Jan 12, 2011

via Reuters Soccer Blog

Bosnian diamond Dzeko could turn City’s fortunes

If Edin Dzeko can adapt seamlessly to the Premier League’s high-tempo game, the blue half of Manchester may at long last get the trophy they have craved since 1968, when City won their last top-flight title.

With Carlos Tevez having a punishing workload up front for Roberto Mancini’s side as the lone striker in a 4-3-2-1 formation, Dzeko appears to be just what City need to start firing on all cylinders.

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Dec 12, 2010

Djokovic’s father says Serbian federation needs changes

BELGRADE (Reuters) – Serbia’s tennis federation (TSS) deserved no credit for the national team’s maiden Davis Cup win and needed “a thorough reconstruction”, Srdjan Djokovic, father of world number three Novak Djokovic, said.

“The present TSS leadership, headed by Slobodan Zivojinovic, has nothing to do with Serbia’s Davis Cup victory; we are the world tennis champions thanks to the players and their families only,” the elder Djokovic said in a statement released to Belgrade media.

Dec 9, 2010

Prosinecki takes over as Red Star coach

BELGRADE (Reuters) – Red Star Belgrade named former midfielder Robert Prosinecki as coach on Thursday after signing a 2-1/2 year contract with the 1991 European Cup winners.

Prosinecki said he was looking forward to being the first Croatian to manage a Serbian club since the two nations split during the former Yugoslavia’s violent break-up in the 1990s.

Dec 9, 2010

Soccer-Prosinecki takes over as Red Star coach

BELGRADE, Dec 9 (Reuters) – Red Star Belgrade named former
midfielder Robert Prosinecki as coach on Thursday after signing
a 2-1/2 year contract with the 1991 European Cup winners.

Prosinecki said he was looking forward to being the first
Croatian to manage a Serbian club since the two nations split
during the former Yugoslavia’s violent break-up in the 1990s.

Dec 8, 2010

Soccer-Prosinecki poised to be named Red Star coach

BELGRADE, Dec 8 (Reuters) – Robert Prosinecki has a very
good chance of taking over as coach of Serbian club Red Star
Belgrade, the former Croatia midfielder said on Wednesday.

“There is a very good possibility that I will be named Red
Star’s coach by the end of this week,” Prosinecki, who won the
1991 European Cup with Red Star, told Reuters.

Dec 6, 2010

via Left field

Serbian players, fans set new Davis Cup celebration standards

Passers-by in downtown Belgrade unfamiliar with Serbia’s appetite for sports success would have been forgiven for thinking that the Balkan country won the soccer World Cup on Sunday evening and not the Davis Cup, an annual tennis competition featuring 16 teams in its top tier.

Several thousand jubilant fans, sporting national flags and team shirts, brought traffic to a halt in the city centre moments after Serbia beat France 3-2 in a pulsating three-day final to win the event in front of 17,000 supporters in the Belgrade Arena.

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Dec 5, 2010

Team spirit propels Serbia to first Davis Cup triumph

BELGRADE (Reuters) – In harmony on and off the court, Serbia’s memorable Davis Cup triumph over France on Sunday owed much to camaraderie, team members said.

The celebrations were kickstarted when Viktor Troicki beat Michael Llodra to complete Serbia’s 3-2 victory and their first Davis Cup triumph.

Dec 4, 2010

Serbian captain blasts line judges after doubles defeat

BELGRADE (Reuters) – Serbia captain Bogdan Obradovic poured scorn on the line judges and called them “unpatriotic” after France won the doubles Saturday to take a 2-1 lead in the Davis Cup final.

“We are not asking them to be thieves and give us anything, but some of them were absolutely awful today and they made several bad calls at key moments in the match,” Obradovic told a news conference.

Dec 3, 2010

Serbian and French fans light up opening day of final

BELGRADE (Reuters) – Billed as a potentially hostile Davis Cup final, the clash between Serbia and France turned out to be anything but on Friday after rival fans had created a spectacular atmosphere in the Belgrade Arena.

Teenagers, wearing traditional countryside Serbian kits, entertained the fans with a folk dance before the French were given a red-carpet reception instead of the antagonistic response their captain Guy Forget had expected in the buildup.