Montenegro national football team

Montenegro

Nickname(s)	Hrabri Sokoli ("The Brave Falcons")
Association	Football Association of Montenegro
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Zoran Filipović
Captain	Mirko Vučinić
Most caps	Vukašin Poleksić (20)
Top scorer	Mirko Vučinić (8)
Home stadium	Podgorica City Stadium, Podgorica
FIFA code	MNE
FIFA ranking	74
Highest FIFA ranking	73 (November 2009)
Lowest FIFA ranking	199 (June 2007)
Elo ranking	51
Home colours Away colours
First international
Montenegro 2–1 Hungary  (Podgorica, Montenegro; 24 March 2007)
Biggest win
Montenegro 3–0 Kazakhstan  (Podgorica, Montenegro; 27 May 2008)
Biggest defeat
Romania 4–0 Montenegro (Bucharest, Romania; 31 May 2008)

The Montenegro national football team represents Montenegro in international football and is controlled by the Football Association of Montenegro, the governing body for football in Montenegro.

Montenegro is one of the world's newest international sides, having come into existence following the 2006 FIFA World Cup. In that tournament, the newly independent states of Serbia and Montenegro competed as a united team and played their last group match on 21 June, failing to qualify for the following knockout stage.

The first official competition that the Montenegro national team competed in was the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying; they had not registered membership with FIFA in time for the qualifying draw for UEFA Euro 2008, which took place in December 2005. They competed in Group 8, along with Italy, Bulgaria, Ireland, Cyprus and Georgia. They failed to qualify for the World Cup.

Contents 1 Formation 2 First matches 3 Current squad 3.1 Recent call-ups 3.2 Current coaching staff 4 Player records 4.1 Most capped Montenegro players 4.2 Top Montenegro goalscorers 4.3 Montenegro captains 5 Montenegro managers 6 Competition statistics 7 Competition history 7.1 World Cup record 7.2 European Championship record 7.3 Minor tournaments 8 Recent results and fixtures 9 World Cup qualification 2010 10 Montenegro versus other countries 11 See also 12 References 13 External links

Formation

Following the independence of Montenegro from Serbia and Montenegro, Serbia took Serbia and Montenegro's place in the Euro 2008 qualifying stage, but UEFA had stated that they would be willing to include Montenegro as a late entry, as long as FIFA had ratified a separate Montenegrin Football Association before September 2006, when the qualifying began. However, as of the competition beginning, this had not occurred.^[1] In October 2006, Montenegro was granted provisional membership of UEFA, with a debate on full membership due at a full UEFA Congress in January 2007.^[2] Montenegro's first FIFA ranking was joint 199th place – the last place on the list. This is because they had a score of 0 when the rankings were worked out.

First matches

On 26 January 2007, the Montenegro FA was granted full membership of UEFA,^[3] and played its first friendly match against Hungary on 24 March 2007 at Stadion Pod Goricom in Podgorica, resulting in a 2–1 victory.^[4][5] On 31 May 2007, Montenegro was admitted as FIFA's 208th member.^[6]

Montenegro played at the 2007 Kirin Cup, but finished in last place behind Japan and Colombia, losing to both teams.

On 26 March 2008, Montenegro recorded one of its best played matches with a 3–1 win over Norway. At the same time, the nation recorded its highest scoring game.

Current squad

In international football, players are normally committed to play for a specific national team to the exclusion of all others once they play in all or part of any match recognised as a full international by FIFA. However, an exception is made in cases where one or more newly-independent states are created out of a former state. Based on current FIFA rules, a player will be eligible to play for Montenegro, even if he had previously represented Serbia and Montenegro or any other country, if at least one of the following statements about him is true:^[7]

• He was born in Montenegro.
• At least one of his parents and/or at least one of his grandparents was born in Montenegro.
• He has lived in Montenegro continuously for any two-year period.

Due to mixed ancestries, etc. it is probable that a large percentage of the players eligible to play for Montenegro will also remain eligible to play for Serbia, and vice versa. However, once they have played for either Serbia or Montenegro, they are no longer eligible to play for the other one.

Caps and goals are correct as of 19 November 2009.

