Serbian soccer head coach Miroslav Djukic said the team's fast-play and a crop of talented young players could be counted on to achieve Olympic triumph in Beijing.
"Our team may not be one of the best teams in possession of the ball, but our main characteristic is fast play and we also have good defense," Djukic told Xinhua.
"We don't have an exact objective and we'll see where we are. But our first aim will be to pass the group stage and we will do everything to achieve that," the 32-year-old former Serbian defender said.
The team just completed a goalless friendly with the Chinese Olympic squad. Two Serbian players who are playing for China's Super League club Shandong Luneng, namely Aleksandar Zivkovic and Miljan Mrdakovic were replaced in the second half to play for their home country.
The two, joined by Vladimir Stojkovic, formed the over-age trio of the team.
Serbia is still fresh with the old sore in Athens, where the team, then joined with Montenegro, left for home after three group stage defeats. Djukic believes the team's transformation isn't confined to the name.
"I'm confident it's a much better team now. The things in Athens won't happen again to us, although we have difficulties in preparation," he said.
The difficulty is because some of the clubs won't let go some promising young players of Serbia, such as Stefan Babovic currently playing for FC Nantes, who is touted Messi of Serbia.
"We are still waiting for FIFA decisions about our players wanting to come to us," Djukic said.
If Serbia's super heroes are ready to fight for the team, it would be a spectacular scene to see they play against a long list of mega stars of Argentina, which is in the same group joined by Cote d'Ivoire and Australia.
"Normally Argentina is a favorite for the competition. It's a good opportunity to fight the best team," Djukic said,betraying no fear for the reigning champions.
The Serbs will leave for Shanghai on Aug 2 and will have another tune-up match with a selection of players from different clubs in China.
(Xinhua News Agency July 30, 2008)