Ilija Petkovic
Encyclopedia
Ilija Petković (born September 22, 1945 in Knin
, Yugoslavia
) is a retired Serbia
n footballer
. Since the early 1990s he's been a football manager, his most notable appointment being with the Serbia and Montenegro national football team.
where he spent over 16 seasons becoming one of the club's all-time best players and a 3-year stint with the French outfit Troyes AC
.
at the age of 19, Petković wasn't sure if he wanted to play football professionally. In addition to training and playing with OFK Beograd, he simultaneously enrolled in, and eventually completed the Economics college.
His first playing stint with the club lasted from 1964 until 1973. Though the club was even then in the constant shadow of its big city rivals Red Star Belgrade
and Partizan
, it still managed to put in many memorable league
campaigns as well as to win the Yugoslav Cup in 1965/1966
season with a memorable 5-1 final thrashing of Dinamo Zagreb
.
His second stint started in 1976 after returning from France
at the age of 31. Even at the twilight of his career Petković managed to be an important contributor to the team. He played until 1983, retiring from the game close to the ripe old age of 38. Unfortunately, this time around the team's overall performance wasn't as glowing as was the case during Petković's first stint. They constantly hovered around the relegation zone and couldn't avoid the drop in 1979/80 season meaning that Petković played the 1980/81 campaign in Yugoslav Druga liga. They quickly gained promotion at the end of that year and played 2 more seasons in top flight before being relegated again after 1982/83 - Petković's last playing season.
He played a grand total of 417 games for OFK
, scoring 68 goals.
, earning himself 43 appearances in the national team for which he scored 6 goals between 1968 and 1974.
He enjoyed an impressive debut in the national colors on April 24, 1968. Yugoslavia was hosting France
in the second leg of the 1968 European Football Championship
quarterfinal. The score from the first leg eighteen days earlier in Marseille
was 1-1 and the qualification for the final four tournament in Italy
was at stake. Petković needed only 3 minutes to score his first goal in the national team, before adding another one on the 33 minute mark. It was a dream debut for the 22-year-old en route to 5-1 thrashing of the French in front of a raucous home crowd at Belgrade's Partizan stadium
.
He naturally went on to play for SFR Yugoslavia in 1968 European Championship final tournament in Italy. First up in the semifinal at Florence
's Stadio Artemio Franchi were the World Cup champions England
. In what was perhaps the greatest ever Yugoslav football victory, Petković played a prominent part with a creative midfield display.
He also played in 1974 World Cup in Germany, scoring a goal in the group stage 9-0 rout of Zaire.
. Eventually he was named to be the first team coach, thus beginning a head coaching career. His debut stint lasted three seasons between 1990 and 1993.
He then moved on to Switzerland in 1993 where he coached Servette FC
from Geneva
for two seasons until 1995. At that time Swiss club football had been ruled by Grasshoppers
from Zurich
, a domination that Petković managed to break during his first season in charge. He led his club to the 1993/1994 championship trophy, edging their rival by just one point in a tense finish.
Around this time, UN embargo on FR Yugoslavia had been eased (thus allowing Yugoslav team sports participation again after 3 years), and his old teammate from OFK Beograd Slobodan Santrac
was named to be the national team coach. In 1997 Santrac invited Petković to join the team's coaching staff as one of his assistants. Santrac was let go after a disappointing showing at World Cup 1998 and Petković went the same way.
He landed a job with Avispa Fukuoka
of the Japanese J-League in 1998 and stayed there for a season.
The next port of call was Greece in July 1999 where Petkovic coached Aris Thessaloniki
, again for just one season until summer 2000. The highlight of the season was the club's Greek National Cup campaign where it managed to eliminate powerhouse Panathinaikos but ended the competition at the semifinal stage.
His appointment came on the heels of a humiliating 1-6 quarterfinal exit from Euro 2000 to Holland and the subsequent dismissal of head coach Vujadin Boskov
. Petković had his work cut out as the team was clearly due for a major attitude and personnel overhaul if it were to qualify for the next major competition - 2002 World Cup
in Korea
and Japan
.
He started off well with a 2-1 friendly away win to Northern Ireland and a confident qualifier rout of Luxembourg, but the real test was scheduled to come in October 2000 against the group favorites Russia. However, due to the political turmoil in FR Yugoslavia at the time (Milosevic regime overthrow
) the game was called off and rescheduled for the spring of 2001. Since the entire country was coming out of the decade-long semi-dictatorship, the new changes in society were clearly affecting football as well and the national FA
was under considerable pressures from various interest groups looking to use the murky situation to gain control and influence.
