The unifying symbols are to be discarded and the institutional bridges quickly dismantled, but the one thing that is to be retained is the joint football eleven! We're talking about Serbia
and Montenegro where the football pitch is one of the few places where team play between the two republics is problem-free.
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Football loyalties soon to be divided: fans of Serbia and Montenegro watching the match against the Netherlands (final score 0:1).
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"These boys tackle the game with lots of energy and get good results – our politicians should follow their example", says Munevera, a woman from Bar, near Podgorica, Montenegro's capital. Like the
majority of her compatriots, she is rooting for the national team of the defunct Union, even though most of the players are Serbs.
In sport, the process of separation (which had in fact begun long before the referendum on independence at the end of May) has not yet had any impact. When it comes to football, unity and teamwork
are the watchwords, at least while there are international challenges to be faced and successes to be celebrated. Why is support for the "hybrid "national team so broad-based and so solid? Probably
because it has managed to do something that no other institution has achieved, namely to reconcile the emotions of both nations. And during the qualification phase at least, the main emotional focus
was on victories which were celebrated just as enthusiastically in Belgrade as in Podgorica. The successes of the national team reinforced the sense of personal bonds between Serbs and
Montenegrins.
Montenegro will soon have its own national team
Football as a fraternization ritual between two nations which are drifting apart politically, despite many points in common? If that's the case, this mood is likely to end as soon as the World Cup in
Germany is over, because Montenegro intends to participate in international competitions with its own team from next year on.
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World Cup Group C
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Argentina
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Netherlands
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Côte d'Ivoire
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Serbia and Montenegro
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However, it is unlikely that the present team will be broken up. In future, it will probably just sport the Serbian colours because most of the players with Montenegrin roots currently earn their
living with Partizan, Red Star or other Serbian clubs and are well integrated into the Serbian football scene. In any event, none of the players has announced his intention of leaving the national
team. According to Jarco, a fan from Belgrade, another reason is that "because the ethnic groups in the former Yugoslavia are so mixed, it is difficult to ascertain who is a Serbian and who is a
Montenegrin – it all depends on how you look at it." He is not worried about Montenegro forming its own team: "In practical terms, we'll soon be playing with two teams, and that'll boost our chances
of winning."
Seventh heaven
But for the time being, there is just one team that is known not for its stars but for its good team spirit which has not been dented by its defeat against the Netherlands. "Our chances are still
good", says Jarco. Chances of winning the World Cup? "No, becoming World Champions isn't our priority". So what is? "For us, supreme happiness would be beating the Croats – that would be enough for
us!"
The Serbs and Montenegrins are in total agreement about this objective. Because let us not forget: football is not just a sport but has now become a way of pursuing politics by other means – and
not just in former Yugoslavia.
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Switzerland is supporting reform
Switzerland Switzerland has been actively pursuing humanitarian projects in Serbia and Montenegro since 1991, and in 1999, emergency and reconstruction assistance were supplemented by long-term
cooperation programmes (transition assistance). Priority activities include reinforcing institutional reforms, promoting the private sector and supporting minorities, especially Roma. In 2006, the
Confederation is financing programmes to the tune of 18 million CHF.
A further cooperation focus is improved integration of the region into international institutions. Serbia and Montenegro are part of the Swiss-led voting group at the World Bank, the International
Monetary Fund and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
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Further information:
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