Mladen Krstajić
Mladen Krstajić has an interesting story of how he was appointed manager of Serbia. For years many had said that the Serbian team was one that never reached its full potential. The solution? Appoint Slavoljub Muslin head coach. And what did Muslin do? He booked Serbia’s tickets to the 2018 World Cup. And how was he repaid? He was sacked in October over differences with the Serbian FA’s president. After months of being unable to find a replacement, Muslin’s assistant, Mladen Krstajić was appointed manager. The Bosnia-Herzegovina native had a tenure player career as a center back, playing for notable teams such as Werder Bremen and Schalke 04 in the Bundesliga. Capped 499 times, including 59 appearances for the Serbian national team, he was even a part of the “famous four,” the Serbian defense that only conceded ONE goal in 2006 WC qualifiers. But as a manager he remains almost completely untested. He was a coach for the Serbian team for one year before becoming manager in January. The 44-year-old has been told he will be manager until the end of the World Cup, after that … remains to be seen.
Works Cited
“Football: Serbia Appoint Mladen Krstajic As World Cup Coach”. The Straits Times, 2017, https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/football/football-serbia-appoint-mladen-krstajic-as-world-cup-coach. Accessed 22 Apr 2018.
Marković, Miloš. “Mladen Krstajić – A Born Leader Aiming To Earn His Stripes – Futbolgrad”. Futbolgrad, 2018, http://futbolgrad.com/mladen-krstajic-serbia-coach/. Accessed 22 Apr 2018.
“Mladen Krstajić”. En.Wikipedia.Org, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mladen_Krstaji%C4%87. Accessed 22 Apr 2018.
