Tag: 2010

Serbia versus “The Rest of the World” at the Football Expo 2010

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Atacante with Coach Antic

An amazing game last night at the 2010 Sajam Fudbala (Football Expo) in New Belgrade. The boys’ football club, Atacante had the honor of opening the Expo by playing a friendly “U-10” game between Serbia and “The Rest of the World.” Owen and Ollie and the international students of ISB that belong to the club played against the Serbian kids of the club. The game was played on a mini-soccer field inside the ExpoCenter, which is a big exhibition hall next to the Holiday Inn in New Belgrade. The Sajam is going on all weekend with exhibitors of soccer camps, professional clubs, sports television, and sporting goods, all having interactive booths.

The Rest of the World lost 2-1 in the game. Both Owen and Ollie played well and I’ll be posting video of the game tomorrow. The highlight was getting to meet the Serbian National Soccer Team coach, Radomir Antic. He is the guy in the center of the photo. A big thanks to Atacante coach Mihailo for organizing this for the club! It was an unforgettable experience. The city is getting excited for Serbia’s World Cup games. They open up against Ghana on June 13.

Ollie on the Attack
Owen Gets Ready to Enter the Game

Partizan’s Dream Season Continues

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Yesterday’s NBL final was an amazing game with a fantastic finish. Partizan won in overtime by 1 point on a 3/4 length shot with 0.6 seconds on the clock. It came immediately after a three pointer by their opponents, Cibona, from Zagreb, that put Cibona up by two. It was so unexpected that the television feed missed the shot. The only view we had live was that of the Partizan players celebrating and a highlight from a floor camera, blocked by a coach on the sideline, showing Kezman’s miracle heave. You have to see it to believe it. I embedded the youtube.com video of the final moments below. Even if you don’t understand Serbian, the clip will give you goosebumps!

The NBL is a regional league made up countries from Yugoslavia. It is also known as the Adriatic Basketball Association. Partizan was playing host, Cibona, in Zagreb, Croatia. Cibona was the top seed going into this weekend’s final four. They thought they had the game won, until literally, the last second. Partizan on May 7th and 9th plays in the EuroLeague Final Four in Paris. They are also play in the Serbian Superliga which is still going on.  It is quite an accomplishment for a team with such a small payroll to get to the finals in the European Club Championship. They play giants Olimpiacos of Greece and possibly Barcelona. I am looking forward to watching the games. Quite a few Serbian friends will be attending the games in Paris.

Belgrade Marathon 2010 – We Really Did It This Time!

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Yesterday we ran the half marathon in the 23rd annual Belgrade Marathon. Nadia and I had the goal of completing the half marathon (21 kilometers which is about 13 miles) and we did it. We ran together and finished the route in 2 hours, 4 minutes and 55 seconds. Above is the International School of Belgrade group and we are proud to say that we all finished the race. It was nice to have a group of students, parents, and teachers to support each other and along with the 3,000 other people running the half and full marathons, it was an exhilrating and exhausting morning. Once again, the Belgrade sun was shining brightly which made the sights all the more beautiful. We set the goal last year after we tried the 22 nd Belgrade Marathon. The last 5 kilometers were tough on both of us. For me personally, I find that now the limiting factor in my speed and distance is my legs and joints, it used to be my lungs. That is age starting to kick in.
I don’t think we are going to step it up again next year and do the full marathon, but you never know… Oh, and by the way, as we were finishing the half marathon, we watched the Kenyans finishing the full marathon. Wow.
An Exhausted Nadia Just After Finishing