Don't cry for me Argentina - dogfacedboy

“I am glad that Goran Gavrančić is the part of national team, because I think it is the most significant part in the history of every football player in the world.”

Going into last year’s World Cup Goran Gavrančić was looking forward to a bright future. His Serbia & Montenegro team had leaked just one goal in ten qualifying games, going 649 minutes without conceding at one stage, and he had already been linked to AC Milan and Arsenal.

This defence went down in legend as the "famous four", but one infamous night in Gelsenkirchen saw his reputation shattered.

And Gavrančić has particular reason to cry, as he has been left behind as the rest of the watertight defence goes on to greater things. Nemanja Vidić tops the Premiership with Manchester United, Mladen Krstajić tops the Bundesliga with Schalke 04, and Ivica Dragutinović at Sevilla is tied on points with Barcelona at the top of La Liga.

But it all looked so different in June, when the man with the greatest footballer website ever (http://www.gavrancic.com/) arrived in Germany.

After being passed over by the major Belgrade clubs, Red Star and Partizan, it was legendary Ukrainian manager Valeriy Lobanovski who first recognised Gavrančić's potential and brought him to Dynamo Kyiv in 2002. He was voted the best defender in Ukraine the following year.

The move to Kyiv also led to his first international cap - against Mexico in 2002 - and by the time 2006 came round he was one of the cornerstones of the "famous four".

This group, coupled with the in-the-box prowess of Nikola Žigić and Mateja Kežman, relegated Spain to the play offs in qualifying and Gavrančić was looking forward to playing for a major western European team like the rest of his defensive teammates. For a man who confessed that “At this time, my only hobby is collecting jerseys from my opponents” the opportunity to increase his collection in the Premiership or Serie A must have been a dream.

Problems started before the team even reached their training base when Nemanja Vidić was injured and had to pull out of the squad. A loss of form also meant Ivica Dragutinović had been relegated to the bench.

Drawn in the group of death, Serbia & Montenegro’s first match was against the Netherlands and whilst losing one nil to an Arjen Robben goal was no disgrace it was in no way the start that the team had been hoping for.

All the pressure now went on the Argentina result, with a loss meaning Serbia & Montenegro would be out of the World Cup.

I think we all know what happened next, a six-goal demolition meant Serbia & Montenegro were going home and a 3-2 defeat to the Ivory Coast meant they returned without a point to their name.

But while Argentina’s 6-0 victory highlighted the limitations in Serbia & Montenegro's defence - it was not as abject as the scoreline suggests.

That night Argentina gave the best performance of any team at the World Cup and almost every chance they had went in, they only had nine shots on target in the whole match.

Additionally, three of their goals came after Mateja Kežman had been sent off and while Argentina had more possession (58%-42%) Serbia & Montenegro won more corners, 4-3.

Going into the World Cup Gavrančić was at the top of his game. 27 goals in 190 games for Kyiv had given him a reputation as a dangerous set piece attacker which coupled with his defensive qualities had seen him frequently linked to a move to one of Europe’s leading clubs.

However, in this fickle game that is football all it took was one poor performance where the rest of his team didn’t pick up the slack for this player to merely go back to dreaming about winning a major European league as the rest of the “famous four” may do this year.

His stock has even fallen so low, that in January this year, Glen Roeder announced: "I have been told by people I respect, and who know what they are talking about, that he is no better than the defenders we already have at St James' Park."