Montenegro national football team
| Shirt badge/Association crest | |||
| Nickname(s) | Hrabri sokoli ("The Brave Falcons") | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Association | Football Association of Montenegro | ||
| Confederation | UEFA (Europe) | ||
| Head coach |  Branko Brnović | ||
| Captain | Mirko Vučinić | ||
| Most caps | Simon Vukčević Milorad Peković (26) | ||
| Top scorer | Mirko Vučinić (11) | ||
| Home stadium | Podgorica City Stadium, Podgorica | ||
| FIFA code | MNE | ||
| |||
| FIFA ranking | |||
| Current | 26 | ||
| Highest | 16 (June 2011) | ||
| Lowest | 199 (June 2007) | ||
| First international | |||
Montenegro 2–1 Hungary  (Podgorica, Montenegro; 24 March 2007) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
Montenegro 3–0 Kazakhstan  (Podgorica, Montenegro; 27 May 2008) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
 Romania 4–0 Montenegro (Bucharest, Romania; 31 May 2008) | |||
The Montenegro national football team (Template:Lang-cg) represents Montenegro in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of Montenegro, the governing body for football in Montenegro. Montenegro's home ground is Podgorica City Stadium in Podgorica and their head coach is Branko Brnović.
Montenegro is the world's newest international side, having come into existence following the 2006 FIFA World Cup. In that tournament, the newly independent states of Serbia and Montenegro competed as a united team and played their last group match on 21 June, failing to qualify for the following knockout stage.
The first official competition that the Montenegro national team competed in was the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying; they had not registered membership with FIFA in time for the qualifying draw for UEFA Euro 2008, which took place in December 2005. They competed in Group 8, along with Italy, Bulgaria, Ireland, Cyprus and Georgia. They failed to qualify for the World Cup. The team's Euro 2012 qualifying campaign began in surprising fashion, with victories over Wales, Bulgaria and Switzerland, as well as a draw with England, conceding no goals in the process. While they started the qualifying as the lowest ranked team in their group, their run saw them rise into the top 16 best national teams in the world, according to the FIFA World Rankings published in June 2011.
Formation
Following the independence of Montenegro from Serbia and Montenegro, Serbia took Serbia and Montenegro's place in the Euro 2008 qualifying stage, but UEFA had stated that they would be willing to include Montenegro as a late entry, as long as FIFA had ratified a separate Montenegrin Football Association before September 2006, when the qualifying began. However, as of the competition beginning, this had not occurred.[1] In October 2006, Montenegro was granted provisional membership of UEFA, with a debate on full membership due at a full UEFA Congress in January 2007.[2] Montenegro's first FIFA ranking was joint 199th place – the last place on the list. This is because they had a score of 0 when the rankings were worked out.
First matches
On 26 January 2007, the Montenegro FA was granted full membership of UEFA,[3] and played its first friendly match against Hungary on 24 March 2007 at Stadion Pod Goricom in Podgorica, resulting in a 2–1 victory.[4][5] On 31 May 2007, Montenegro was admitted as FIFA's 208th member.[6]
The coach who made history by becoming Montenegro's first coach was Serbian Montenegro-born Zoran Filipović. Hailed by both players and press, his record rather positive – 23 matches played, 8 victories, 8 draws and 7 defeats. Zoran Filipović left the Balkan newcomers in January 2010 when his contract expired in 73rd position in the FIFA rankings, having started from the last position with no points.
Montenegro played at the 2007 Kirin Cup, but finished in last place behind Japan and Colombia, losing to both teams.
On 26 March 2008, Montenegro recorded one of its best played matches with a 3–1 win over Norway. At the same time, the nation recorded its highest scoring game.