In January 2001, the national team was set to depart for India to take part in a poorly organized Millennium/Sahara Cup with the likes of Bangladesh
, India
, and Hong Kong
, as well as B teams of Romania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Japan, Chile and Uruguay. In the end, Petković picked a combined squad from domestic league only. On top of playing at dilapidated stadia under excruciating heat, half the world away in a next to meaningless tournament, the relations within the Yugoslav football organization were deteriorating. Rumors ran rampant about Petković getting a lucrative head coaching offer in China
and his desire to leave.
Eventually, that is exactly what happened. As the FA was getting ready to pick the new leadership, Petković quit the team citing his desire to leave along with the people who brought him on - in this case the outgoing FA president Miljan Miljanic
.
of the Chinese Jia A league. He guided the team to a second place league finish and left his post at the end of the season in December 2001.
. Petković's appointment came after Bora Milutinović finally rejected the offer following a month-long courthip by the FA. Mid-way through Petković's stint in summer 2005, Stojković left the FA in order to take the role of Red Star Belgrade
president. New FA president Tomislav Karadžić
, kept Petković at the helm of the national squad.
Petković managed to lead the team through 2006 World Cup qualifying in impressive fashion, with Serbia-Montenegro allowing only one goal in 12 matches. However, the team's showing at the World Cup final tournament in Germany was disastrous, with three losses from three matches including a 0-6 drubbing at the hands of Argentina. Furthermore, Petković caused controversy ahead of the tournament when he named his son Dušan
in the final squad, a move that triggered widespread outrage and condemnation. Even the former FA president, at that time Red Star president, Stojković criticised Petković publicly. Faced with the barrage of criticism, Petković's son withdrew from the squad. Since the squad list was already submitted, FIFA didn't allow a replacement to be named so that Serbia-Montenegro ended up being the only nation at the World Cup with 22 players in the squad instead of 23.
In late December 2009, Petković accused Stojković of starting the media smear campaign against him back in late May 2006 before the World Cup. Petković claimed that he refused to name some Red Star players in the final squad that the club was looking to sell at a better price by having them showcased at the World Cup, all of which prompted Stojković's ire. Stojković denied such claims.
of the K-League which he finished 5th league position.
Knin
Knin is a historical town in the Šibenik-Knin county of Croatia, located near the source of the river Krka at , in the Dalmatian hinterland, on the railroad Zagreb–Split. Knin rose to prominence twice in history, as a one-time capital of both the Kingdom of Croatia and briefly of the...
, Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
) is a retired Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
n footballer
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
. Since the early 1990s he's been a football manager, his most notable appointment being with the Serbia and Montenegro national football team.
Playing career
He started playing football for Dinara Knin. Petković's professional playing days were divided between OFK BeogradOFK Beograd
Omladinski fudbalski klub Beograd, commonly referred to as OFK Beograd , is a football club from Belgrade, Serbia, more precisely from the Karaburma urban neighborhood. It currently is the oldest team playing in the Serbian SuperLiga. The name means "Youth Football Club Belgrade" in Serbian...
where he spent over 16 seasons becoming one of the club's all-time best players and a 3-year stint with the French outfit Troyes AC
Troyes AC
Espérance Sportive Troyes Aube Champagne is a French association football club, based in Troyes. It was founded in 1900. The club was promoted to Ligue 1 for the 2005–06 season and their first Ligue 1 season was in 1954/55, and their second spell came in 1999/2000 Espérance Sportive Troyes Aube...
.
OFK Beograd
When he left his hometown of Knin to come to capital BelgradeBelgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
at the age of 19, Petković wasn't sure if he wanted to play football professionally. In addition to training and playing with OFK Beograd, he simultaneously enrolled in, and eventually completed the Economics college.
His first playing stint with the club lasted from 1964 until 1973. Though the club was even then in the constant shadow of its big city rivals Red Star Belgrade
Red Star Belgrade
Red Star Belgrade is a football club from Belgrade, Serbia. The club is a part of the Red Star Sports Society.Red Star Belgrade is the most successful Serbian club, with a record of 25 national championships and 23 national cups in both Serbian and ex-Yugoslav competitions...
and Partizan
Partizan
Partizan is the Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, and Slovene term for a partisan. It is usually used in those languages to denote a member of the World War II resistance movement, the Yugoslav Partisans, which are always mentioned in those languages without the adjective "Yugoslav", i.e...
