instead of the expected Zeljko Brkic – as third goalkeeper behind Bojan Isailovic and first choice Vladimir Stojkovic. Antic explained that Brkic is young and his time awaits. I contacted Djuricic to hear his thoughts on Antic and World Cup 2010. “I was glad to hear that you’re writing this article because a man and coach like Antic deserves that. It was an honour to play for him and at a FIFA World Cup no less”, Djuricic told me.
Serbia played New Zealand on May 29, 2010 in the Austrian city of Klagenfurt with New Zealand winning thanks to a lone Shane Smeltz goal in the 22nd minute. What was most worrisome was that Serbia was unrecognizable in the match.
Serbia (again unrecognizable) then tied Poland 0–0 in the Austrian town of Kufstein.
The last match prior to the World Cup was at home against Cameroon. Serbia won the whopper of a match 4–3 but the defense looked a bit shaky at times. Pierre Webo opened the scoring in the 5th minute, Krasic tied it up in the 16th minute, Webo again scored at 20 minutes, Stankovic tied it up in the 25th minute, Milijas scored from the penalty spot in the 44th minute while Marko Pantelic made it 4–2 for Serbia in the 45th minute. A young Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting reduced the lead to 4–3 in the 67th minute. The victory was still a victory and the four goals (albeit against a Cameroon side that didn't feature Samuel Eto’o) gave Serbia a reason to be hopeful.
Serbia traveled to the World Cup in South Africa feeling confident, being drawn in Group D with Ghana (led by Serb coach Milovan Rajevac), Germany, and Australia.
For the opening group match against Ghana at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Antic came out with a 4–4–2 formation that he favoured in qualifying. In the underwhelming first half, neither team created much – with key midfielders Krasic, as well as Jovanovic, completely taken out of the match by the Ghanaian pressure tactics of double-teaming the Serbian wingers in order to cut off the supply from the flanks. Since Milijas and Stankovic also achieved little through the middle, Serbia was quickly reduced to launching long balls from the back thus bypassing its own midfield that was completely disrupted by the quick and physical Ghanaians playing in a 3–6–1 formation.
Hoping to inject some energy in the second half, Antic took out the invisible Milijas and brought on Zdravko Kuzmanovic. While some openings were finally created (Zigic latching onto Pantelic's cross and mis-hitting the ball away from goal in the 59th minute), the match was still mostly a sedated and disjointed affair. Swapping forward for forward, Antic took off the misfiring Zigic and inserted Danko Lazovic. As the match seemed headed for a goalless draw, central defender Lukovic pulled down a Ghana player in the 74th minute and got sent off for a second bookable offence. As a result of going down to ten men, Antic was forced to patch a hole in central defense by bringing on Subotic instead of Jovanovic. Surprisingly, Serbia started playing much better, creating two excellent scoring opportunities in quick succession.
In the 85th minute however, following a harmless-looking Ghana cross, Kuzmanovic inexplicably handled the ball with his hand in his own penalty area thus gifting the Ghanaians the penalty and a 1–0 lead after Asamoah Gyan made no mistake. Forced to chase the result for the remaining five or so minutes, ten-man Serbia pushed forward in numbers in a desperate attempt of coming up with an equalizer thus leaving itself vulnerable to counter-attacks from the quick Ghanaians and were lucky not to concede a second goal as Ghana hit the post in a one-on-one situation with goalkeeper Stojkovic.
But, Serbia had quality and would show that in the next match which was a must-win.
That must-win match was on June 18, 2010 at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth in front of 38,294 people against renowned powerhouse Germany which had dismantled Australia in its first match.
Antic decided to switch the tactical formation to 4–3–3 which, when needed, adapted to a more defensive 4–5–1 with young Subotic replacing suspended Lukovic in central defense while the three-man midfield had a surprise Ninkovic (who didn't feature against Ghana), Kuzmanovic and Stankovic with the up-front tall target-man Zigic joined by wingers Krasic and Jovanovic.
A Miroslav Klose yellow card (awarded in the 12th minute by Spanish referee Alberto Undiano Mallenco) led to a second yellow in the 37th minute. With Germany now down to ten men, Serbia had a chance to capitalize on the opportunity.
Then, in the 38th minute, came a majestic and victorious moment of Serbian football.
After a cross from Milos Krasic who managed to out-run Holger Badstuber on the right flank, the six-foot-eight Zigic lowered the ball with his head from five metres out and Milan Jovanovic, while falling, acrobatically and skillfully placed the ball past Manuel Neuer – the first goal ever of the Serbian national team (under that name) at a World Cup.