First Competitive Match
On 6 September 2008, Montenegro played its first ever World Cup qualifier. It was at the Podgorica City Stadium in Podgorica. As expected, Bulgaria took an early lead in the 11th minute with a goal from Stiliyan Petrov. Mirko Vučinić scored in the 61st minute to make the game 1–1. Stevan Jovetić took a penalty and made it 2–1 in the 82nd minute. As Montenegrin fans were about to celebrate a historical first competitive win, a last-minute equalizer from Blagoy Georgiev spoiled the party. In their next match on 10 September 2008, they achieved another notable result when they held The Republic of Ireland to a 0–0 draw. Another near upset came in a narrow 2–1 loss against Italy. Despite Alberto Aquilani's early strike, Vucinic quickly equalized 11 minutes later. Aquilani then scored again 10 minutes later. However, their second match against Italy in the two-game series ended 2–0 in favor of the World champions. And another disappointment came when the team could only draw 0–0 against Georgia and went on to draw 2–2 against Cyprus, having fought back after being 2 goals down. The fixture on 5 September 2009 was a shock when, after taking an early lead against Bulgaria in Sofia with Jovetic putting them 1–0 up, Bulgaria then scored 4 goals to win 4–1. Montenegro, now eliminated, drew their next game with Cyprus 1–1, who were also eliminated. Montenegro would finally register their first competitive win against Georgia, winning 2–1. They then managed a great performance to hold The Republic of Ireland to a 0–0 draw at Croke Park. They finished 5th in the group with 9 points, just below Cyprus due to GD. Though they failed to qualify for the World Cup, Montenegro had performed better than expected in their first competitive international matches. The next month, they reached one of their highest positions in the FIFA rankings, in 73rd place.
UEFA Euro 2012
During the UEFA Euro 2012 qualification, the team has recorded further victories. The team defeated Wales in Podgorica in a match attended by 9,000 fans. The team won 1–0 from a goal by Vucinic. A few days later, the team defeated Bulgaria in Sofia 1–0. The next month, the team defeated Switzerland 1–0 by taking the lead in the 2nd half and then recorded a 0–0 draw in London against England. On June 4, 2011, Montenegro played against Bulgaria. Switzerland tied with England 2–2, with England narrowly avoiding defeat. Although Montenegro had a bright start, the Bulgarians were able to keep it 0–0. Radomir Đalović scored for Montenegro early in the 2nd half, but Ivelin Popov scored minutes later, keeping Montenegro in second. Montenegro and England are currently tied on points, but due to a larger goal difference, England are ahead.
After that, Montenegro played against Wales in Cardiff. Montenegro were beaten 2-1, and appeared to have significantly damaged their chances of making the play-offs.In that match, Steve Morison and Aaron Ramsey scored for Wales,and Stevan Jovetic for Montenegro. After this match, Montenegro was still 2nd in the group G, but Switzerland has closed the gap to omly three points. On 7th October, Montenegro played its 7th match in UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying against England, in Podgorica. It was a rainy October night, but a very bright one for Montenegro. England started the match well, and led 2-0 in the 31st minute,thanks to goals by Ashley Young and Darren Bent. A deflected volley by Elsad Zverotic in the 45th minute reduced the deficit to 2-1. Montenegro were much brighter in the second half, creating a lot of chances. Their cause was greatly helped by the dismissal of Wayne Rooney on 73 minutes, for kicking out at Miodrag Dzudovic. Montenegro equalised in stoppage time when a cross from Stefan Savic was headed in at the far post by Andrija Delibasic. The Montenegrins celebrated wildly, knowing following an announcement on the public address system that Wales were beating Switzerland 2-0, and thus that a point would be sufficient to guarantee second place in the group and a place in the play-offs. The game ended 2-2, whilst Wales won 2-0, securing a play-off position for Montenegro, a historic achievement putting the team two matches away from qualifying for Euro 2012. In their last match in Euro 2012 qualifying, Montenegro has lost 2:0 to Switzerland in Basel. But,this match had no result matter, because Montenegro have already secured their place in the play-offs. Montenegro has played without 7 players who are standard in that match.
On 13th of October, the draw for the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying play-offs has been held in Krakow,Poland. As a result of this draw, Montenegto will play against Czech Republic. The first match will be in Prague, and the rematch in Podgorica.
Team Image
Name
Under the official FIFA Trigramme the team’s name is abbreviated as MNE, which is also the country's code. The team's nickname is "The Brave Falcons" (Montenegrin: Hrabri Sokoli).