No. Pos. Player DoB (Age) Caps Goals Club - GK Mladen Božović 1 August 1984 (1984-08-01) (age 25) 6 0 Partizan - GK Srđan Blažić 26 November 1982 (1982-11-26) (age 27) 1 0 Levadiakos - DF Miodrag Džudović 6 September 1979 (1979-09-06) (age 30) 6 1 Spartak Nalchik - DF Savo Pavićević 11 December 1980 (1980-12-11) (age 29) 18 0 Kavala - DF Luka Pejović 31 July 1985 (1985-07-31) (age 24) 16 0 Mogren - DF Radoslav Batak 15 August 1977 (1977-08-15) (age 32) 17 1 Antalyaspor - DF Milan Jovanović 21 July 1983 (1983-07-21) (age 26) 15 0 Rapid Wien - DF Elsad Zverotić 31 October 1986 (1986-10-31) (age 23) 13 0 Luzern - DF Ivan Fatić 2 August 1988 (1988-08-02) (age 21) 4 0 Genoa DF Nikola Vukčević 22 February 1984 (1984-02-22) (age 25) 1 0 Budućnost - MF Vladimir Božović 13 November 1981 (1981-11-13) (age 28) 17 0 Rapid Bucureşti - MF Mladen Kašćelan 13 February 1983 (1983-02-13) (age 26) 6 0 Karpaty Lviv - MF Simon Vukčević 29 January 1986 (1986-01-29) (age 23) 17 1 Sporting CP - MF Branko Bošković 21 June 1980 (1980-06-21) (age 29) 17 1 Rapid Wien - MF Milorad Peković 5 August 1977 (1977-08-05) (age 32) 14 0 Mainz - MF Ivan Vuković 20 September 1987 (1987-09-20) (age 22) 1 0 Budućnost - MF Nikola Drinčić 7 September 1984 (1984-09-07) (age 25) 18 1 Amkar Perm MF Nemanja Nikolić 31 December 1987 (1987-12-31) (age 21) 1 0 Red Star Belgrade - FW Mirko Vučinić 1 October 1983 (1983-10-01) (age 26) 15 8 Roma - FW Radomir Đalović 29 November 1982 (1982-11-29) (age 27) 11 4 Rijeka - FW Vladimir Gluščević 21 October 1979 (1979-10-21) (age 30) 1 0 Mogren