, it still managed to put in many memorable league
Yugoslav First League
The Yugoslav First League was the premier football league in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and socialist Yugoslavia...
campaigns as well as to win the Yugoslav Cup in 1965/1966
Yugoslav First League 1965/66
The 1965–66 Yugoslav First League season was the 20th season of the First Federal League , the top level association football league of SFR Yugoslavia, since its establishment in 1946...
season with a memorable 5-1 final thrashing of Dinamo Zagreb
Dinamo Zagreb
GNK Dinamo Zagreb, commonly referred to as Dinamo Zagreb , or by their nickname Modri are a Croatian football club based in Zagreb. They play their home matches at Stadion Maksimir. They are the most successful club in Croatian football, having won thirteen Croatian championship titles, ten...
.
His second stint started in 1976 after returning from France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
at the age of 31. Even at the twilight of his career Petković managed to be an important contributor to the team. He played until 1983, retiring from the game close to the ripe old age of 38. Unfortunately, this time around the team's overall performance wasn't as glowing as was the case during Petković's first stint. They constantly hovered around the relegation zone and couldn't avoid the drop in 1979/80 season meaning that Petković played the 1980/81 campaign in Yugoslav Druga liga. They quickly gained promotion at the end of that year and played 2 more seasons in top flight before being relegated again after 1982/83 - Petković's last playing season.
He played a grand total of 417 games for OFK
OFK Beograd
Omladinski fudbalski klub Beograd, commonly referred to as OFK Beograd , is a football club from Belgrade, Serbia, more precisely from the Karaburma urban neighborhood. It currently is the oldest team playing in the Serbian SuperLiga. The name means "Youth Football Club Belgrade" in Serbian...
, scoring 68 goals.
Troyes AF
According to the strictly enforced sporting rules of communist Yugoslavia no player was allowed to play for clubs outside the country before reaching the age of 28. Petković was no different and had to wait until 1973 to complete a move to Troyes AF where he spent three seasons.SFR Yugoslavia national team
He quickly became a prolific midfielder in the Yugoslav First LeagueYugoslav First League
The Yugoslav First League was the premier football league in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and socialist Yugoslavia...
, earning himself 43 appearances in the national team for which he scored 6 goals between 1968 and 1974.
He enjoyed an impressive debut in the national colors on April 24, 1968. Yugoslavia was hosting France
France national football team
The France national football team represents the nation of France in international football. It is fielded by the French Football Federation , the governing body of football in France, and competes as a member of UEFA, which encompasses the countries of Europe...
in the second leg of the 1968 European Football Championship
UEFA European Football Championship
The UEFA European Football Championship is the main football competition of the men's national football teams governed by UEFA . Held every four years since 1960, in the even-numbered year between World Cup tournaments, it was originally called the UEFA European Nations Cup, changing to the current...
quarterfinal. The score from the first leg eighteen days earlier in Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
was 1-1 and the qualification for the final four tournament in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
was at stake. Petković needed only 3 minutes to score his first goal in the national team, before adding another one on the 33 minute mark. It was a dream debut for the 22-year-old en route to 5-1 thrashing of the French in front of a raucous home crowd at Belgrade's Partizan stadium
Partizan Stadium
Partizan Stadium is a football and track-and-field stadium in Belgrade, Serbia, owned by FK Partizan. It carried the name JNA Stadium for a long time and was the site of Youth Day parade. Even today, the majority of football fans in all countries of the former Yugoslavia call it by its old name....
.
He naturally went on to play for SFR Yugoslavia in 1968 European Championship final tournament in Italy. First up in the semifinal at Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
's Stadio Artemio Franchi were the World Cup champions England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
. In what was perhaps the greatest ever Yugoslav football victory, Petković played a prominent part with a creative midfield display.
He also played in 1974 World Cup in Germany, scoring a goal in the group stage 9-0 rout of Zaire.
Belgrade, Geneva, Fukuoka, Thessaloniki
Immediately after wrapping up his playing career Petkovic became a sporting director at his beloved OFK BeogradOFK Beograd
Omladinski fudbalski klub Beograd, commonly referred to as OFK Beograd , is a football club from Belgrade, Serbia, more precisely from the Karaburma urban neighborhood. It currently is the oldest team playing in the Serbian SuperLiga. The name means "Youth Football Club Belgrade" in Serbian...
