Dragan "Pixy" Stojkovic will make an appearance in front of his Japanese fans when the Nagoya Grampus Eight star suits up for Yugoslavia on Thursday night against Paraguay in the opening match of the Kirin Cup at Tokyo's National Stadium.
"After having seven nice seasons in Japan, playing before the Japanese fans this time has special meaning to me. I'd like to put on a fantastic performance without any mistakes," Stojkovic said in a news conference at the venue Wednesday. Stojkovic has already announced that he'll hang up his boots after the end of the J. League's first stage. The 18-member Yugoslavia side, however, is formed around many young players. Seven of them haven't yet played for the country, including last-minute callup Aleksandar Zivkovic of Jubilo Iwata.
Vujadin Boskov, one of the Yugolsav team's three managers, said that he and his colleagues, Ivan Curkovic and Dejan Savicevic, will use the three-nation annual tournament as a test selection of these young players for the remaining World Cup qualifiers. "We have many young players this time but they are good players," Stojkovic said. "I hope they understand the importance of playing in this tournament."