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@Dean this should really be moved to a thread of its own in the other football section. Myself I can remember Yugoslavia being technically gifted but I never really saw them as winners, a team very much on par with England. I do remember a very good Red Star team rip Liverpool apart at Anfield in the early 70s, a result that forced a  change of thinking in their hierarchy. I do wonder though given how Yugoslavia came apart ,were there always differing factions within the team that would stop Yugoslavia competing on a united front?

 
Dean said:
Yes I’m sure you’re right about goalkeeper/right back, I just couldn’t think of any. Squad depth indeed - players like Boksic and Stojkovic on the bench ?. Where are you from?
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Did you know we had a Yugoslavian International many years ago. Peter Borata played 4 or 5 games I think, we signed him from Partizan. He was nuts by the way, loved trying to take on attacking players, dribbling round them...

 
dkw said:
Did you know we had a Yugoslavian International many years ago. Peter Borata played 4 or 5 games I think, we signed him from Partizan. He was nuts by the way, loved trying to take on attacking players, dribbling round them...
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Borota played a lot more than 4 or 5 games, he was our first choice keeper for a while played over 100 times I think 

 
dkw said:
Did you know we had a Yugoslavian International many years ago. Peter Borata played 4 or 5 games I think, we signed him from Partizan. He was nuts by the way, loved trying to take on attacking players, dribbling round them...
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You know I didn’t actually know this. Thanks! The yugo-colombian school of goalkeeping?

 
charierre said:
@Dean this should really be moved to a thread of its own in the other football section. Myself I can remember Yugoslavia being technically gifted but I never really saw them as winners, a team very much on par with England. I do remember a very good Red Star team rip Liverpool apart at Anfield in the early 70s, a result that forced a  change of thinking in their hierarchy. I do wonder though given how Yugoslavia came apart ,were there always differing factions within the team that would stop Yugoslavia competing on a united front?
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You’re right it’s not the place for it but not sure if it’s really worth a separate thread. So I’ll answer here. You’re absolutely right they tended to have a self-destructive streak. There were also some politics involved in team selection whereby there had to be representation from all six republics so selection wasn’t always on merit (this was true of the 1990 side). But relations between players were good even at the worst point of the war (Boban and Savicevic is the best example). My thinking is that the hypothetical 90s team would have been good enough to overcome those deficiencies but not fully. So with that in mind, my best guess is they would have made it to at least one final but lost to an inferior (e.g.) Italy on pens ?

 
Dean said:
Lots to unpick there Gol but I just don’t have time. Much of what you say is reasonable but you say a couple of odd things too. Eg on teams from Eastern Europe not doing well in the CL. There’s a very clear reason for that. Money! Any player that is any good is plucked out by a foreign club the time he’s 18. Wasn’t the case pre 1990s for some obvious reasons. I actually think though that this trend has benefited national sides like Croatia for reasons I don’t have time to go into. Regarding team spirit, let me reiterate Yugoslavia had remarkably good team spirit for a country starting a war. You say decent teams on paper doesn’t mean much and then use as your example.... Brazil, which has won what - 5 world cups? The rest will have to just agree to disagree on.
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Yes but out of how many participations? It's widely discussed how their team from the 70's is maybe the most talented team ever but that didn't win. It takes a lot to win and IMO Yugoslavia didn't have what it takes, that's my take on it.

 
Dean said:
Yes I’m sure you’re right about goalkeeper/right back, I just couldn’t think of any. Squad depth indeed - players like Boksic and Stojkovic on the bench ?. Where are you from?
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This certainly deserves its own thread. All credit to @Dean for his knowledge, everything he wrote is 100% right.

I am from Montenegro and although I wasn't even born then, people around me who remember those crazy times were always telling me about 'the great team that could have been'.

So I was always interested in that and I watched lots of games and highlights from 80's and 90's, especially those where Savicevic was playing. 

dkw said:
Did you know we had a Yugoslavian International many years ago. Peter Borata played 4 or 5 games I think, we signed him from Partizan. He was nuts by the way, loved trying to take on attacking players, dribbling round them...
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Petar Borota was the man who popularized not only Chelsea, but English football in general, in Ex-Yugoslavia. He played over 100 games for us.