Jovanovic then jumped over the sponsorship ads in indescribable joy after the goal and disappeared into a deep ditch between the fans and the field. Fortunately, he soon emerged unharmed and continued to rejoice, together with all of us.
In the 59th minute, Manchester United legend Nemanja Vidic, all alone in the penalty area, shockingly hand-balled a Lukas Podolski cross from the left flank. This was the second hand-ball in two matches for Serbia. Podolski would take the penalty kick as well but Vladimir Stojkovic would prove to be Man of the Match as he made a crucial save.
In the 75th minute, Antic subbed in 21-year-old Radosav Petrovic – a widely criticized call-up due to his youth – for Zdravko Kuzmanovic. Petrovic played with confidence and showed why he was called up.
Serbia held on for the miraculous 1–0 victory and things were looking good. Happiness was brought to millions of Serbs worldwide and it was a moment still fondly remembered today. The cynic in young me – hearing horror stories of the “oscillating Slavic mentality” when it comes to sports – feared what would happen against Australia. I quickly brushed off those thoughts and hoped for the best.
In the final group match against Australia, Serbia only needed a single point to reach the knockout stages and fielded an unchanged line-up from the 1–0 win over Germany. In an entertaining match where Serbia dominated in the first half and in periods of the second half, Serbia was defeated at the hands of Australia by a score of 2–1. Serbia’s failure to convert many chances again proved costly with Australia scoring two goals in the second half through a header from Tim Cahill and a long shot by Brett Holman from about thirty metres. A late Marko Pantelic goal in the 84th minute served only as consolation.
In all, Serbia finished last in the group with three points (missing out on advancing further by just one point), the epic victory against Germany was a Pyrrhic one and things would spiral downwards quickly.
After the match, Antic angrily shared some choice words in Spanish with referee Jorge Larrionda for which he received a touchline ban made by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee banning him from leading Serbia for the next four competitive matches. Antic was upset that Larrionda denied Serbia a penalty late in the match when Nemanja Vidic headed the ball which then appeared to hit Tim Cahill's arm. Larrionda also made headlines earlier in the World Cup when he failed to award a goal after the shot of England's Frank Lampard crossed the line in their second-round clash with Germany – a decision which would lead to the innovation of goal-line technology.
This was out of character for Antic who would also go on to say after the match that "The referee, including the fourth official, did not want to see a foul that was quite obvious. We had two goals disallowed and the first one was definitely not offside and we were also denied a penalty for the kind of handball that resulted in two penalties given against us in the two previous matches. This is not a dark day for Serbian soccer, it was the referee and his assistants who had a dark day and their poor decisions put us to the sword, albeit along with chances we missed in the first half. I can only say that football was unfair to us. We played well and I have no complaints. We had many chances, showed a quality game and we can only regret the missed opportunities. This match showed that the better team doesn't always win but we also have to be completely honest and say that Australia's first goal stunned us and we didn't recover until very late in the match, when we could have rescued our bid to reach the last sixteen.”
Members of the FIFA Appeal Committee (a three-member panel consisting of chairman Larry Mussenden of Bermuda, vice-chairman Ahmad of Madagascar and member Randall Cunliffe of Guam) rejected the appeal of the Football Association of Serbia against the suspension of Antic.
After that, Football Association president Tomislav Karadzic and the Association Board of Directors denounced the World Cup as a failure and began using the four-match touchline ban as an excuse to publicly criticize Antic in the press. At a post-World Cup press conference, Antic defended himself by claiming that his coaching staff is capable of leading matches without a boss and showed his disdain for the treatment he and his players were receiving – going as far as labelling critics as "Quislings."
Up next was a friendly match in Belgrade against Greece on August 11, 2010. Antic was able to lead the team from the bench as the FIFA ban was only for competitive matches. Serbia lost 1–0 thanks to a Greece goal by Dimitris Salpingidis but the home crowd of 10,000 showed their support by chanting “there is only one Radomir Antic” in unison several times throughout the match.
Antic and the team now looked towards the Euro 2012 qualifiers with the campaign starting on September 3, 2010 in Torshavn against the Faroe Islands. Led from the bench by Antic’s assistant Resad Kunovac, Serbia was superior and easily recorded a 3–0 away win thanks to goals by Danko Lazovic, Dejan Stankovic and Nikola Zigic.
Up next was Slovenia at home on September 7, 2010 with Resad Kunovac leading from the bench. The atmosphere Antic had worked on diligently for so long had begun taking its toll. Slovenia came out running and went up 1–0 thanks to a 63rd minute goal by Milivoje Novakovic. Serbia clawed back and – thanks to a late Nikola Zigic goal in the 86th minute – earned a frustrating 1–1 draw.
