Serbia progress pleases coach
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Article summary
Serbia coach Aca Kovačević watched the first two defeats since his appointment but pronounced himself "satisfied" after the reverses in Italy.
Article body
Serbia coach Aca Kovačević watched the first two defeats since his appointment earlier this year but pronounced himself "satisfied" after the reverses in Italy.
Narrow defeats
In a close game on Tuesday, goals from Zoran Dimić, Dragan Djordjević and Predrag Rajić had Serbia at 3-3 with 90 seconds left before two late Italy strikes sealed the game. A day later the Azzurri led 2-0 at half-time and although Igor Šoša pulled one back, Serbia could not claim an equaliser in a tense finish.
Right course
Kovačević, who guided his nation to their first UEFA European Futsal Championship finals since Yugoslavia qualified in 1999, said: "I am very satisfied after this final test. We showed some real qualities in the games. Of course, when you train every three months weaknesses are also expected and we will eliminate them. I don't want to judge only on results. Our opponent were one of the strongest European teams and for most of the games there was nothing between the teams. We will continue with our work and believe we can cause more surprises." Serbia start their Group B campaign in Porto against Russia on 17 November before meeting holders Spain and Ukraine.
