28 SERBIA

Because ...

CAPTAIN KOLAROV

Looking for a hard-nosed leader who can have a bit of fun with cultural stereotyping? Aleksandar Kolarov is your man. While at Man City in 2013 the attack-minded defender—whose crisp crosses will feed Fulham's Aleksandar Mitrović in Russia—recorded a Christmas video in which he sternly read "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" after requesting a "dark" backdrop with "maybe a couple of wolves." (YouTube it: Kolarov Christmas.) Now there's an inspirational figure.