Training
The Montenegrin national team trains at the Football Association of Montenegro Training Camp located in the Podgorica neighborhood of Stari Aerodrom.
Kit
The team strip is currently sponsored by Italian company Legea. It is red and gold to reflect the colours of the Montenegrin national flag.
Supporters
At competitive matches Montenegrin homeground, Podgorica City Stadium, is very often filled to capacity. The stadium is regarded as too small to meet the needs of the national team. Demand for World Cup qualifier against Italy in 2009 was 30,000 tickets and 40,000 for the Euro 2012 qualifying match against England in 2011.
Montenegrin loudest and most loyal supporters are Ultra Crna Gora (Ultra Montenegro). They practice ultras way of support - standing up and 90 minutes singing, no matter the result. They occupy north and south stand of Podgorica City Stadium. Choreographies are usual at the beggining of the games. Ultra Crna Gora consists of many subgroups, mostly named after Podgorica's neibourhoods and Montenegrin towns in other parts of the country.
Current squad
In international football, players can normally only play for one national team once they play in all or part of any match recognised as a full international by FIFA. However, an exception is made in cases where one or more newly-independent states are created out of a former state. Based on current FIFA rules, a player will be eligible to play for Montenegro, even if he had previously represented Serbia and Montenegro or any other country, if at least one of the following statements applies:[7]
- He was born in Montenegro.
- At least one of his parents and/or at least one of his grandparents was born in Montenegro.
- He has lived in Montenegro continuously for any two-year period.
Due to mixed ancestries, it is likely that a high percentage of the players eligible to play for Montenegro will also remain eligible to play for Serbia, and vice versa. However, once they have played for either Serbia or Montenegro in any competitive fixture, they are no longer eligible to play for any other nation.
The following squad played for the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifier against England and Switzerland.
Caps and goals as of 2 September 2011.
Recent callups
Current coaching staff
- Head Coach: Branko Brnović
- Assistant Coach: Savo Milošević
- Goalkeeping coach: Zoran Lemajić
Managers
| Manager | Career | Played | Won | Draw | Lost | GF | GA | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zoran Filipović
|
2007-2009 | 23 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 28 | 31 | 34.78% |
 Zlatko Kranjčar
|
2010-2011 | 13 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 14 | 11 | 57.15% |
| Branko Brnović
|
2011– | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0% |
Coaching staff
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Head Coach | Branko Brnović
|
| Assistant Coach |  Savo Milošević
|
| Assistant Coach |  Alireza Marzban
|
| Goalkeeping Coach | Zoran Lemajić
|
Player records
Player/coach records are accurate as of 11 August 2010.
Most capped Montenegro players
| # | Name | Career | Caps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Simon Vukčević[8] | 2007–present | 26 | 1 |
| 2 | Savo Pavićević[8] | 2007–present | 24 | 0 |
| 2 | Milan Jovanović[8] | 2007–present | 24 | 0 |
| 4 | Branko Bošković[8] | 2007–present | 22 | 2 |
| 4 | Milorad Peković[8] | 2007–present | 22 | 0 |
| 4 | Vukašin Poleksić[8] | 2007–present | 22 | 0 |
| 4 | Mirko Vučinić[8] | 2007–present | 22 | 11 |
| 4 | Vladimir Božović[8] | 2007–present | 22 | 0 |
| 9 | Radoslav Batak[8] | 2007–present | 21 | 1 |
| 10 | Luka Pejović[8] | 2007–present | 20 | 1 |
| 11 | Nikola Drinčić[8] | 2007–present | 19 | 1 |
Top Montenegro goalscorers
| # | Player | Career | Goals (Caps) | Goals/Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mirko Vučinić[8] | 2007–present | 11 (22) | 0.50 |
| 2 | Radomir Đalović[8] | 2007–present | 7 (21) | 0.33 |
| 3 | Stevan Jovetić[8] | 2007–present | 6 (13) | 0.46 |
| 4 | Dejan Damjanović[8] | 2008–present | 2 (8) | 0.25 |
| 4 | Igor Burzanović[8] | 2007–present | 2 (8) | 0.25 |
Montenegro captains
| # | Player | Montenegro career | Captain (Total Caps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mirko Vučinić (present captain) | 2007–present | 16 (19) |
Competition statistics
| Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | GF[9] | GA[10] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 34 | 14 | 10 | 10 | 39 | 37 |
Competition history
The only first major event for which Montenegro's team attempted qualification was the 2010 FIFA World Cup, but they finished 5th out of 6 teams in their group, and did not qualify for the finals.
