Billerbeck: Serbia-Montenegro will play its last match ever as a single team when it meets Ivory Coast on Wednesday.
The game in Munich has no meaning because both Serbia-Montenegro and Ivory Coast have been eliminated from the World Cup. Argentina and the Netherlands have advanced
from Group C.
But, it will go down in history as the last match for Serbia-Montenegro, the final vestige of old Yugoslavia, as the country formally split up last month with Montenegro voting
for independence.
"One chapter in our history is closing, and another, hopefully better, will open on Wednesday," Serbia-Montenegro team spokesman Aleksandar Boskovic said.
The match against Ivory Coast will mark the last time the old "Hey Slavs!" Yugoslav anthem is played at soccer stadiums.
And the country's old blue-white-and-red flag will fly for the last time at a soccer venue.
The song, dreaded by Serb fans because it reminded them of the old communist country, has regularly produced boos and jeers, leaving players shifting with unease.
With Serbia being the successor state, it will keep its FIFA membership. Montenegro, already applying for a seat with soccer's governing body, hopes to take part in qualifying for the next World Cup.
There is no love lost for the team that is making its final appearance after losing to Argentina 6-0 on Friday – the worst in the team's World Cup history. The previous worst was its 6-1 defeat as Yugoslavia in the 1930 semifinals against Uruguay.
Formerly known as Yugoslavia, Serbia-Montenegro's appearance in Germany is the national team's 10th trip to the World Cup, but the first - and last - under that name.
Boskovic said that Serbia will play its first match as a single country in a friendly against the Czech Republic in Prague on August 16.
"From the golden city of Prague, we hope to start our golden future," Boskovic said.
The World Cup in Germany was nothing but gloom for the team. It started with a 1-0 loss against the Netherlands.
Since then, the team - which includes only one Montenegrin, goalkeeper Dragoslav Jevric - was in disarray with problems ranging from injuries to squabbles over tactics and skirmishes between players at training sessions.
Captain Savo Milosevic, who announced his retirement from the national team after the World Cup, said nothing better could be expected in the match against Ivory Coast.
"The Ivorians are a strong team," Milosevic said. "But, all 30 other teams at the World Cup are tough enough for us considering the state we are in."
With leading scorer Mateja Kezman out with a red card, midfielder Ognjen Koroman with a pair of yellows, and defenders Nemanja Vidic and Ivica Dragutinovic out with
injuries, Serbia-Montenegro "has nothing to gain" in its final soccer appearance, Milosevic said.
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