YugoBosniMaceSerbiCroaSlovenegro

Yugoslavia may well have won the 1992 European Championship. They had qualified, they were dark horses, before the War in the country intervened, and they were excluded from the tournament. Their replacements, Denmark, came and won in their absence. That was a tournament without an outstanding team, remember, and that unremarkable Denmark side were far from the best team in Europe at the time. Yugoslavia, back then, before the country had divided into its original form - the nations of Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia & Herzogovnia, Macedonia and Slovenia - had a magnificent squad full of the talent that would eventually enable Croatia to thrive on the international stage.
At that tournament, Yugoslavia could have chosen from a squad containing Robert Prosinecki, Zvonimir Boban, Dejan Savićević, Predrag Mijatović, Darko Pancev, Robert Jarni, Siniša Mihajlović, Dragan Stojković, Alen Bokšić, Davor Šuker, Zlatko Zahovič and Savo Milošević, among others. That midfield, in particular, sounds fearsome, combining some of the greatest attacking talents in world football at the time (Prosinecki, Savicevic) with a wily toughness typical of football in the Balkans.

But it wasn't to be. Yugoslavia will be remembered for some lovely football (another country in a long line called "the Brazil of Europe"), and for never winning anything. They came fourth in the World Cups of 1930 and 1962, and were runners up in the European Championships of 1960 and 68. Their youth teams were famously formidable.

Nowadays, each of the Nations listed above has its own National side. Croatia, Slovenia and Serbia have enjoyed notable success since the dissolution of Yugoslavia. I can't help thinking, though, of what a team Yugoslavia would maintain if the country still existed.



From Serbia, noted for their defensive solidity, Nemana Vidic would be a certainty, as would the experienced, tough Ivica Dragutinović, who plays for Sevilla, and Chelsea's Branislav Ivanović. Serbia produces defenders of breathtaking calibre, enjoyng outstanding defensive records in their last two qualification campaigns, and even the young Neven Subotić of Borussia Dortmund would be in with a good chance of making this squad. In midfield, the class and experience of Inter Milan's Dejan Stanković - creative but combative, a midfield all-rounder - would be supported by Miloš Krasić and Liverpool-bound Milan Jovanović on the wings, while Ajax's Marko Pantelić poaches upfront.



From Croatia, only Hoffenheim's Josep "three yellow cards" Simunic would challenge for a place in such a strong defence. But Croatia produces creative players of great skill and vision, as Tottenham's Luka Modric and Shaktar Donetsk's Darijo Srna attest. Both hard-working midfielders, both capable of defence-splitting passing, both technically brilliant, they would be an asset to most national Teams. As would Tottenham's Niko Krancjar, a more direct, "luxury" player than the other two, but one capable of turning a game with a moment of magic. Croatia would supply the back-up forwards for this team: Ivica Olić (Bayern Munich) and Mladen Petrić (Hamburg). Talented players with great work ethics, but, like Serbia and Valencia's Nikola Žigić, men lacking the magic associated with the strikers who would undoubtedly be first choice in this squad.

They would both come from tiny Montenegro: Stevan Jovetić of Fiorentina and Mirko Vučinić of Roma. Vučinić is a talismanic player - Montenegro's Captain, a versatile attacker capable of playing as centre-forward, support striker or winger, blessed with lovely dribbling abilities and explosive shooting. Jovetić is something of a golden boy; a prodigiously gifted 20 year old whose range of talents resemble his older countryman in both depth and dimension.



There is the spine: Serbian defense, Croatian midfield, Montenegran attack. Some wild cards come from the other Nations. Bosnia and Herzegovina supply perhaps the key creative midfielder for the team: Wolfsburg's old-fashioned playmaker, Zvjezdan Misimović, who, with his exquisite technique, controls tempo, creates chances and rarely gives the ball away. His heir, Lyon's Miralem Pjanić, would also feature in the squad, alongside Misimović's Wolfsburg teammate Edin Džeko, a commanding, prolific goalscorer.
Macedonia would be represented by Internazionale's Goran Pandev, another attacker able to switch between the centre and the wings, while Slovenia donate goalkeeper Samir Handanovič of Udinese.

So here is a possible XI, in a 3-5-2:

Handanovic

Ivanovic-Vidić-Dragutinović

Srna-Stanković-Misimovic-Modric-Krasić

Jovetić- Vučinić

Subs: Dzeko/Simunic/Jovanovic/Pantelic/Pjanic/Pandev

A team capable of winning the World Cup? Maybe not, but certainly as talented a group of players as will be at the tournament, worthy of comparison with the likes of Brazil, Argentina, Spain, Portugal and Holland. As good as that Yugoslavia team that never quite was, with Boban, Suker, Savicevic and Pancev? Well, maybe not. But not all that many teams would be...