“Adversary of Switzerland, Serbia remains inconsistent and struggles to transcend itself” – rts.ch

It is a different context, of course, which awaits the two teams on Saturday evening in Leskovac, but it remains a meeting that neither team must lose. It smells a bit like sulfur. Assistant coach of Servette FC since 2016, a pure Genevan of Serbian origin, Bojan Dimic is well placed to dissect the issue and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the opponents of Murat Yakin’s men.

RTSsport.ch: Bojan Dimic, on the eve of the 2022 World Cup, you only told us good things about Serbia. However, she ended up missing her World Cup and barely shone eighteen months later during the last Euro. What is happening?

BOJAN DIMIC: It’s a story that repeats itself for Serbia, too inconsistent. She shines during the qualifiers, summons somewhat crazy hopes, makes us expect wonders during the competition, then she collapses. The moment guys need to explode in a good way, they break down. There is a mental problem, perhaps also an inability to transcend oneself.

Serbian coach Dragan Stojkovic, although my childhood idol, is not as strong as a coach as he was as a player. His team has no plan B…

RTSsport.ch: It seems that there are also tensions in the upper echelons…

BOJAN DIMIC: So yes, it sometimes “frogs” between the pro-Etoile Rouge and the pro-Partizan, even between the pro-president of the Fed and the anti, but the players, those who are on the field, should be able to forget all this for 90 minutes, even during a major competition.

RTSsport.ch: Despite the failure of the Euro, coach Dragan Stojkovic is still in place…

BOJAN DIMIC: Yes, and I don’t know if that’s a good thing, honestly. He was my youth idol, so I don’t want to criticize him too much, but we must recognize that he is not as strong as a coach as he was as a player. Stojkovic remains a great leader of men, but tactically it’s complicated… His team has no plan B, his system doesn’t really hold up. In the country, many wanted to fire him, but he managed to extend his contract.

RTSsport.ch: And there, he must rebuild in particular without Dusan Vlahovic, the Juventus striker, who is surprisingly absent!

BOJAN DIMIC: Apparently, according to Stojkovic, Vlahovic is absent from this gathering for personal reasons and has promised to be present at the November one. But it is clear that in a team which already struggles to score, the absence of Vlahovic is detrimental. Even more so since other players are no longer there. But the goal, according to the coach, is to prepare for the World Cup qualifiers, hence the presence of some younger elements to face Switzerland.

RTSsport.ch: However, no one seems to regret the absence of Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, the former Lazio player, today in Saudi Arabia…

BOJAN DIMIC: Indeed. He is a player who was praised when he played in Serie A, but he never had the same performance in the national team. He arrived in the country with a certain status and played the diva. People were fed up with these kinds of players, incapable of getting their jerseys wet. He is the opposite of Nikola Jokic (editor’s note: Denver Nuggets/NBA basketball player) who has always been there for the national team.

RTSsport.ch: Which player will we have to watch in particular in the Serbian camp?

BOJAN DIMIC: I don’t know if he’ll be in the lineup, but I was recently amazed by Andrija Maksimovic, who was selected for the first time this month when he was only 17 years old. He’s a left-hander, trained at Red Star, who reminds me a little of Dejan Savicevic. He was very good against Partizan and against Inter in the Champions League. At home, some asked Stojkovic why he summoned such a young element. His response? “I was selected at 18 in a great team in Yugoslavia, so why couldn’t Maksimovic, full of talent, have a place at 17 in Serbia?“It means a lot.

Arnaud Cerutti