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Serbia-Montenegro plays, but doesn't exist
(AP)
Updated: 2006-06-09 08:46

BILLERBECK, Germany - Serbia-Montenegro's Ilija Petkovic used to joke that he was the only coach leading two national teams at the same World Cup. The joke isn't so funny anymore.

Though Serbia-Montenegro's blue, white and red flag will fly during the World Cup, the country no longer exists. Montenegro split from Serbia in an independence referendum in May, writing the last chapter in the sometimes violent disintegration of the old six-state federation of Yugoslavia.

Montenegro's secession hasn't hurt the team where manpower is concerned, with only one player — goalkeeper Dragoslav Jevric — born in the tiny Adriatic republic. But the split has hurt the team psychologically, and Petkovic has urged his players to refrain from making comments about the country's breakup.

"We did not need the divisions ahead of the World Cup," captain Savo Milosevic said before the ban was imposed. "What we need now is to be one, to be a national team that will represent national interests."

That's easier said than done, though. Even the national anthem is a source of tension.

Serbian fans detest the tunes of the old communist-era Yugoslav song, "Hey Slavs!" and it usually produces a chorus of boos and jeers that leaves the players shifting with unease. During the final warmup against Uruguay in Belgrade, the Serbian organizers agreed to refrain from playing the anthem.

"I wish that anthem is not played, because it takes at least 15 minutes of play for us to shake off that sinking feeling," Milosevic said.

Many of the players are themselves an ethnic mix.

"I'm a Montenegrin of Serbian origin born in Bosnia," defender Mladen Krstajic said. "Now it's too late for me to change."

Krstajic said he may soon become "a world record holder" with the number of passports he will possess. He already has the Yugoslav, Bosnian and German passports after playing for years in Germany's Bundesliga, and plans to add a Montenegrin one because his father is from there.

"God forbid, but if Serbia shrinks any further with its (northern province) Vojvodina splitting away, I may be in line for another passport because I used to play there as well," Krstajic said, only partially in jest.

Formerly known as Yugoslavia, the team last qualified for the World Cup in 1998 and reached the round of 16. Serbia-Montenegro's appearance in Germany is the team's 10th, but the first — and last — under the new name. If it somehow manages to win the World Cup, Serbia-Montenegro would become the only country in the history of the tournament not around to defend its title in four years.

Serbia-Montenegro plays in Group C with Argentina, the Netherlands and Ivory Coast. It opens play Sunday with a game against the Netherlands in Leipzig.

Though Serbia-Montenegro no longer exists, striker Mateja Kezman said the team will play for the people of the two nations.

"We have very tough years behind us," Kezman said, "and now we want to play for our people who have had so much misery in the past."