He was a great goalkeeper but also an incredible showman on and off the pitch, and there are some legendary stories involving him. 

By the way, for example in Yugoslavia there was a rule that a player could not leave domestic league before the age of 28. It is impossible to imagine something like that in today's football.

That pretty much explains why teams from Eastern Europe weren't that successful in the CL recently.

 
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turnyitb said:
Borota played a lot more than 4 or 5 games, he was our first choice keeper for a while played over 100 times I think 
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I meant he played for Yugoslavia 4 or 5 times.

 
Gol15 said:
He's not from that school he's more like a Bundesliga street-dribbler. What I saw many of that school have is the ability to score and Kovacic lacks end product, Modric for example can also score from distance he has done it plenty of times, I remember Wolves had some other Croatian many years back that was there fore a little while but all he did was to shoot from distance...
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He definitely does hark back to old Slavs, reminiscent of kaka, the skillset running, and Like i said before, check his goals for Inter, maybe lost some belief in himself..

 
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wizardous said:
This certainly deserves its own thread. All credit to @Dean for his knowledge, everything he wrote is 100% right.

I am from Montenegro and although I wasn't even born then, people around me who remember those crazy times were always telling me about 'the great team that could have been'.

So I was always interested in that and I watched lots of games and highlights from 80's and 90's, especially those where Savicevic was playing. 

Petar Borota was the man who popularized not only Chelsea, but English football in general, in Ex-Yugoslavia. He played over 100 games for us.

He was a great goalkeeper but also an incredible showman on and off the pitch, and there are some legendary stories involving him. 

By the way, for example in Yugoslavia there was a rule that a player could not leave domestic league before the age of 28. It is impossible to imagine something like that in today's football.

That pretty much explains why teams from Eastern Europe weren't that successful in the CL recently.
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Hvala, Wizardous, for the compliment and your knowledge. I was born in the Uk, but my father is from Belgrade, mother from Croatia (Zadar/Hvar) and Bosnia-Hercegovina (Mostar). I spend a lot of time there, speak the language(s):). My maternal grandfather got me into the football there and then I got really passionate about it from the 1990 World Cup and into the 90s via the 1991 Red Star Belgrade success. The final was a big let-down but the semi-final v Bajern is one of the most exhilarating matches I’ve ever seen.
 

The quality of that Red Star side was insane. Savicevic (Montenegrin of course!) followed closely by Prosinecki were my faves. It was one of those magical moments that come around only every blue moon. Sadly it will never happen again for any of the club sides from the region for a variety of reasons. 

i kept my interest alive watching football italia  on channel 4 religiously during the 90s, as a lot of the Yugoslav players were plying their trade there. Savicevic’s wordly vs Barcelona in the 94 CL final was another one of those moments.

anyway, that’s my connection to former Yugoslavia and its football in a nuthshell.

@Ballack & Blu: I agree . Kova’s playing style does remind me of some of the players from that era. Apart from the shooting, which I’m also convinced is a mental glitch. He has the technique to be able to shoot.

 
Gol15 said:
Yes but out of how many participations? It's widely discussed how their team from the 70's is maybe the most talented team ever but that didn't win. It takes a lot to win and IMO Yugoslavia didn't have what it takes, that's my take on it.
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Maybe there was a mental block or there was some internal strife as there were quite a few different cultures on Yugoslavia. With all the talent Yugoslavia had over the years they should have won a major tournament but never managed too.

 
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Dean said:
Kova? Yeah would say shades of Jugovic and Stojkovic too. He’s definitely part of the heritage 
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There is not one particular player I can compare Kovacic to as his style is unique. He’s  a bit like Hazard in his dribbling style. 

 
Yugoslavia v England in malmo sweden  1992. 1st   group stage match for the euros 

i still have my match ticket for above game ,but yugoslavia got thrown out of the competition 

due to the war that had started out there .

denmark was brought off the beach on their holidays to replace yugoslavia at the very last minute 

and i had to collect a new match ticket for the denmark v England game .

also i put £10 on the great danes to win the tournement outright @ 33/1 .

happy days . 

 
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