Partizan knocked out Newcastle on the way to their last appearance in the Champions League group stages and they have the ability to upset Arsenal.
For Sasa Ilic, the thought of playing an English side in the Champions League brings back happy memories. Seven years ago, he was captain of the last Partizan side to play in the group stages of the competition, although after a 1-0 defeat to Newcastle United in Belgrade in the first leg of their final qualifier, few gave them much hope.
Ilic, though, ran on to Albert Nadj's chip, and held off Olivier Bernard and Kieron Dyer to lay on the game's only goal for Ivica Iliev – who is also back at Partizan – and then converted his penalty in the shoot-out. "That's one of the fondest memories of my whole career," he said. "I would say that was one of my best performances for Partizan.
"We arrived in Newcastle with a negative result from the first leg, we played in front of 40,000 fans, but we managed to keep the game even and to win. We also had some luck, and a super [Ivica] Kralj in goal."
About what followed in the group stages, Ilic is rather more ambivalent. Partizan played some good football, but kept missing chances and finished bottom of their group having drawn all three home games and lost all three away against Porto, Real Madrid and Marseille. "I had three golden chances against Real Madrid in Belgrade and in both games against Marseille, but I didn't score," Ilic said. "Those were really 100% chances. But sometimes the one above says either yes or no."
As Ilic points out, though, even reaching the group stage was a fine achievement, one that looked better with each passing season as Partizan's European form got worse and worse. Since Aleksandar Stanojevic took over in April, becoming, at 36, Partizan's youngest-ever coach, they have lost only once, at Shakhtar Donetsk in the first game in the group. Given they went down only 1-0, and with a little luck could easily have drawn, even that represented a radical improvement on their pitiful 4-1 defeat in Donetsk in the Europa League last season.
There is an understandable tendency in England to regard the group phase of the Champions League as a chore, something that has to be got through before the real action begins in February, but there is genuine excitement in Belgrade about the visit of some of Europe's elite. It has led to a flurry of jokes mocking Red Star, whose fans have a tendency to regard their European Cup triumph in 1991 as an unbeatable trump in any dispute with Partizan. The best is probably the one that asks, "How do Red Star players get to play in the Champions League?" The punchline – "one by one" – refers to the goalkeeper Vladimir Stojkovic, a former Red Star player who has ended up at Partizan via Sporting and Wigan. It also refers, more particularly, to Cleo.
The Brazilian, whose Serbian citizenship came through last week, joined Red Star on loan in summer 2008 from the Portuguese club Olivais E Moscavide. He impressed in a struggling side, but Red Star's sports director, the unfortunate Ivan Adzic, decided the £650,000 fee was too much, and made the fateful comment that: "We don't think he's that good for the price." Each of the eight goals he scored in six Champions League qualifiers this season has underlined the gravity of Adzic's mistake.
It's not just about goals with Cleo, though. He also drops off and pulls wide, and interacts well with Iliev, who will operate as a second striker in a fluid 4-4-1-1. Ilic provides creativity on the left in what is likely to be a midfield focused largely on resistance, with the promising 21-year-old Radosav Petrovic partnering the Sierra Leone midfielder Mohamed "Medo" Kamara in a combative centre.
"You can expect Arsenal to dominate with their passing game and their one-twos," Ilic said. "They will have more ball possession because they're technically brilliant. But, on the other hand, we're playing in our stadium, in front of our great fans. The atmosphere will be hot. Arsenal play all the time in packed stadiums, but they're not used to such an atmosphere. We must rise above ourselves and give more than 100%."
Effort and spirit are Stanojevic's watch words. Training is tougher than it used to be; Mladen Krstajic, the veteran centre-back, defied doctors to play in Donetsk with a broken nose, and even Ilic, a player appreciated for his technical rather than his physical attributes, has shown a markedly improved work-rate. And when players have strayed, Stanojevic has been quick to crack down. Until recently, Partizan's key player had been Moreira, a playmaker from Guinea-Bissau (although he holds Portuguese citizenship). He was their highest-paid player (reportedly on £7,000 a week), and had helped them to three successive league titles.
He wanted to leave in the summer, apparently angered that he hadn't been given the captaincy, but either there was no concrete offer or Partizan demanded too high a fee, and he has seemed disillusioned this season. There was friction on the flight back from Brussels to Belgrade after the penalty shoot-out victory over Anderlecht in the third qualifying round, as he tried to sleep while others celebrated, and there have even been suggestions that he has made more of recent injuries than was justified. This month he even turned out for the reserves and, although he is theoretically back in contention for the Arsenal game, he is unlikely to play.
For others, though, just to be on the same pitch as Arsenal is a thrill. Ilic, in particular, is a fan of the way Arsenal play. "Apart from Barcelona," he said, "they're the team I most enjoy watching. They play perfect football. Sometimes they even try to walk with the ball into the goal, which sometimes cost them. They've got many excellent players: Arshavin, Rosicky, Nasri and Fábregas are the ones I like the most. They are extra-terrestrials."
West Bromwich Albion brought them down to earth on Saturday and, while Arsenal are clear favourites, it is possible Partizan could do the same.
Source: Jonathan Wilson, The Guardian on 28 Sep 10
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