Serbia 2012 Away Shirt

SERBIA - AWAY SHIRT 2012

Serbia are governed by the Football Association of Serbia, founded in 1919 and one of the oldest football bodies in the Balkans. Known to their supporters as Orlovi (The Eagles), they have competed as an independent nation since 2006, when the union of Serbia and Montenegro was dissolved. Their spiritual home is the Stadion Rajko Mitic in Belgrade, the vast bowl better known across Europe as the Marakana, a ground that once held well over 100,000 before its conversion to an all-seater arena.

2012 was a year of transition for the Eagles, and it is the campaign this classy away shirt accompanied. Vladimir Petrovic, nicknamed Pizon, oversaw the early friendlies before being dismissed in the wake of Serbia's failure to reach Euro 2012. In May the association turned to former international Sinisa Mihajlovic, handing him the job through to the 2014 World Cup. His qualifying campaign began that autumn in a demanding Group A alongside Croatia, Belgium, Scotland, Macedonia and Wales. Serbia would ultimately finish third, three points short of a playoff place.

The autumn began with a battling goalless draw away to Scotland, a hard-earned point on the road. A 1-0 defeat away in Macedonia soon showed how unforgiving the group would prove, and those dropped points early on would eventually cost the Eagles dear in a section that only sent its winner straight to Brazil.

The year's standout was unforgettable. On 11 September in Novi Sad, Serbia tore Wales apart 6-1, with six different players finding the net: Aleksandar Kolarov, Zoran Tosic, Filip Djuricic, Dusan Tadic, Branislav Ivanovic and Miralem Sulejmani. Gareth Bale's reply was a mere footnote on a night the Eagles announced their attacking talent to the world.

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