Recent call-ups

No. Pos. Player DoB (Age) Caps Goals Club GK Vukašin Poleksić 30 August 1982 (1982-08-30) (age 27) 20 0 Debrecen GK Darko Božović (v.  Norway) 9 August 1978 (1978-08-09) (age 31) 2 0 Partizan GK Ivan Janjušević (v.  Romania) 5 November 1986 (1986-11-05) (age 23) 1 0 Mogren DF Marko Baša 29 December 1982 (1982-12-29) (age 26) 6 0 Lokomotiv Moscow DF Draško Božović (v.  Wales) 30 June 1988 (1988-06-30) (age 21) 0 0 Mogren DF Vlado Jeknić (v.  Italy) 14 August 1983 (1983-08-14) (age 26) 5 0 Wehen Wiesbaden DF Risto Lakić (v.  Norway) 7 March 1983 (1983-03-07) (age 26) 7 0 Vojvodina DF Aleksandar Mikijelj (v.  Hungary) 5 February 1979 (1979-02-05) (age 30) 0 0 OFK Petrovac DF Dejan Ognjanović (v.  Georgia) 21 June 1978 (1978-06-21) (age 31) 4 0 ŁKS Łódź DF Janko Simović (v.  Cyprus) 2 April 1987 (1987-04-02) (age 22) 1 0 Mogren DF Jovan Tanasijević (v.  Cyprus) 20 January 1978 (1978-01-20) (age 31) 13 0 Dynamo Moscow MF Mitar Novaković 27 September 1981 (1981-09-27) (age 28) 10 0 Amkar Perm MF Igor Burzanović (v.  Italy) 25 August 1985 (1985-08-25) (age 24) 8 2 Nagoya Grampus MF Đorđije Ćetković (v.  Macedonia) 1 March 1983 (1983-03-01) (age 26) 3 0 Budućnost MF Ivan Delić (v.  Germany) 15 February 1986 (1986-02-15) (age 23) 1 0 Budućnost MF Rade Petrović (2007 Kirin Cup) 21 September 1982 (1982-09-21) (age 27) 1 0 Borac Čačak MF Mirko Raičević (2007 Kirin Cup) 22 March 1982 (1982-03-22) (age 27) 3 0 Chornomorets Odesa MF Janko Tumbasević (v.  Estonia) 14 January 1985 (1985-01-14) (age 24) 4 0 Vojvodina MF Neđeljko Vlahović (v.  Estonia) 15 January 1984 (1984-01-15) (age 25) 1 0 Kom MF Nikola Vujović (v.  Cyprus) 23 June 1981 (1981-06-23) (age 28) 6 0 Partizan MF Vladimir Vujović (v.  Cyprus) 23 July 1982 (1982-07-23) (age 27) 3 0 Mogren FW Stevan Jovetić 2 November 1989 (1989-11-02) (age 20) 13 6 Fiorentina FW Andrija Delibašić 24 April 1981 (1981-04-24) (age 28) 2 1 Hércules FW Dejan Damjanović 27 July 1981 (1981-07-27) (age 28) 6 2 FC Seoul FW Fatos Bećiraj (v.  Wales) 4 December 1988 (1988-12-04) (age 21) 3 0 Budućnost FW Dragan Bogavac (v.  Italy) 7 April 1980 (1980-04-07) (age 29) 7 0 Mainz FW Nikola Nikezić (v.  Estonia) 13 June 1981 (1981-06-13) (age 28) 1 0 Le Havre FW Milan Purović (v.  Romania) 5 July 1985 (1985-07-05) (age 24) 7 0 Fehérvár FW Srđan Radonjić (v.  Slovenia) 8 May 1981 (1981-05-08) (age 28) 3 0 Mogren FW Goran Vujović (v.  Cyprus) 3 May 1987 (1987-05-03) (age 22) 1 0 Fehérvár

Current coaching staff

• Head Coach: Zoran Filipović
• Assistant Coach: Branko Brnović
• Goalkeeping coach: Zoran Lemajić

Player records

Player/coach records are accurate as of 19 November 2009.

Most capped Montenegro players

#	Name	Career	Caps	Goals
1	Vukašin Poleksić [8]	2007–	20	0
2	Savo Pavićević [8]	2007–	18	0
=	Nikola Drinčić [8]	2007–	18	1
4	Vladimir Božović [8]	2007–	17	0
=	Radoslav Batak [8]	2007–	17	1
=	Branko Bošković [8]	2007–	17	1
=	Simon Vukčević [8]	2007–	17	1
8	Luka Pejović [8]	2007–	16	0
9	Mirko Vučinić [8]	2007–	15	8
=	Milan Jovanović [8]	2007–	15	0

Top Montenegro goalscorers

#	Player	Career	Goals (Caps)	Goals/Cap
1	Mirko Vučinić [8]	2007–	8 (15)	0.53
2	Stevan Jovetić [8]	2007–	6 (13)	0.46
3	Radomir Đalović [8]	2007–	4 (11)	0.36
4	Dejan Damjanović [8]	2008–	2 (6)	0.33
=	Igor Burzanović [8]	2007–	2 (8)	0.25
6	Andrija Delibašić [8]	2009–	1 (2)	0.50
=	Miodrag Džudović [8]	2008–	1 (6)	0.17
=	Simon Vukčević [8]	2007–	1 (17)	0.06
=	Branko Bošković [8]	2007–	1 (17)	0.06
=	Nikola Drinčić [8]	2007–	1 (18)	0.06

Montenegro captains

#	Player	Montenegro career	Captain (Total Caps)
1	Mirko Vučinić (present captain)	2007–	10 (14)

Montenegro managers

Manager	Montenegro career	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	GF[9]	GA[10]	Win %
Zoran Filipović	2007–	23	8	8	7	2	31	34.78%

Competition statistics

Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	GF[11]	GA[12]
23	8	8	7	28	31