Minor tournaments
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | D | L | GS | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 2007 Kirin Cup |
Group Stage | 3rd | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
Recent results and fixtures
| # | Date | City | Opponent | Results¹ | Scorers | Attendance | Type of game |
| 15 | 28 March 2009 | Podgorica |  Italy
|
0–2 (0–1) | Pirlo  11', Pazzini 73'
|
12,500 | WC quali. |
| 16 | 1 April 2009 | Tbilisi |  Georgia
|
0–0 (0–0) | 16,000 | WC quali. | |
| 17 | 6 June 2009 | Larnaca |  Cyprus
|
2–2 (0–2) | Makrides 14', Michael 45' (pen.), Damjanović 65', Damjanović 79'
|
4,500 | WC quali. |
| 18 | 12 August 2009 | Podgorica |  Wales
|
2–1 (2–0) | Jovetić 28' (pen.), Đalović 45', Vokes 52'
|
5,000 | Friendly |
| 19 | 5 September 2009 | Sofia |  Bulgaria
|
1–4 (1–1) | Jovetić 8', Kishishev 45+2', Telkiyski 48', Berbatov 85' (pen.), Domovchiyski 90+1'
|
9,000 | WC quali. |
| 20 | 9 September 2009 | Podgorica | Cyprus
|
1–1 (0–0) | Vučinić 56' (pen.), Okkas 63'
|
6,000 | WC quali. |
| 21 | 10 October 2009 | Podgorica | Georgia
|
2–1 (1–1) | Batak 13', Dvalishvili 45', Delibašić 78'
|
7,000 | WC quali. |
| 22 | 14 October 2009 | Dublin |  Republic of Ireland
|
0–0 (0–0) | 36,442 | WC quali. | |
| 23 | 18 November 2009 | Podgorica |  Belarus
|
1–0 (0–0) | Vučinić 80'
|
5,000 | Friendly |
| 24 | 3 March 2010 | Skopje |  Macedonia
|
1–2 (0–2) | Naumoski 27', Pandev 30', Baša 62'
|
7,000 | Friendly |
| 25 | 25 May 2010 | Podgorica |  Albania
|
0–1 (0–0) | Salihi 79'
|
7,000 | Friendly |
| 26 | 29 May 2010 | Oslo |  Norway
|
1–2 (0–1) | Grindheim 44', Vučinić 82', Pedersen 89'
|
13,132 | Friendly |
| 27 | 11 August 2010 | Podgorica |  Northern Ireland
|
2–0 (1–0) | Đalović 43', Đalović 59'
|
5,000 | Friendly |
| 28 | 3 September 2010 | Podgorica | Wales
|
1–0 (1–0) | Vučinić 30'
|
10,500 | Euro 2012 Q |
| 29 | 7 September 2010 | Sofia | Bulgaria
|
1–0 (1–0) | Zverotić 35'
|
10,000 | Euro 2012 Q |
| 30 | 8 October 2010 | Podgorica |  Switzerland
|
1–0 (0–0) | Vučinić 67'
|
12,700 | Euro 2012 Q |
| 31 | 12 October 2010 | London |  England
|
0–0 (0–0) | 73,451 | Euro 2012 Q | |
| 32 | 17 November 2010 | Podgorica |  Azerbaijan
|
2–0 (0–0) | Pejović 62', Bećiraj 73'
|
5,000 | Friendly |
| 33 | 25 March 2011 | Podgorica |  Uzbekistan
|
1–0 (0–0) | Vukčević 90'
|
7,000 | Friendly |
| 34 | 4 June 2011 | Podgorica | Bulgaria
|
1–1 (0–0) | Đalović 53', Popov 66'
|
12,500 | Euro 2012 Q |
| 35 | 10 August 2011 | Shkodër | Albania
|
2–3 (1–1) | Bogdani 33' Savić 40' Savić 47' Hyka 64' Salihi 69'
|
– | Friendly |
| 36 | 2 September 2011 | Cardiff | Wales
|
1–2 (0–1) | Morison 29' Ramsey 50' Jovetić 71'
|
Euro 2012 Q | |
| 37 | 7 October | Podgorica | England
|
2–2 (1–2) | Young 11' Bent 31' Zverotić 45' Delibašić 90+1'
|
12,700 | Euro 2012 Q |
| 38 | 11 October | Basel | Switzerland
