That there is an encyclopedia that uses videos instead of words to define terms, along with the term "Serbia" could, without a doubt, be the video of the beautiful own goal that they are football players Serbian national team registered in a friendly match against Mexico.
The actors of the event were goalkeeper Filip Stanković and left back Stefan Bukinac, but considering how players for the national team have been chosen for years and the "philosophy" of its selectors, it can be safely said that any two other players could have been in their place.
As in the case of other iconic moments, when Stanković quickly threw the ball with his hand to Bucinac who, I guess that was the intention, was supposed to start the action towards the goal of the Mexicans, there was no telling how the Serbian footballers would react magnificently.
The player from Bukin routinely met that ball with his left foot, which is his primary foot, stopped it, and seeing that the Mexican player was approaching him, resolutely returned it to Stanković, that is, he thought he was returning it to him. The shot was too strong, the keeper too far from the ball's path, and his desperate throw to try and stop it, even though it was clearly impossible, only made the own goal look better.
Goalkeepers are usually able to embellish goals from free kicks with parades, for example, when a well-timed shot "removes the cobwebs" from the forks of their goal, but Stanković's move was not so elegant.
After the game, the coach declared that he was disappointed, but he shouldn't be, because even scoring own goals requires some skill.
Citizens and state institutions
It reminded us of the relationship between citizens and institutions in Serbia.
The citizen is doing what he thinks he should do - he tries to return the problem to the institutions that are standing somewhere in the back, not at all expecting that the citizen will turn to them, and without an idea where exactly they should be, busy with some of their own things, there is no communication, so the ball ends up in their own net.
Everyone watches the video and wonders, "How could someone do something like this?"
It is possible and happens every day, because a citizen sends a request, but the institution does not receive it. The citizen pays contributions, the institution spends them on something that has nothing to do with him. A citizen tries to play by the rules, and the rules change along the way or are simply ignored. And that's why in the end - an own goal, always an own goal.
After the match, the conclusion follows that everything happened by chance, just as all other own goals happen "by chance" - from the economy, through the judiciary, to education and healthcare.
That's why that video perfectly defines Serbia. Not because all the players are bad, but because for 90 minutes you can see what we see every day for years: everyone is standing on the field, everyone has jerseys, everyone is shouting "Serbia!", and somehow the ball always ends up in our net.
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