. Eventually he was named to be the first team coach, thus beginning a head coaching career. His debut stint lasted three seasons between 1990 and 1993.
He then moved on to Switzerland in 1993 where he coached Servette FC
Servette FC
Servette FC is a Swiss football club, based in Geneva currently playing in the Swiss Super League. They were playing in the Swiss Challenge League, the second highest tier of Swiss football having been relegated from the Swiss Super League at the end of 2004/05 season...
from Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
for two seasons until 1995. At that time Swiss club football had been ruled by Grasshoppers
Grasshopper-Club Zürich
Grasshopper Club Zürich commonly referred to as simply GC, GCZ, or Grasshopper is a Swiss multisports club based in Zürich. The oldest and best known section of Grasshopper Club Zürich is its football team...
from Zurich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
, a domination that Petković managed to break during his first season in charge. He led his club to the 1993/1994 championship trophy, edging their rival by just one point in a tense finish.
Around this time, UN embargo on FR Yugoslavia had been eased (thus allowing Yugoslav team sports participation again after 3 years), and his old teammate from OFK Beograd Slobodan Santrac
Slobodan Santrac
Slobodan Santrač is a retired Serbian football player and currently manager of Chinese Super League side Shaanxi Renhe Commercial Chanba F.C.....
was named to be the national team coach. In 1997 Santrac invited Petković to join the team's coaching staff as one of his assistants. Santrac was let go after a disappointing showing at World Cup 1998 and Petković went the same way.
He landed a job with Avispa Fukuoka
Avispa Fukuoka
For the record label, see Avispa. is a Japanese professional football club, currently playing in the J. League Division 1 having been promoted from J. League Division 2 in the 2010 season. The team is located in Hakata, Fukuoka. "Avispa" means "wasp" in Spanish.-In Fujieda:The club was founded as...
of the Japanese J-League in 1998 and stayed there for a season.
The next port of call was Greece in July 1999 where Petkovic coached Aris Thessaloniki
Aris Thessaloniki F.C.
Aris Football Club , also known as God of war and the Yellows, is a Greek football club based in the city of Thessaloniki, Macedonia. Formed in 1914, the club was a founding member of Macedonian Football Clubs Association as well as the Hellenic Football Federation, they currently compete in...
, again for just one season until summer 2000. The highlight of the season was the club's Greek National Cup campaign where it managed to eliminate powerhouse Panathinaikos but ended the competition at the semifinal stage.
National team head coach, take one
In the summer of 2000 Petković became the head coach of Yugoslavia's national team for the first time.His appointment came on the heels of a humiliating 1-6 quarterfinal exit from Euro 2000 to Holland and the subsequent dismissal of head coach Vujadin Boskov
Vujadin Boškov
Vujadin Boškov is a retired Serbian football player and coach.Boškov was born in the village of Begeč near Novi Sad, Danube Banovina, Kingdom of Yugoslavia). He played with FK Vojvodina for most of his career...
. Petković had his work cut out as the team was clearly due for a major attitude and personnel overhaul if it were to qualify for the next major competition - 2002 World Cup
2002 World Cup
2002 World Cup may refer to:*Alpine skiing – 2002 Alpine Skiing World Cup*Athletics – 2002 IAAF World Cup*Field Hockey:** 2002 Men's World Hockey Cup** 2002 Women's World Hockey Cup...
in Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
He started off well with a 2-1 friendly away win to Northern Ireland and a confident qualifier rout of Luxembourg, but the real test was scheduled to come in October 2000 against the group favorites Russia. However, due to the political turmoil in FR Yugoslavia at the time (Milosevic regime overthrow
5th October Overthrow
A series of events occurred in 2000 in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, following the presidential elections and culminating in the downfall of Slobodan Milošević's regime on 5 October 2000...
) the game was called off and rescheduled for the spring of 2001. Since the entire country was coming out of the decade-long semi-dictatorship, the new changes in society were clearly affecting football as well and the national FA
Football Association of Serbia and Montenegro
The Football Association of Serbia and Montenegro was the governing body of football in Serbia and Montenegro, based in Belgrade. It organized the football league, the national team, the cup tournament as well as the Second Leagues of both republics....
was under considerable pressures from various interest groups looking to use the murky situation to gain control and influence.
