BELGRADE (Reuters) – Former Yugoslavia international Sinisa Mihajlovic was named Serbia’s new coach on Monday and the fiery character said he would quit if he fails to steer the Balkan side to the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil.

The 43-year old has taken over from caretaker Radovan Curcic, who was appointed in October after Serbia failed to qualify for Euro 2012 under Vladimir Petrovic.

“I am completely confident we can reach the World Cup finals and I will step down if we fail,” Mihajlovic told a news conference after signing a two-year contract with the Serbian Football Association (FSS).

“It’s going to be a lot of hard work and we are also pressed for time because the qualifiers start in September whereas we have to inject fresh blood into the team and rebuild almost from scratch, but we have enough talent and potential.

“I had offers from three Italian clubs during the protracted talks with the FSS, which lasted for two and a half months, but was never in doubt because it is every coach’s dream to take charge of his country’s national team,” he added.

Former defender and midfielder Mihajlovic enjoyed a successful 14-year career in Serie A with AS Roma, Sampdoria, Lazio and Inter Milan after winning the Yugoslav league title and the European Cup with Red Star Belgrade in 1991.

He retired after clinching the scudetto with Inter in 2006 and worked as Roberto Mancini’s assistant at Inter for two years before moving on to boss Bologna, Catania and Fiorentina.

BELGRADE, May 21 (Reuters) – Former Yugoslavia international Sinisa Mihajlovic was named Serbia’s new coach on Monday and the fiery character said he would quit if he fails to steer the Balkan side to the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil.

The 43-year old has taken over from caretaker Radovan Curcic, who was appointed in October after Serbia failed to qualify for Euro 2012 under Vladimir Petrovic.

“I am completely confident we can reach the World Cup finals and I will step down if we fail,” Mihajlovic told a news conference after signing a two-year contract with the Serbian Football Association (FSS).

“It’s going to be a lot of hard work and we are also pressed for time because the qualifiers start in September whereas we have to inject fresh blood into the team and rebuild almost from scratch, but we have enough talent and potential.

“I had offers from three Italian clubs during the protracted talks with the FSS, which lasted for two and a half months, but was never in doubt because it is every coach’s dream to take charge of his country’s national team,” he added.

Former defender and midfielder Mihajlovic enjoyed a successful 14-year career in Serie A with AS Roma, Sampdoria, Lazio and Inter Milan after winning the Yugoslav league title and the European Cup with Red Star Belgrade in 1991.

He retired after clinching the scudetto with Inter in 2006 and worked as Roberto Mancini’s assistant at Inter for two years before moving on to boss Bologna, Catania and Fiorentina.

BELGRADE, May 21 (Reuters) – Former Yugoslavia international Sinisa Mihajlovic was named Serbia’s new coach on Monday and the fiery character said he would quit if he fails to steer the Balkan side to the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil.

The 43-year old has taken over from caretaker Radovan Curcic, who was appointed in October after Serbia failed to qualify for Euro 2012 under Vladimir Petrovic.

“I am completely confident we can reach the World Cup finals and I will step down if we fail,” Mihajlovic told a news conference after signing a two-year contract with the Serbian Football Association (FSS).

“It’s going to be a lot of hard work and we are also pressed for time because the qualifiers start in September whereas we have to inject fresh blood into the team and rebuild almost from scratch, but we have enough talent and potential.

“I had offers from three Italian clubs during the protracted talks with the FSS, which lasted for two and a half months, but was never in doubt because it is every coach’s dream to take charge of his country’s national team,” he added.

Former defender and midfielder Mihajlovic enjoyed a successful 14-year career in Serie A with AS Roma, Sampdoria, Lazio and Inter Milan after winning the Yugoslav league title and the European Cup with Red Star Belgrade in 1991.

He retired after clinching the scudetto with Inter in 2006 and worked as Roberto Mancini’s assistant at Inter for two years before moving on to boss Bologna, Catania and Fiorentina.

BELGRADE (Reuters) – Serbian football champions Partizan Belgrade have named the club’s former coach Vladimir Vermezovic as successor to Avram Grant who will step down at the end of the season despite winning the league title.

Vermezovic, a former Partizan defender who steered the club to the 2005 national title as coach, will take over next week after the champions play relegated Metalac Gornji Milanovac in Sunday’s season finale.

“Our intention was to keep Grant for at least two years because he is an outstanding coach but he decided to part company with us for personal reasons,” Partizan president Dragan Djuric told reporters on Friday.

“His presence and coaching skills helped us improve our game and, now that Vermezovic has returned home for a second spell in charge, we hope to reach even greater heights next season.”

Grant, who guided Chelsea to the 2008 Champions League final where they lost to Manchester United on penalties, was never fully accepted by Partizan supporters although the club won a record fifth successive league title and their 24th overall under the Israeli.

He took over in January from fans’ favourite Aleksandar Stanojevic, when Partizan were 10 points clear of Red Star, and quickly came under fire after a pair of draws let their city rivals back into the title race.

Disgruntled supporters pelted Grant with lighters after his first home game in charge, a 0-0 draw with Sloboda Sevojno, and their relationship went from bad to worse after three successive derby defeats by Red Star, two of them in the cup semi-finals.

BELGRADE, May 18 (Reuters) – Serbian soccer champions Partizan Belgrade have named the club’s former coach Vladimir Vermezovic as successor to Avram Grant who will step down at the end of the season despite winning the league title.

Vermezovic, a former Partizan defender who steered the club to the 2005 national title as coach, will take over next week after the champions play relegated Metalac Gornji Milanovac in Sunday’s season finale.

“Our intention was to keep Grant for at least two years because he is an outstanding coach but he decided to part company with us for personal reasons,” Partizan president Dragan Djuric told reporters on Friday.

