Serbia fires national team coach Mladen Krstajic
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia’s soccer federation has fired national team coach Mladen Krstajic after a humiliating loss against Ukraine in a European Championship qualifier.
Ukraine moved to the top of Group B by routing Serbia 5-0 at home last week.
Krstajic, a former national team defender and Bundesliga veteran, was hired ahead of the World Cup in Russia last year despite having never held a previous coaching position. Serbia failed to qualify from the group stage at the tournament.
Naming Krstajic to the post came as a surprise after former coach Slavoljub Muslin was sacked despite leading Serbia to its first major tournament in eight years.
The federation did not immediately name a successor to Krstajic.
