The land where silver shines like gold

Why are Serbian people so good at sports?

There’s a question as old as time about the face of Serbia that no one seems able to answer. Foreigners wonder whenever they visit our country, and the whole world wonders the same during big sporting events – why are Serbian people so good at sports?

Now, this is no bold assumption made by some loyal patriot with an intention to represent her own country in the best light. Serbs being among the greatest athletes in Europe and worldwide is a pure, unadulterated fact. And, as usual, I am here to present only the facts about this mysterious dominion of southeast Europe that is Serbia.

Last week, the women’s national volleyball team of Serbia successfully defended the title of the world champion. In light of the Women’s World Championship and all the games our girls played not only with skill but with heart, too, I have raised this very important question about the status of the sport in this small country and started counting all of the Serbian medals and trophies.

A mystic connection of genes and willpower

Sport is an important factor in every Serbian child’s upbringing. Ever since we could walk or run – preferably, both – our parents would join us in local clubs to practice all kinds of sports. It’s not only the case of becoming a highly paid athlete one day, although it might be every Serbian parent’s ambition to see their child compete at the Olympics. It has to do more with being active and staying healthy.

In Serbia, you either play a sport or you watch it. Games and matches are important social meetings for friends, coworkers, and family members. We unite over drinks and food and big TV screens to support our national teams or clubs as they fight for a title or a medal, or for the humble honor of being called the best.

While watching we turn into the most obnoxious know-it-alls, the finest semi-amateur coaches in the land. We know why Novak’s serve is not working, why we’re losing an important game in the quarter-finals against a weaker team, and even what formation the football national team should play on the field instead of playing the sucky one that gets them no points. By the small screens in our living rooms or in bars and coffee shops, we pour our hearts and soul and every piece of unsolicited advice to people on TV whom we cheer, shout at, scream their names, and swear.

Yet, the fact remains – we are not only good at watching a game. What we excel at is playing. Considering its size, Serbia has a generally good sporting background. We flourish in the most popular sports in Europe, but also the world.

Some argue that Serbia boasts a fascinating sense of sportsmanship, unity, and comradery. They say these things stem from our long history of fighting wars. Serbs were once fearless soldiers that won battles in every major conflict in Europe. This military mentality and the frequent involvement and experience in wars are reflected today in our sports teams.

In a team, very much like in the military, there is a strong sense of unity and belonging to a group that has your back. You fight to liberate your country from the oppressor in the same way you fight to score a point, take a set, and win the game.

Others say it is in our genes to be athletic and tall. The Dinaric race to which the majority of people on the peninsula belong to offers some extraordinary types of physique. An overall healthy lifestyle and diet rush to aid our genetic predispositions of winning gold and silver medals.

However, another important factor weighs in – the factor of the Serbian mentality. There’s this holy matrimony of determination and good old Serbian spite that make us the land of sport. We are stubborn and competitive, we nurture an affinity for challenges and accomplishing the near impossible. If we were displaying these attributes in every aspect of our lives and statehood, there would be a new world order out there.

Alas, we seem to only care about winning medals and chanting the names of our superstars.

Silver shines like gold

It has just crossed my mind that answering this question is nothing short of uncovering the greatest mysteries of the universe. It’s like asking – why do you love that person, or who built the pyramids of Giza?

Being great at sports and watching it fervently makes us no different than any other passionate sport-lovers out there. Yet, the statistics favor the bold, and Serbian people are the boldest, toughest, most stubborn competitors.

I am about to drop some huge names in the sports world.

Arguably, Novak Đoković is the most famous Serbian athlete. He has 21 Grand Slams behind him and has spent the record of 373 consecutive weeks at being No. 1. He is an absolute tennis legend and one of the reasons it feels good to be Serbian. You may like him, you certainly may hate him, but Novak is the truest representative of what motivation and willpower can do.

Then there’s Ivana Španović, the most successful Serbian athlete ever. She takes her long jump discipline to a completely new level, breaking records without breaking a sweat. She has won the bronze medal at the 2016 Olympics, the World Champion in 2018, two bronze medals in the open, and four European champion titles. So far.

Although football is the most popular sport in Serbia – can’t imagine why, since our national team sucks hard at it – basketball is our second most important deity. Our basketball national team is always star-studded with amazing players and some of the biggest coaching names worldwide. We are the traditional powerhouse of basketball – we export players as if they were cartons of milk. A total of 31 Serbian players have worn NBA jerseys in the last thirty years.

But we can’t really talk about greatness without mentioning the second most famous Nikola in the world – Nikola Jokić is a two-time NBA MVP and a four-time NBA All-star. Exceptional players like Vlade Divac and Pedja Stojaković before him paved the way for younger generations to serve the prestigious NBA some serious Serbian lessons.

We give great performances in other sports as well, export talented players and coach the most prominent European clubs in volleyball and water polo. The Serbian men’s national 3×3 team is No.1 in the FIBA ranking, with five gold medals in the World Cup and four gold medals in Europe Cup.

Now, you may think all our golden boys and girls can do is jump, run, and score. I’m not sure why chess is even considered a sport but it gives me great pleasure to talk about the 46 grandmasters among Serbian chess players (11 grandmasters among female players).

As you can see, we are not all brawns made of shiny medals. Some of us have brains, too.

The land of sports

As Serbia is the land of unreason and things that make no sense, the same is true for the tradition in sports. As I mentioned before, football (In the US knows as soccer) is the most popular sport here. (When I say football, I do mean the actual European sport in which we kick the ball with the foot – hence the name.) It is also the number one sport Serbian officials invest the most into, which, again, makes no sense as we have a very weak national team.

Other sports are poorly invested in. It leaves our athletes and soon-to-be superstars of their disciplines to fend for themselves, to practice and train in poor conditions.

Our most trophied sport, as of 2022, is water polo. We have won more than thirty gold medals in various competitions and cups – the Olympics included – in the last twenty years in this rugged, not-for-the-faint-hearted discipline. And we are completely landlocked!

Sport, like art, is a matter of skills and spirit, a matter of talent and motivation. Due to the wonderful combination of our genes, the Slavs seem to be gifted with all these attributes. We may not be the greatest leaders or politicians, we are not an admirable military power and no one really cares what we have to say in the world, but, damn it, we can play sports.

Thanks to the phenomenal accomplishments of the even more phenomenal tennis players, basketball players, volleyball players, water poloers (not a word), long jumpers, wrestlers, taekwondo and karate athletes, and track and field champions, Serbia is on the map of greatness.

There has never been a more honorable reason to be a Serb.

Truly Yours,

Vanja