Bisevac relishes role of cheerleader

As well as proving an inspiration for Serbia and Montenegro on the pitch, Milan Biševac has also been doing his best to rouse spirits off it.

Deserved applause
With the Serbo-Montenegrins having qualified for the semi-finals with just three points following two defeats, there was silence on the team bus as they made their way back to their base in Azurara following the second of those losses against France on Sunday. The downbeat atmosphere continued as the squad gathered for dinner, at which point Biševac stood and said: "What's going on here? We've qualified for the semi-finals of a major tournament and should be proud of what we've achieved. I applaud all of you." The defender's rallying call had the desired result as the team rose as one and joined him in clapping loudly. The demons had been slayed.

Day of relaxation
The players who appeared in the 2-0 defeat by Group A winners France spent yesterday relaxing and recuperating. Following a light lunch the players gathered to watch a re-run of the France match. Coach Dragomir Okuka said: "After watching the game again I'm not as disappointed as I was right after the game. We created some chances which is difficult against a quality France team. Obviously they outplayed us but I'm more optimistic than I was immediately after that match."

'Star names'
Okuka will not make wholesale changes to his starting lineup for the semi-final against Ukraine on Thursday. "We seem to find it easy to criticise the players without giving them any credit," he said. "After all we're in the semi-finals of a European Championship which is a tremendous achievement. My biggest concern is that some of our star names have not played at the level they can during the group games."

Injury worries
Serbia and Montenegro were due to have a light training session under floodlights in Barcelos today, possibly without Djordje Rakić who is yet to appear in Portugal and who spent yesterday running but without doing any ball work. Okuka said: "We've had so many problems with forward players: our captain Danko Lazović was suspended for the tournament, Ivan Todorović and Mirko Vučinić have picked up injuries here and we have concerns over Rakić. Milan Purović is our only forward at the moment."