Jankovic and Serbia going for gold

It has been a season to remember for Boško Janković. The 23-year-old attacking midfielder has enjoyed an excellent first term at RCD Mallorca, helped Serbia qualify for the UEFA European Under-21 Championship and made his debut for the senior side.

Determined
Now he is looking to crown a memorable campaign by leading Serbia to a title he has come close to clinching twice before. After losing in the final against Italy in 2004, and the semi-finals in Portugal last year as a Serbia and Montenegro player, Janković is determined to make it third time lucky in the Netherlands next month. "Maybe it's time to finish top, after playing in a final and semi-final," he told uefa.com. "I'm still delighted to play for the Under-21s and I really want to do something special.

'Great chance'
"We have a great chance to represent ourselves at the highest level. Of course, every player dreams of playing for the A team, which I'm a part of now, but I also feel the same for the junior sides. I'm ready and I can't wait for the start of June. I'm optimistic I will join up with the Under-21 squad after helping the senior team defeat Finland in our UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifier."

Confidence high
Janković kicked off the season playing for FK Crvena Zvezda against AC Milan in qualifying for the UEFA Champions League. He joined Mallorca at the end of August and has not looked back, scoring nine league goals in 25 appearances in his first term in the Primera División. He also netted in Serbia's astonishing play-off victory over Sweden, when Miroslav Djukić's team qualified despite losing the first leg 3-0, a result that ensures Serbia will travel to the Netherlands with confidence high.

'Strong group'
"We are in a very strong group with Italy, the Czech Republic and England. Who is the best? Who is the strongest? Who is our toughest opponent? Each team deserves our utmost respect and will get it, but we want success. We are confident and have the power to win great battles. It is too easy to say 'the trophy is our target', you must prove that on the pitch. We want to be No1 and we know what we have to do to achieve that."

'Quality'
Janković, who claimed two domestic doubles in four full campaigns with Crvena Zvezda, has become key to Serbian success. The Belgrade-born youngster says he has matured this season, and some of his younger colleagues will be leaning on that experience come kick off against Italy on 11 June. "I now know you must play the entire 90 minutes with absolute concentration and without making any mistakes," he said. "When I was younger there were times when I just enjoyed playing for the moment. We must breathe together, live like one and believe in success. We are capable and we will show our quality in June."