Nemanja Vidic wants to take his success with Manchester United onto the international stage with Serbia.
Defender wants to overcome 2006 disaster
Nemanja Vidic wants to take his success with Manchester United onto the international stage with Serbia.
Vidic has enjoyed several trophy-laden seasons with United, winning three successive Premier League titles and the 2008 UEFA Champions League.
And the 28-year-old has revealed he would like to bring such achievements onto the international stage with his team in this summer's World Cup finals in South Africa.
The former Spartak Moscow stopper endured a miserable 2006 World Cup, with his team losing all three group matches as he sat out through a combination of injury and suspension.
And Vidic said he wanted to put the fiasco behind him in what he believes will be his first and last tournament.
He told the Serbian Football Association's
official website: "I see this as my first World Cup and it could also be my last because I will be 29 in October.
"So I am really keen to achieve some kind of success with the national team and reaching the last 16 in South Africa would be a good result.
"No matter how much silverware you in win your career you always want more."
Serbia face a tough passage into to the knockout stages if they are to progress, with Germany, Australia and Ghana standing in their way in Group D.
Looking forward
Preparations for the stern test suffered a huge setback as New Zealand defeated Radomir Antic's team at the weekend, with Serbia supporters venting their frustration at the display by rioting in the stands.
Vidic was forced to calm the angry followers through an address over the public announcement system but he reasserted his claim that his side can overcome the shock of the defeat.
He added: "Sometimes you can learn more from a defeat in a friendly against unheralded opposition than you would from a routine win but we do have to address individual mistakes, I made a few myself against New Zealand.
"We are looking forward to our opening Group D match against Ghana in Pretoria on June 13, we know they will be missing their best player Michael Essien but they have an outstanding crop of young players who can step in."
The Serbians also play Germany in Port Elizabeth on 18th June and Australia in Nelspruit on 23rd June.
