Radovan Ćurčić has been appointed as the new coach of Serbia's Under-21 team.

The 41-year-old has signed a contract until the end of the 2013–15 UEFA European U21 Championship campaign, which concludes with the final tournament in the Czech Republic. Ćurčić replaces Aleksandar Janković, who stepped down following Serbia's failure to qualify for this summer’s finals in Israel.

Following a low-key playing career as a centre-back, Ćurčić started coaching immediately after his retirement in 2003. He guided home-town club FK Javor to the best season in their history when they were promoted to the Serbian top flight in season 2004/05, and has also worked for FK Borac Čačak.

Ćurčić became assistant to senior Serbia boss Vladimir Petrović during qualification for UEFA EURO 2012 and was acting coach for the national side between October 2011 and May 2012.

The draw for the U21 Championship's 2013–15 qualifying group stage takes place on 31 January in Nyon and is being streamed live on UEFA.com.

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