As it would turn out, this would be the last match for Radomir Antic as manager of the Serbian national team as he was sacked on September 15, 2010 after two years and twenty-one days as head coach. His replacement was Vladimir “Pizon” Petrovic whose first match was a dismal 3–1 loss at home to Estonia. Petrovic would go on to seemingly call up anyone and everyone and the Euro 2012 qualifying campaign resulted in another colossal embarrassment as Serbia missed out on the European Championship for the third consecutive time.
Firing Radomir Antic was a colossal mistake for Football Association president Tomislav Karadzic. Antic sued the Football Association and received compensation worth around two million euros after proving in court that his firing was a breach of contract. Antic was let go for the most minute of reasons and for what? What ensued was a long drought of three missed tournaments (Euro 2012, the 2014 World Cup, and the epic failure of missing out on Euro 2016) and years of agony up until qualifying for the 2018 World Cup.
In all, Antic led the national team in twenty-eight official matches with seventeen wins, three draws and eight losses. But statistics do not fully explain his impact. Antic’s tenure as national team manager will be remembered – from beginning to end. One word is most often repeated when it comes to Antic's tenure at the helm of Serbia: the kult reprezentacije (the cult of the national team). Antic’s team had a cult following after just a few matches as fans noticed a different Serbia. Antic brought in order, a work ethic, discipline but also a friendly family atmosphere – with Antic calling his players his children. Antic was a father figure who evoked both respect and authority. He found every member of the team a perfect spot, maximally emphasizing the personal qualities of each individual player and putting him in the service of the team. Stands were full, training sessions had up to 5000 spectators, national pride was felt, players would visit citizens in factories and on the street. It was a wonderful time.
Aleksandar Rogic who was in Antic’s coaching staff as an assistant during his tenure as national team manager shared with me some insight into that time.
“Being in Radomir Antic’s coaching staff was a privilege because you could learn a lot about football and about life from him on a daily basis. His daily routines, habits, organization of life and dedication and passion towards football were for me – then a young coach – always a true example and direction of how to work in this profession.”
Antic then went on to coach in China and said that he was delighted with the country and felt he was reliving his youth. He coached Chinese Super League side Shandong Luneng from December 2012 to December 2013 and lead the team (that finished 12th the year before) to second place in the league. I direct-messaged Antic during his time with Shandong and he messaged me back – a highlight of my young life – and we agreed to do an interview if I am ever in Madrid. In China, Antic also coached Second Division side Hebei China Fortune from January to August 2015.
There was a last-ditch attempt by the Football Association of Serbia in the summer of 2019 to try and re-hire Antic as national team head coach but to no avail.
Then, out of the blue, bad news struck: Antic passed away on April 6, 2020 in Madrid, aged 71 after contracting COVID-19 and having struggled for several years with pancreatitis. The football world was shocked as tributes poured in from across the globe.
On July 17, 2021 (a prolonged fifteen months after Antic’s passing due to the pandemic and prescribed measures), Antic’s remains were repatriated from Spain to Uzice where his funeral was held at the Dovarje City Cemetery. On August 12, 2021, Antic was honoured as the name of the FK Sloboda Uzice stadium was officially re-named the Radomir Antic Stadium.
Today, Antic is remembered for his qualities as a coach and as a human being. He proved that the role of the coach is pivotal as the coach is the one who makes the overarching narrative which sets the tone for the overall atmosphere. He said that his players are winners and they acted like winners. In turn, opposing teams looked at them as winners and treated them as such. This mentality quickly spread to the fans as well and his abilities as a coach – as well as his character and charm – is his legacy. He will always be fondly remembered as people smile and straighten up with pride as they reminisce how Antic made them feel.
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Photos
courtesy of UBC archives. |
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The Brilliance of Radomir Antic
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Last updated on September 10, 2023.
Published by Urban Book Circle on October 23, 2022 Urban Book Circle® (UBC) |
· Edited by Djuradj “George” Vujcic, Danijela Kovacevic Mikic and Prvoslav “Pearse” Vujcic ·
· Design & Artwork by Prvoslav “Pearse” Vujcic and Djuradj “George” Vujcic ·
All rights reserved. Copyright © Urban Book Circle®
· Design & Artwork by Prvoslav “Pearse” Vujcic and Djuradj “George” Vujcic ·
All rights reserved. Copyright © Urban Book Circle®