Competition history

World Cup record

• 1930 to 1938 - Was part of Kingdom of Yugoslavia
• 1950 to 1990 - Was part of SFR Yugoslavia
• 1994 to 2002 - Was part of FR Yugoslavia
• 2006 - Was part of Serbia and Montenegro
• 2010 - Did not qualify

European Championship record

• 1960 to 1992 - Was part of SFR Yugoslavia
• 1996 to 2000 - Was part of FR Yugoslavia
• 2004 - Was part of Serbia and Montenegro
• 2008 - Did not enter, not UEFA members until January 2007; Serbia took Serbia and Montenegro's place in qualifying

Minor tournaments

Year	Round	Position	GP	W	D	L	GS	GA
2007 Kirin Cup	Group Stage	3rd	2	0	0	2	0	3

Recent results and fixtures

#	Date	City	Opponent	Results¹	Scorers	Attendance	Type of game
15	28 March	Podgorica	Italy	0–2 (0–1)	Pirlo  11', Pazzini  73'	12,500	WC quali.
16	1 April	Tbilisi	Georgia	0–0 (0–0)		16,000	WC quali.
17	6 June	Nicosia	Cyprus	2–2 (0–2)	Makrides  14', Michael  45' (pen.), Damjanović  65', Damjanović  79'	4,500	WC quali.
18	12 August	Podgorica	Wales	2–1 (2–0)	Jovetić  28' (pen), Đalović  45', Vokes  52'	5,000	Friendly
19	5 September	Sofia	Bulgaria	1–4 (1–1)	Jovetić  8', Kishishev  45+2', Telkiyski  48', Berbatov  85' (pen.), Domovchiyski  90+1'	9,000	WC quali.
20	9 September	Podgorica	Cyprus	1–1 (0–0)	Vučinić  56' (pen.), Okkas  63'	4,000	WC quali.
21	10 October	Podgorica	Georgia	2–1 (1–1)	Batak  13', Dvalishvili  45', Delibašić  78'	7,000	WC quali.
22	14 October	Dublin	Republic of Ireland	0–0 (0–0)		60,000	WC quali.
23	18 November	Podgorica	Belarus	1–0 (0–0)	Vučinić  80'	5,000	Friendly

¹ Results from Montenegrin view

World Cup qualification 2010

Team v • d • e Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  Italy 10 7 3 0 18 7 +11 24  Republic of Ireland 10 4 6 0 12 8 +4 18  Bulgaria 10 3 5 2 17 13 +4 14  Cyprus 10 2 3 5 14 16 −2 9  Montenegro 10 1 6 3 9 14 −5 9  Georgia 10 0 3 7 7 19 −12 3

Bulgaria  – 2 – 0 6 – 2 0 – 0 4 – 1 1 – 1 Cyprus  4 – 1 – 2 – 1 1 – 2 2 – 2 1 – 2 Georgia  0 – 0 1 – 1 – 0 – 2 0 – 0 1 – 2 Italy  2 – 0 3 – 2 2 – 0 – 2 – 1 1 – 1 Montenegro  2 – 2 1 – 1 2 – 1 0 – 2 – 0 – 0 Republic of Ireland  1 – 1 1 – 0 2 – 1 2 – 2 0 – 0 –

Montenegro versus other countries

Against	Wins	Draws	Losses	Goal difference	Total
Belarus	1	0	0	1:0	1
Bulgaria	0	1	1	3:6	2
Colombia	0	0	1	0:1	1
Cyprus	0	2	0	3:3	2
Estonia	1	0	0	1:0	1
Georgia	1	1	0	2:1	2
Hungary	1	1	0	5:4	2
Republic of Ireland	0	2	0	0:0	1
Italy	0	0	2	1:4	2
Japan	0	0	1	0:2	1
Kazakhstan	1	0	0	3:0	1
Macedonia	1	0	0	2:1	1
Norway	1	0	0	3:1	1
Romania	0	0	1	0:4	1
Slovenia	0	1	0	1:1	1
Sweden	0	0	1	1:2	1
Wales	1	0	0	2:1	1

See also

• Sport in Montenegro
• Football in Montenegro

References

External links

• Football Association of Montenegro (Montenegrin)
• FIFA.com (Montenegro) (English)
• UEFA.com (Montenegro) (English)
• List of players (English)

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