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FC Barcelona and Spanish U-21 national team striker Bojan Krkic, widely believed to be the biggest up-and-coming superstar in world football, has apparently chosen to play for Spain rather than Serbia at the senior level, Serbian news agency B92 reported in its sports section today.
The 17 year-old sensation was born in Spain to a Catalan mother and a Serbian father, also a footballer who played for Red Star Belgrade in the 1980s. The young Krkic, who is often referred to simply as Bojan in Spanish, joined Barcelona at the youth level in 1999 and broke all previous scoring records with a whopping 961 goals in seven years. He then briefly played on Barcelona's B-squad before being promoted to the senior side, where he has often seen action as a substitute upfront.
Krkic also scored 16 goals in 20 games for the Spanish U-17 national side, and has recently debuted for the Iberians at the U-21 level. Nonetheless, the Serbian FA held out hope that he would choose his father's native land at the senior level. According to FIFA rules, players may initially play for one national youth side, but choose a different side for senior play. Once a player has earned a cap for a given senior team, he or she may not change sides again unless the country in question disintegrates.
The Serbian FA and its fans were hoping that Krkic would choose the path of Zdravko Kuzmanovic, the Fiorentina midfielder who was a star for Switzerland at the U-21 level, only to choose his native Serbia when it came to senior play. But there was no such luck with Krkic, who barely speaks a word of Serbian and considers himself Spanish.
Now that the facts are out, let's be honest for a moment. Every Serbian national team fan who is in touch with the happenings of world football was secretly hoping that Krkic would choose Serbia, and form a potentially lethal striking tandem with Valencia big man Nikola Zigic, the current centerpiece of the Serbian team. But there were many more reasons to hope that Krkic would choose Serbia. The Serbian U-21 side has appeared in two of the last three European Championship finals, meaning Krkic would join an up-and-coming generation with proven potential. He could have transformed Serbia from an average, middle-class team to a potential dark horse in major tournaments. And most importantly, he could have brought Serbia back onto the map of respected nations in world soccer, something that has not been the case since the 1998 World Cup in France. With his youth and versatility, Krkic would have been a long term investment - and ticket seller - for the Serbian FA.
Krkic initially stated that he would wait until his 18th birthday to make an official announcement regarding his national team of choice, creating a panicked media frenzy in Spain, which is already known for the lack of confidence surrounding its national team. But now that the bad news is out, Serbia must accept its position and move on. There is a talented generation of young players available for selection, even without Krkic in the picture. Players such as Kuzmanovic, Branislav Ivanovic, Milos Krasic, Bosko Jankovic, Danko Lazovic and others have made their senior team debut and could contribute big on the side if managed properly. Given Serbia's recent success at the U-21 level, it is also worthwhile to keep a close eye on its youth and Olympic teams over the next few years. While Serbia won't produce a home-grown Bojan Krkic overnight, it could very well build a team that makes some serious noise at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
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Odds and Ends: Bojan Krkic Chooses Spain
Tuesday, November 20, 2007, 11:33 AM EST
[Odds and Ends]
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Bringing Serbia to the Rest of the World
Tuesday, November 20, 2007, 09:34 AM EST
[Soccer]
Welcome to Soccer Serbia, your source for all news related to the nation we call home, Serbia (Srbija). My name is Carlos and along with my friend Ross, we will be here to write about all things related to Serbia and Serbian Soccer. No topic will be out of bounds and with our own varying opinions on issues, you are sure to see some contrasting thoughts on how the game is and should be played in our native land. Since there are not a lot of credible English-language sources on soccer from the Balkans, we hope that we will be able to educate the rest of the world about our once great soccer-powerful nation.
While former Eastern European nations like The Czech Republic and Russia have been able to bounce back from the fall of Communism, Serbia with all the problems it has faced over the past 15 years is still far behind and while the future seems bright, it is still a long journey. On our blog, we will be focusing on a few major topics National Team News : We'll discuss various topics in this regard. From our views of recent and upcoming matches to team selection. We will try to shed light on all aspects of National Teams, from the Senior squad, to our youth teams and even our Futsal (when applicable). Here you are bound to see contrasting views between myself and Ross. Also, during matches, we will try to give our views by the minute and we will have post-match wrap ups. Domestic News : Prior to the break-up of Yugoslavia, the Balkans was very rich in soccer quality both domestically and in Europe. Here we will keep you up to date on the weekend's fixtures in the Meridian Super Liga (Serbia's First Division) and the Prva Liga (our 2nd Division). Here you can read about new hirings and/or firings and rumors of player transfers within the teams that play in Serbia. UEFA Competitions : While Serbian clubs have not had much success in recent years in Europe, we still compete with a lot of determination and most Western European clubs like to avoid having to travel to Serbia to play. When a Serbian club is in action in Europe, be sure to stay tuned to see what we have to say. Odds and Ends : The last topic will be everything else in between. From financial news, stadium updates to anything related to the sport in the country and Europe, we will mention. This section will also allow us to voice our own opinions on certain subjects (The Balkan League, Champions League Future, etc...) This is where our creative juices will flow and I am positive that what we have to say will be enlightening. We will also talk about things that might not be directly related to Serbia. We love the sport, so if something interests us, we'll be sure to talk about it. So there you have it, a brief overview of what to expect from us. There will always be something to talk about so be sure to stay tuned. Also, we love to hear from other soccer fans, so please be sure to leave comments on our blog and if you enjoy what you're reading, please tell your friends. Tags:
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