In January 2001, the national team was set to depart for India to take part in a poorly organized Millennium/Sahara Cup with the likes of Bangladesh
Bangladesh national football team
The Bangladesh national football team is the national team of Bangladesh controlled by the Bangladesh Football Federation. It is a member of the Asian Football Confederation and has yet to qualify for the World Cup finals...
, India
India national football team
The Indian national football team is the national football team of India and is governed by the All India Football Federation. It is a member of the Asian Football Confederation. Since 1948, the AIFF has been affiliated with FIFA, the international governing body for football. In 1954, AIFF became...
, and Hong Kong
Hong Kong national football team
The Hong Kong national football team , represents Hong Kong in international association football events such as the FIFA World Cup, AFC Asian Cup and East Asian Football Championship. The team is represented by the Hong Kong Football Association....
, as well as B teams of Romania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Japan, Chile and Uruguay. In the end, Petković picked a combined squad from domestic league only. On top of playing at dilapidated stadia under excruciating heat, half the world away in a next to meaningless tournament, the relations within the Yugoslav football organization were deteriorating. Rumors ran rampant about Petković getting a lucrative head coaching offer in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and his desire to leave.
Eventually, that is exactly what happened. As the FA was getting ready to pick the new leadership, Petković quit the team citing his desire to leave along with the people who brought him on - in this case the outgoing FA president Miljan Miljanic
Miljan Miljanic
Miljan Miljanić is a retired Yugoslav football player, coach and administrator....
.
Shanghai, Sichuan
Petković signed a lucrative contract with Shanghai ShenhuaShanghai Shenhua
Shanghai Shenhua is a professional Chinese football club currently playing in Chinese Super League. The club is currently owned by Zhu Jun , Shanghai SVA Group, SMEG and Huangpu Investment Ltd. . The current head coach is Dražen Besek...
of the Chinese Jia A league. He guided the team to a second place league finish and left his post at the end of the season in December 2001.
National team head coach, again
During summer 2003, Petković was named to the post of Serbia-Montenegro national team head coach by FA president Dragan StojkovićDragan Stojkovic
Dragan Stojković , also known under the nickname Piksi is a Serbian former footballer and current manager of J...
. Petković's appointment came after Bora Milutinović finally rejected the offer following a month-long courthip by the FA. Mid-way through Petković's stint in summer 2005, Stojković left the FA in order to take the role of Red Star Belgrade
Red Star Belgrade
Red Star Belgrade is a football club from Belgrade, Serbia. The club is a part of the Red Star Sports Society.Red Star Belgrade is the most successful Serbian club, with a record of 25 national championships and 23 national cups in both Serbian and ex-Yugoslav competitions...
president. New FA president Tomislav Karadžić
Tomislav Karadžić
TOLE LOPOVE JEBEMO TI SVE TOLE LOPOVEEE TOLE LOPOVEEE JEBEMO TI SVEEE is a Serbian businessman and football administrator of Montenegrin origin. Since 2008 he is in his second stint as the president of Serbian Football Association...
, kept Petković at the helm of the national squad.
Petković managed to lead the team through 2006 World Cup qualifying in impressive fashion, with Serbia-Montenegro allowing only one goal in 12 matches. However, the team's showing at the World Cup final tournament in Germany was disastrous, with three losses from three matches including a 0-6 drubbing at the hands of Argentina. Furthermore, Petković caused controversy ahead of the tournament when he named his son Dušan
Dušan Petkovic
Dušan Petković is a Serbian former footballer....
in the final squad, a move that triggered widespread outrage and condemnation. Even the former FA president, at that time Red Star president, Stojković criticised Petković publicly. Faced with the barrage of criticism, Petković's son withdrew from the squad. Since the squad list was already submitted, FIFA didn't allow a replacement to be named so that Serbia-Montenegro ended up being the only nation at the World Cup with 22 players in the squad instead of 23.
In late December 2009, Petković accused Stojković of starting the media smear campaign against him back in late May 2006 before the World Cup. Petković claimed that he refused to name some Red Star players in the final squad that the club was looking to sell at a better price by having them showcased at the World Cup, all of which prompted Stojković's ire. Stojković denied such claims.
Korea
In January 2009, Petković returned to coaching following a two and a half year break, signing with Incheon UnitedIncheon United
Incheon United is a professional Korean football team currently playing in the K-League. The team's home town is Incheon, the third biggest city in the country, and the team's home stadium is the Incheon Munhak Stadium, one of the ten venues built in Korea for the 2002 FIFA World...
of the K-League which he finished 5th league position.