- REUTERS
Ilija Petkovic, the headcoach of Serbia and Montenegro's national soccer team, juggles the ball during a training session. Petkovic has announced he will quit his post after the World Cup.

BILLERBECK, Germany (AP):

SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO'S head coach Ilija Petkovic will quit the national team after the World Cup.

"I will resign when we return home," Petkovic said yesterday.

The announcement came after Serbia and Montenegro's 6-0 loss to Argentina on Friday that ranked as the worst in World Cup history for the national team - beating their 6-1 defeat as Yugoslavia in a 1930 semi-final to Uruguay.

Also quitting will be captain Savo Milosevic, defender Mladen Krstajic and midfielder Predrag Djordjevic who announced their retirements from the national team before the World Cup.

Serbia and Montenegro
conceded only one goal in 10 qualifying matches, but leaked seven in their first two Group C matches against Netherlands and Argentina. The Serbs, still to play Ivory Coast on June 21, have no chance of making the second round.

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Serbia and Montenegro's appearance in Germany is the national team's 10th trip to the World Cup, but the first ­ and last ­ under that name. Montenegro voted for independence in May.

"I will be the biggest fan of Serbia or Montenegro if they qualify for another World Cup," Petkovic said. "The defeat against Argentina was painful, but football goes on."

He described the loss as "a debacle," but also blamed unnamed "strategists" back home for denouncing his game plans at the World Cup as too defensive.

He said that he was sorry for "disregarding my own principles" when he started more offensively against Argentina.

"I'm sorry that I didn't close down the defence in my way," Petkovic said.

The Serbs were in disarray as they entered the match against Argentina, with problems ranging from injuries to key players, to squabbles over tactics and skirmishes between players at training sessions.

Petkovic conceded that "the atmosphere within the team wasn't good, as it always is when a team is losing matches".

He also said that the breakup of the country contributed to the early exit.

"All teams at the World Cup sing their national anthems, but ours is booed," Petkovic said. "It's hard to play in such an atmosphere."

Serbian fans detest the old communist-era Yugoslav song 'Hey Slavs!' and regularly booed it, leaving players shifting with unease. Petkovic said that his players will have to forget their two losses at the World Cup, and turn to the match against Ivory Coast in Munich on Wednesday.