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Private plane incident sees Aleksandar Mitrovic in more controversy in Serbia

8 years ago
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Aleksandar Mitrovic made headlines at the weekend, after reports  emerged of an altercation between the Newcastle striker and one of his Serbian teammates at half-time.

The pair were said to have almost come to blows after arguing over who was at fault for the first goal in the 4-1 defeat to the Czech Republic.

After a disastrous Euros qualifying group which left them on just four points at the end of it, the Serbian media and public are sick of the failings of the national team.

The aftermath of the Czech defeat saw further fallout from the dressing room, with Chelsea’s Nemanja Matic saying he might not play again because of the lack of professionalism in his teammates.

Whilst his Chelsea teammate Branislav Ivanovic made a clumsy defence of one of those receiving criticism from some in the dressing room and beyond, by making a clumsy defence of Aleksandar Mitrovic, where he said the Newcastle striker needed support, rather than criticism for ‘always looking overweight and sluggish’!

Yet another episode after Friday’s defeat has seen Aleksandar Mitrovic’s father defend the Serbian forward.

Mitrovic flew off on a private plane straight after the game with three other players, rather than spend the night with his teammates and fly back the next day on the scheduled team plane.

Mitrovic senior told the Serbian press that his son had to do that so he could spend time with his family, as he had to fly back to Newcastle on the Sunday.

It then also emerged that of the 22 on international duty, only seven were still around the next day to take the ‘team plane’ home.

The Serbian public and media see the players as just doing what they want with no discipline or team ethic between them.

Whilst Mitrovic is clearly seen as part of the problem and not THE problem, the fact that he’s scored only two goals in 18 appearances for Serbia doesn’t really help him either.

When at Anderlecht, Mitrovic was criticised for coming back to his club after international duty having put five pounds in weight on after one international break.

All that concerns is of course is what happens at Newcastle United and you have to admit that Aleksandar Mitrovic hasn’t exactly looked mobile or 100% fit since his arrival at the club.

He’s never going to be the most agile with his height and build but if he isn’t at peak fitness then he stands little chance of making the real impact that Newcastle need from him, if we are to have any kind of a healthy Premier League campaign this season.

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