Faces of Football: Serbia - a letter to the national team

Dear Serbian national team, 

Dragan, Dušan, Aleksandar, Sergej, Vanja, Stefan, Nemanja, Nikola, Strahinja and all of our boys, I am optimistic that you will all be crowned world champions on the eve of Saint Nicholas, the most famous saint in Serbia.

I don't want to put pressure on you, but imagine the joy in every home in Serbia on December 19th if you do: the dearest people as guests, lots of good food and drinks on the table, and Serbia as the world champions. No one will mention politics, no one will mention war, no one will mention any problem they’ve ever had. At that moment everyone will talk only about you, and from that moment on, every boy born in Serbia in the coming months will surely bear one of your names.

I don't want to put pressure on you, but can you imagine the pride you’d feel at that moment? Knowing that you made a nation this happy? 

I don’t want to put pressure on you, but when I take my daughters to kindergarten or pick them up to take them home, I see boys and girls, as young as three or four years old, who are excited to see you guys shock the world this winter. They may not know how many games it takes to reach the final, or even where Qatar is, but they believe that our team is the best.

I don’t want to put pressure on you, but I think you’re best too, and I’m very confident that you will win the World Cup this year. 

I don't want to put pressure on you, but I'll see you on December 19 on the balcony of the Belgrade City Hall.

Best, 

Aleksandra