ALEKSANDAR KOLAROV

This accomplished left-back has earned the nickname of the ‘Serbian Roberto Carlos’ due to his attacking style. Part of Serbia’s 2010 World Cup squad, Kolarov made a big-money move to Manchester City in July 2010.

He was one of the stars of the Under-21 side that lost to Netherlands in the final of the 2007 European Championship. He was selected for the Team of the Tournament, no doubt winning many votes for the free-kick he thundered home in the semi-final victory over Belgium.

Kolarov joined Lazio from OFK Belgrade in the summer of 2007 and, like many Balkan youngsters, he had a soft spot for Italian football and supported Lazio as a kid. Nonetheless, he decided to move to City as he wanted to play in the Premier League and compete for the chance to win the Champions League.

Strengths: The combative Kolarov is in his element bursting forward, is brilliant at executing a quick one-two, crosses a good ball and is extremely dangerous from direct free-kicks.

Weaknesses: The defensive side of his game is questionable and he has a tendency to be caught out of position.

Career high: Scoring in the penalty shootout to help Lazio beat Sampdoria in the 2009 Coppa Italia final.

Career low: Despite arriving at the 2010 World Cup with high hopes, he was dropped for Serbia’s final group game against Australia when a 2-1 defeat saw them suffer an early exit.

Style: Rampaging left-back or left-sided midfielder with a talent for free-kicks.

Quotes: “We have very good players and there are many clubs interested in them, which means that we have done our jobs well. We know his (Kolarov’s) value well and we want to keep him.” - Roberto Mancini, July 2012

Trivia: Kolarov has said he is best friends with Inter star Goran Pandev.