It is widely believed that one of the reasons Serbia sacked former coach Slavoljub Muslin was because he refused to give game time to a young Sergej Milinkovic-Savic. If true, it will surely go down as one of the most bizarre reasons for a coach losing his job. That too, after topping a group that featured Wales and Republic of Ireland in the qualifiers, and booking a World Cup spot.
Remember, Serbia are not even a side that have made it a habit of reaching major tournaments. Muslin’s inexplicable exit came seven months before the World Cup began, and he justified leaving out the statuesque 23-year-old. “We qualified for the World Cup without him [Milinkovic-Savic], didn’t we? Also, Dusan Tadic, who played in his position, had four goals and eight assists. So, it made sense to play Tadic and Adem Ljajic in midfield.”
New coach Mladen Krstajic seems to have little trouble accommodating Serbia’s brightest young prospect, who has been destined for big things at an early age too. Not a side that boasts of dominating the youth circuit, Serbians won the 2013 U-19 Championship and the 2015 U-20 World Cup thanks to Milinkovic-Savic playing a stellar role in both the campaigns. He also finished as the third best player in 2015 edition before moving to Lazio.
On Sunday, he took to World Cup football like a duck to water. After an early spell of Costa Rica pressure, Serbia gradually took control at Saransk. Milinkovic-Savic played a major role, looking comfortable in possession, brushing aside his opponents and pinging the ball forward and to the flanks with purpose.