|
0-2 (0-0) | Derdiyok 51' Lichtsteiner 65'
|
Euro 2012 Q | |
| 39 | 11 November | Prague |  Czech Republic
|
Euro 2012 play-off match 1 | |||
| 40 | 15 November | Podgorica | Czech Republic
|
UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying play-offs Euro 2012 play-off match 2 |
¹ Results from Montenegrin view
UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
Template:UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying Group G
Montenegro versus other countries
| Against | Wins | Draws | Losses | Goal difference | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albania |
0 | 0 | 2 | 2:4 | 2 |
| Azerbaijan |
1 | 0 | 0 | 2:0 | 1 |
| Belarus |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1:0 | 1 |
| Bulgaria |
1 | 2 | 1 | 5:7 | 4 |
 Colombia |
0 | 0 | 1 | 0:1 | 1 |
| Cyprus |
0 | 2 | 0 | 3:3 | 2 |
| England |
0 | 2 | 0 | 2:2 | 2 |
 Estonia |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1:0 | 1 |
| Georgia |
1 | 1 | 0 | 2:1 | 2 |
| Hungary |
1 | 1 | 0 | 5:4 | 2 |
| Republic of Ireland |
0 | 2 | 0 | 0:0 | 2 |
| Italy |
0 | 0 | 2 | 1:4 | 2 |
| Japan |
0 | 0 | 1 | 0:2 | 1 |
| Kazakhstan |
1 | 0 | 0 | 3:0 | 1 |
| North Macedonia |
1 | 0 | 1 | 3:3 | 2 |
| Northern Ireland |
1 | 0 | 0 | 2:0 | 1 |
| Norway |
1 | 0 | 1 | 4:3 | 2 |
| Romania |
0 | 0 | 1 | 0:4 | 1 |
 Slovenia |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1:1 | 1 |
 Sweden |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1:2 | 1 |
| Switzerland |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1:0 | 1 |
| Uzbekistan |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1:0 | 1 |
| Wales |
2 | 0 | 1 | 4:3 | 3 |
See also
References
- ^ "Serbia to take spot in Euro 2008". BBC Sport. 23 May 2006. Retrieved 11 April 2007.
- ^ Mark Chaplin (2006). "No decision yet on Gibraltar". UEFA.com. Archived from the original on 28 November 2006. Retrieved 11 April 2007.
- ^ Simon Hart (2007). "UEFA to consider 24-team EURO". UEFA.com. Archived from the original on 19 February 2007. Retrieved 11 April 2007.
- ^ "Soccer-Montenegro beat Hungary 2–1 in international debut". Reuters.co.uk. 24 March 2007. Retrieved 11 April 2007.
- ^ "Montenegro take a bow with victory". UEFA.com. 2007. Archived from the original on 4 June 2007. Retrieved 11 April 2007.
- ^ "Blatter's third term confirmed". FIFA.com. 2007. Retrieved 17 October 2007.
- ^ http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/affederation/administration/status%5ftransfer%5fen%5f25.pdf
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Still available for selection
- ^ Goals for / scored
- ^ Goals against / conceded
External links
- Football Association of Montenegro (Montenegrin)
- FIFA.com (Montenegro) Template:En icon
- UEFA.com (Montenegro) Template:En icon
- List of players Template:En icon
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