Đukić Calls Up First Squad

Ahead of the February 6 friendly against Macedonia, new gaffer Miroslav Đukić has called up his first senior team. (Please notice what appears to be a bottle of beer on the table in front of him — that’s my kind of press conference.)

Goalkeepers: Radiša Ilić (OFK Beograd), Damir Kahriman (Konyaspor).

Strikers: Nikola Žigić (Valencia CF), Danko Lazović (PSV Eindhoven), Milan Jovanović (Royal Standard de Liège), Ranko Despotović (FC Rapid Bucureşti).

Thoughts, anyone?

Apart from the entirely new goalkeeping corps, it’s a strong team with a lot of familiar names, but the odds of him getting all these guys for a friendly are pretty slim, particularly those coming from teams not on break, and busy fighting for league titles or European spots. For example, given how delicate Stanković’s health has been this season, how likely are Inter to release him for a friendly, when they finally have him fit for the first time since last summer? And no Bojan. Boo! Đukić’s self-proclaimed emphasis on youth combined with the desperate need to convince the kid to pick Serbia means Bojan should get a damn call — and soon, too, before Spain offer him a senior cap, and he makes the obvious choice.

Also, the World Cup qualifiers have finally been scheduled, along with a trio of friendies; the upcoming calendar is after the jump.

06/02/2008 Macedonia v Serbia
24/05/2008 Republic of Ireland v Serbia
31/05/2008 Germany v Serbia

[WC Qualifiers]
06/09/2008 Serbia v Faroe Islands
10/09/2008 France v Serbia
11/10/2008 Serbia v Lithuania
15/10/2008 Austria v Serbia
28/03/2009 Romania v Serbia
06/06/2009 Serbia v Austria
10/06/2009 Faroe Islands v Serbia
09/09/2009 Serbia v France
10/10/2009 Serbia v Romania
14/10/2009 Lithuania v Serbia

[Thanks to Zine for the squad list with the clubs included, and Kayannie for the calendar info.]