2014 WC QUAL UEFA GRP A - CRO - SER - BEL - SCO - MAC - WAL

maluyaca · Post by **maluyaca** » Wed Feb 15, 2012 16:51

Everybody who follows belgian football knows that Leekens is a defensive coach.

zender · Post by **zender** » Sat Mar 31, 2012 13:50

A 4-3-3 formation is hardly a "defensive formation" to keep it simple just check the last 3 games of the Belgian squad. Greece, France and Romenia.

I do admit that he loves his 'organisation" but I won't call him defensive. The lack of goals at the last recent games can't be pinned on him. The Belgian squad is great but they miss a striker that actually gets to play at his club.

zender · Post by **zender** » Sun May 13, 2012 13:39

Belgium is looking for a new coach after media reported that Bruges has contracted him for 3 seasons.

Who is still available...

VeliborVasovic · Post by **VeliborVasovic** » Mon May 14, 2012 11:53

zender wrote:Belgium is looking for a new coach after media reported that Bruges has contracted him for 3 seasons.

Who is still available...

Van Gaal.

zender · Post by **zender** » Fri May 18, 2012 09:39

VeliborVasovic wrote:
zender wrote:Belgium is looking for a new coach after media reported that Bruges has contracted him for 3 seasons.

Who is still available...
Van Gaal.

I don't think that the Belgian FA can afford him though.

NightfallSD · Post by **NightfallSD** » Mon May 28, 2012 14:35

After being suspended in Fiorentina Ljajic now managed to get himself thrown out of the national team. That kid is just brilliant.

agram · Post by **agram** » Tue May 29, 2012 08:06

he is suspended because he did not want to sing a national anthem of serbia

sinisa mihajlovic set a new rule-all NT players must sing national anthem before the international game, and ljajic refused to do so, because he is not ethnical serb

Lusankya · Post by **Lusankya** » Tue May 29, 2012 09:34

agram wrote:he is suspended because he did not want to sing a national anthem of serbia

sinisa mihajlovic set a new rule-all NT players must sing national anthem before the international game, and ljajic refused to do so, because he is not ethnical serb

Even as an ethnical Serb you should have the right to not sing the national anthem.

I would never do something the coach requires the players to do if I don't want to do it (and it is unrelated to football).

I want to add that I don't know the complete background of this story, so maybe there is more to this than just the refusal to sing the national anthem.

Lyonnais · Post by **Lyonnais** » Tue May 29, 2012 10:29

agram wrote:he is not ethnical serb

where does he come from?

he's still U21, why doesn't he change his "nationality"? or why did he accept to play for Serbia if he didn't feel Serbian?

ignjat63 · Post by **ignjat63** » Tue May 29, 2012 10:33

The truth is, Serbian national anthem speaks of Serbs only and not of, what these days could be termed as the citizens of Serbia. I suppose most national anthems are the same.

What really matters, though, is that Sinisa Mihajlovic has introduced some rules of behavior in the national team. From what I gathered from the news he has drawn some kind of contract that the players must sign when playing for the national team. Singing the anthem is part of that.

My personal, unimportant opinion, is that such rules undermine the players' dignity. It just shows Mihajlovic's narrow-mindedness. Plain stupidity, to put it bluntly. The players are not kindergarten babies.

On the other hand, it is not clear at all why Ljajic has changed his mind. He seems to have accepted the conditions and then rejected them. Not a very serious, dependable person.

ignjat63 · Post by **ignjat63** » Tue May 29, 2012 10:48

Lyonnais wrote:
agram wrote:he is not ethnical serb
where does he come from?

he's still U21, why doesn't he change his "nationality"? or why did he accept to play for Serbia if he didn't feel Serbian?

I'll try to explain as best as I can.

Ljajic is a Muslim. Where did the Muslims came from into this parts? Well, partly they were Turks (Ottoman Empire), partly Serbs and Croats who, in them days changed the religion and became Muslim. The important thing is, by changing religion they stopped being Serbs and Croats, and for a long time had not a distinct national identity. These days they call themselves Bosniaks (as opposed to Bosnians - all the people living in Bosnia).

You know the movie director Emir Kusturica? He was born into a Muslim Bosniak family in Bosnia. Because his ancestors were Serbs he felt compelled to change his religion and is now Orthodox Cristian. Not a very popular move among Bosniaks and he is now despised among them - considered some kind of traitor.

Lyonnais · Post by **Lyonnais** » Tue May 29, 2012 11:03

Thanks for the info. I'm sure that it's not as easy as that, but he could have chosen to play for Bosnia instead.

We also had this debate about singing or not the national anthem in France. In the 70s and 80s, none player was singing it and this didn't hurt anybody but under the pressure of some politicians in the right (right extreme), the issue was raised in the late 90s.
Players are required (advised) to sing it, but some of them don't do it (typically Benzema). I have not heard politicians complaining yet, but I guess that if the NT has some good results this summer and thus if there is more attention to the NT again, the issue will arise again I am afraid.

ignjat63 · Post by **ignjat63** » Tue May 29, 2012 11:21

I should clarify an important point. Bosniak means a Muslim regardless of where he lives - Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro (ex-YU space) etc. Ljajic is from Serbia.

Michael S Collins · Post by **Michael S Collins** » Tue May 29, 2012 12:55

I thought it was traditional to watch the camera pan over a group of men mumbling their anthem while one guy belts it out!

Lusankya · Post by **Lusankya** » Tue May 29, 2012 13:13

Michael S Collins wrote:I thought it was traditional to watch the camera pan over a group of men mumbling their anthem while one guy belts it out!

Personally I am used to this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4Ljs-WV ... age#t=416s