Footballers rebel: 4 national team leaders won't play for Serbia as long as Piksi is head coach!

Photo: Miguel MEDINA / AFP / Profimedia

By drawing against Denmark, the Serbian national football team last night ended its participation in this year's European championship, EURO 2024, and finished last in Group C.

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After the game, the atmosphere was not exactly the best, head coach Dragan "Piksi" Stojkovic stressed that his team did everything in they could, adding that he did that as well, which caused an avalanche of reactions.

The drama slowly started to unfold after the elimination from the competition, and so we are now learning that several footballers have already decided to stop playing for Serbia until the head coach is gone!

According to unofficial information, one of them is Predrag Rajkovic, probably the Serbia's best player during the entire tournament.

The goalkeeper was visibly depressed after the game against Denmark.

"A pity, definitely a pity, this is a phenomenal group of guys, we got together, we worked hard, we believed in us. I think we deserved to go further, but it didn't work out. I really regret it, I don't know what to say, I think we showed how Serbs fight, how we are ready to die for Serbia. I don't know," he said and added:

"I have nothing to gain from that (his good performances), I would give anything if I conceded five goals but the team progressed. Football is like that, we have to move on. I'm sorry because of the fans who came to support us and who watched us on TV. Love us still."

But the list of "rebels" does not end with Rajkovic. Informer is reporting that in addition to the goalkeeper, Aleksandar Mitrovic, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Dusan Tadic also made the same decision.

Tadic publicly criticized the coach after the first game for the decision not to include him in the starting 11, but then refrained from saying everything that was on his mind even after the Denmark game.

"Uh... Well, I don't know what to say. I mean, if I say something frankly, then it's like I killed a man. It's best if I don't say anything, because no one understands what I wanted to say, that's not the point, Tadic is not the point, the most important thing is unity, the guys, that's the most important thing, but as one of the leaders of course you want to take on the responsibility, to always be on the pitch, that's normal, human. With us, some things get a little twisted. I don't think one should speak frankly," Tadic said after the match.

Before the start of the tournament, another national team member, Nemanja Radonjic, decided not to play for his country as long as Dragan Stojkovic is the head coach.

(Telegraf.rs)