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PETKOVIC PLAYS DOWN REPORTED RIFT
 Posted: 15/06/06 - 16:44   World Cup 2006 email icon    World Cup 2006 print icon    World Cup 2006 save icon

Coach Ilija Petkovic has denied there is a divide in the Serbia & Montenegro camp after Dejan Stankovic and Danijel Ljuboja were reported to have had a bust-up in training on Wednesday.

Petkovic's preparations for Friday's Group C clash with Argentina have been heavily disrupted as reports of the clash follow the news that defender Nemanja Vidic will miss the remainder of the tournament through injury.

It was claimed in the Serbo-Montenegrin press that the players had come to blows, but Petkovic denied the incident was anything more than an argument.

"It's a shame for our newspapers to write things like that," he said.

"Everyone who ever trained in football knows this is quite normal, an almost daily issue, that players in the same squad are nervous about things such as if something was a foul or not, was it a goal or not, and things like that.

"This happened at our training when Stankovic and Ljuboja argued about a pass. That was it. I really don't understand how anyone can describe that as a scuffle, or even a fight. We are not at a boxing championship, we came to the football World Cup and my players know that very well."

"We are not children," Ljuboja said. "Harsh talking among players is normal in training. If something had happened, I would talk about it for 10 minutes or more, but I have nothing to say, other than to remind you all that you can see Stankovic and me sitting at the same table today.

"Everything is alright in the team and all we are thinking about is the game against Argentina."

Petkovic was asked if he planned to play as conservatively against Argentina as his team had appeared to do against Holland, and while the coach admitted keeping a clean sheet was his top priority, he denied that it was at the expense of attacking football.

"Do you really think we played cautiously in the last two years? What does that mean in modern football? The first rule in this sport is not to concede a goal," he said.

"That's something that is most important in football and I won't change my thoughts on that. We almost made a world record for the number of games with a clean sheet, and that was as a result of our wise play.

"I'm not the one who orders my players not to attack. Put simply, this is a World Cup. You cannot create numerous chances like in other competitions.

"Argentina are one of the sides with the most qualities, and we have to be wise once again if we want to succeed on Friday."

Savo Milosevic, captain of the Serbo-Montenegrin side, is in line for his 100th cap in the game.

"I don't like to speak about personal records, especially when our team is what is most important," Milosevic said. "Our rival is a dangerous one, more so than Holland in the first game, and we'll have to do our best if we want to cheer our fans at the end of the game."

end

 
World Cup 2006 story: PETKOVIC PLAYS DOWN REPORTED RIFT
Petkovic - no rift in the camp.
 
 
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