DEJAN STANKOVIC - SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO

Date of birth: Sept. 11, 1978
Birthplace: Belgrade, Serbia-Montenegro
Club: Inter Milan (Italy
Position: Midfielder
International debut: April 1998 vs. South Korea

One of the criticisms of Dejan Stankovic is that he's never been able to duplicate his fine form at club level for the national team.

Rest assured the 27-year-old midfielder will be looking to change all that when he takes to the field with a dangerous Serbia and Montenegro side in Germany.

A star with Italian club Inter Milan, Stankovic is an elegant central midfielder who can pry open defences with his sublime passes and direct penetrating runs. Stankovic pulls the playmaking strings for Serbia in midfield, creating chances for his teammates and scoring the odd goal with his accurate shot.

Stankovic started with the youth team of hometown club Red Star Belgrade and eventually graduated to the senior side in 1994 when he was 16. He made only a handful of appearances during his first season with Red Star, but followed that up with a strong second campaign.

Stankovic scored four goals and played more regularly in 1995-96, and became an instant fan favourite after winning a regular place in the starting lineup.

The 1996-97 season proved to be his breakthrough, as he scored 10 goals in 26 games and helped Red Star record a memorable 2-1 victory over German club Kaiserslautern in the Cup Winners' Cup.

Red Star knew they had one of the games brightest stars within their ranks and appointed him team captain in 1997. He responded by scoring a personal best 15 goals that season.

Stankovic's brilliant play for Red Star caught the attention of Lazio. The Rome-based club paid 7.5 million pounds to bring the Serbian star to Italy in 1998 and Stankovic wasted little time in proving he deserved to play in one of the world's top leagues by scoring in his debut for Lazio.

At that time the Italian club was packed with world-class midfielders — most notably Pavel Nedved and Juan Sebastian Veron — but Stankovic carved out a place for himself at Lazio, helping the club win the Italian league title in 2000, two Italian Cups (2000 and 2005), and the European Super Cup and the Cup Winners' Cup (both in 1999).

It was while playing in Italy that he first earned a call-up to Yugoslavia's national team, making his debut on Apr. 22, 1998 against South Korea. He played at the 1998 World Cup and scored a goal before Yugoslavia bowed out in the second round.

Stankovic continued to impress Italian fans with his phenomenal play, but Lazio fell into financial crisis and were forced to sell him midway through the 2003-04 season. Though several clubs pursued him, including Juventus and Real Madrid, he convinced Lazio to sell him to Inter Milan.

Thus far, Stankovic has only captured two Italian Cups — not league titles — with Inter, but he has won over the respect and admiration of the fickle Inter fans with his exquisite and consistent play.

He also helped Serbia and Montenegro qualify for the 2006 World Cup, and will be looking to guide his country through a difficult opening group in Germany.