After a stunning 3-1 drubbing at the hands of Denmark last night, Serbia manager Dick Advocaat has resigned from his duties.
Dick Advocaat resigns from Serbia post, Dejan Stankovic early favorite to take over
Advocaat has quit as Serbia’s manager after a shocking 3-1 home loss to Denmark in Euro 2016 qualifying, and a former Serbian international star is the favorite to replace him.
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Advocaat has only been Serbia's manager since July, when he took over with an eye towards helping them earn their first place in the European Championships since they made the quarter finals in 2000. To say that things haven't gone to plan is a large understatement; he hasn't earned a single win as Serbia's boss, and has won just a single point in qualifying. Last night's loss at home served as a gut-punch and apparently took whatever small amount of wind was left in Advocaat's sails to keep his side plugging along.
According to Sky Sports Italia, the early favorite to take over the White Eagles is a familiar name for Serbia fans. Dejan Stanković, a one-time star at Serbian side Red Star Belgrade and former captain of the international squad, is the hot name being attached to the opening. Stanković, who turned 36 in September and retired from playing in 2013, has no managerial experience yet, but is the assistant manager at Italian side Udinese.
Stanković earned over 100 caps for Serbia between 1998 and 2011 (though it was still Yugoslavia in the earlier years), and captained the side for years before passing the torch to a younger generation. While it’s definitely far from certain that Stanković would be able to succeed as Serbia’s manager considering his inexperience, it would certainly be a wildly popular choice among the fans, and fan approval is something the Serbian FA needs after recent unrest.
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