Belgrade, April 6 (Glas Javnosti daily/Reuters) - Yugoslavia midfielder Vladimir Jugovic said he was quitting international football because of
tension in the national squad, the daily Glas Javnosti reported.
The paper quoted the 32-year-old as saying the pressure was
unbearable during Yugoslavia's recent World Cup qualifying
matches against Switzerland and Slovenia.
"There was too much pressure and this obviosuly affected the
results in the two qualifiers. I am 32 and I can't cope with it
any more," he said. "It's time for me to say goodbye."
Yugoslavia's hopes of qualifying for the 2002 tournament
have been dented by a 1-1 home draw against Switzerland on March
24 and an identical result in Slovenia three days later.
The Yugoslavs are lying fourth in group one, behind Russia,
Switzerland and Slovenia, and ahead of the Faroe Islands and
Luxembourg.
Jugovic said bringing too many young players into the squad
could backfire as it did when Marco Tardelli took over at his
club Inter Milan.
"It doesn't matter how old a player is, but how good he is.
Tardelli favoured players from Italy's under-21 national team he
coached when he took over at Inter and it backfired," he said.
"As a result, he has been forced to recall the services of
us ageing stalwarts," he added.
Yugoslavia coach Milovan Djoric has vowed to bring fresh
blood into the national team, dropping experienced players
including captain Dragan Stojkovic and striker Predrag
Mijatovic.
"Young players can't cope with the pressure if they're all
alone out there. They need an experienced player or two with
them to weather the storm," Jugovic said.