“His presence and coaching skills helped us improve our game and, now that Vermezovic has returned home for a second spell in charge, we hope to reach even greater heights next season.”

Grant, who guided Chelsea to the 2008 Champions League final where they lost to Manchester United on penalties, was never fully accepted by Partizan supporters although the club won a record fifth successive league title and their 24th overall under the Israeli.

He took over in January from fans’ favourite Aleksandar Stanojevic, when Partizan were 10 points clear of Red Star, and quickly came under fire after a pair of draws let their city rivals back into the title race.

Disgruntled supporters pelted Grant with lighters after his first home game in charge, a 0-0 draw with Sloboda Sevojno, and their relationship went from bad to worse after three successive derby defeats by Red Star, two of them in the cup semi-finals.

BELGRADE, May 17 (Reuters) – Partizan coach Avram Grant will step down at the end of the season despite winning the league title with the Serbian club, the former Chelsea manager said on Thursday.

Grant, who steered Chelsea to the 2008 Champions League final before losing to Manchester United on penalties, declined to specify the reasons for his decision.

“I would like to keep the details to myself, I planned to stay longer but life is often unpredictable,” the 57-year old Israeli told a news conference.

“I am sad to be leaving but such is life, we all have to look forward and that means the club, the fans and myself. I opted to activate the clause allowing me to leave before my contract expires,” he said.

Grant took over in January from fans’ favourite Aleksandar Stanojevic when Partizan were 10 points clear of traditional city rivals Red Star at the top of the first division.

He was quickly at loggerheads with Partizan’s faithful after a pair of draws against modest opposition had slashed the advantage to six points and was pelted by lighters in his first home game in charge, a 0-0 draw with Sloboda Sevojno.

Losing three successive derbies to Red Star, two in the cup semi-final and the league fixture after Partizan had already secured the title with three games to spare, also did not help Grant’s cause as he came under mounting pressure.

ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Olympiakos Piraeus point guard Acie Law was heading into basketball obscurity halfway through the season but ended up winning Europe’s premier club competition with the Greek side.

The American, who played fringe roles for a myriad of NBA teams before joining Serbian champions Partizan Belgrade last July, shrugged off an ankle injury to help Olympiakos to a 62-61 win over CSKA Moscow in Sunday’s rip-roaring Euroleague final.

Trailing by 19 points midway through the third quarter, Olympiakos looked doomed before Law took centre stage and inspired the stunning comeback with steely defense on CSKA’s Serbian point guard Milos Teodosic.

“Law is the unsung hero of our success because after the semi-final win over Barcelona on Friday, his ankle was in such a bad shape he couldn’t walk down the stairs from his hotel room for meals,” Olympiakos coach Dusan Ivkovic said.

“He played through the pain and was instrumental in the fightback because CSKA’s offence was ground to a halt when he came off the bench,” said the 68-year old Serb who also coaches his country’s national team.

Law struggled at Partizan, who axed him after they failed to reach the second group stage of the competition, and it seemed he would spend the second half of the season on the sidelines.

He was hired by Olympiakos in January during the winter break and his speed as well as the ability to shoot with both hands helped the team break into the Euroleague quarter-final playoffs and then the Final Four as underdogs.

ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Europe’s premier club basketball competition can continue to thrive without luring NBA players across the Atlantic, Euroleague director Jordi Bertomeu said on Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters ahead of the weekend’s Euroleague Final Four in Istanbul, Bertomeu pointed out that all teams taking part in the season-ending showpiece event had completed their rosters before the July-December NBA lockout.

“We are very proud of that fact and we will stay faithful to our principles because we have proved that we don’t need NBA imports to be a top-quality competition drawing millions of fans across Europe,” he said.

“The NBA does a superb job marketing its product but our path to success is different and it’s rooted in the fact that every game in the Euroleague regular season makes a difference.”

Holders Panathinaikos Athens take on favorites CSKA Moscow and Barcelona meet Olympiakos Piraeus in Friday’s semi-finals, with the final and the third-place match scheduled for Sunday in Istanbul’s Sinan Erdem Arena.

They advanced from a fiercely competitive 24-team league featuring two group stages and best-of-five playoff series which produced a myriad of spectacular games, especially the match-up between Panathinaikos and Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Many Euroleague teams had signed NBA players on a temporary basis during the lockout but fizzled out once their acquisitions went back to North America to compete in the world’s most popular basketball league.

ISTANBUL (Reuters) – A fiercely competitive and highly entertaining Euroleague season is headed for a fitting finale next weekend when Europe’s top four basketball teams lock horns for the title in Istanbul’s imposing Sinan Erdem Arena.

The continent’s premier club competition, featuring 24 teams, has produced a plethora of rip-roaring contests en route to the Final Four featuring holders Panathinaikos Athens, CSKA Moscow, Barcelona and Olympiakos Piraues.

Friday’s opening semi-final brings a mouth-watering contest between Panathinaikos and CSKA, who have won six titles each and reached the season-ending tournament in contrasting fashion.

While CSKA cruised to a 3-1 win over debutants Bilbao in the best-of-five playoff series, Panathinaikos snatched victory from the jaws of defeat against last season’s runners-up Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Trailing 2-1 in the series, Panathinaikos were also behind with three minutes left in Game 4 before they turned the tables on their rivals and squeezed through with an epic 86-85 home win in the tie-breaker in Athens.

Their trophy-laden Serbian coach Zeljko Obradovic, who has won eight Euroleague titles with four different teams and five of them with Panathinaikos, would love nothing more than to walk down memory lane with the trophy in his hands.

The 52-year old former Yugoslavia point guard won his maiden European title in Istanbul 1992 with Partizan Belgrade in his debut season as coach.