Željko Petrović

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For the Bosnian long-distance runner, see Željko Petrović (athlete).

Željko Petrović
Personal information
Date of birth (1965-11-13) 13 November 1965 (age 56)
Place of birth Nikšić, SR Montenegro, Yugoslavia
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Right-back
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1985–1987 Nikšić 31 (5)
1987–1990 Budućnost 59 (6)
1990–1991 Dinamo Zagreb 31 (2)
1991–1992 Sevilla 11 (1)
1992–1994 Den Bosch 40 (7)
1994–1996 RKC 60 (14)
1996–1997 PSV 35 (6)
1997–2000 Urawa Reds 61 (3)
2000–2004 RKC 97 (5)
Total 425 (49)
National team
1990–1998 FR Yugoslavia 18 (0)
Teams managed
2006 Boavista
2007–2008 RKC
2008–2009 Hamburger SV (assistant)
2010 West Ham United (assistant)
2011 Urawa Red Diamonds
2012–2013 Anzhi Makhachkala (assistant)
2013–2014 Al-Shaab
2014 Serbia (assistant)
2015 Sunderland (assistant)
2016–2017 ADO Den Haag
2018–2019 Utrecht (assistant)
2019 Botev Plovdiv
2019 Badak Lampung
2020 Inter Zaprešić
2020–2021 Feyenoord (assistant)
2021 Willem II
2021 Iraq (assistant)
2021–2022 Iraq (caretaker)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Željko Petrović (Serbian Cyrillic: Жељко Петровић; born 13 November 1965) is a Montenegrin football coach and former player. As a player, he represented the FR Yugoslavia national team at the 1998 FIFA World Cup.

Club career[]

Budućnost[]

Petrović made his professional debut with Budućnost in 1987 under coach Stanko Poklepović. In Petrović's second season at Budućnost, the team included the likes of Niša Saveljić, Anto Drobnjak, Dejan Savićević, and Predrag Mijatović.[1] During Petrović's time at Budućnost, the team finished in ninth place in the 1987–88 season, fourteenth in the 1988–89 season, and tenth in the 1989–90 season.

Dinamo Zagreb[]

Petrović moved to Dinamo Zagreb in 1990, where he played as a right back. In June 1991, Dinamo changed their name to HAŠK Građanski.[2] In HAŠK Građanski's short 1991–92 UEFA Cup campaign, Petrović scored all three of HAŠK Građanski's goals over two legs played against Trabzonspor.[3] He scored two penalties in the first leg played on 17 September 1991, which HAŠK lost 3–2 to Trabzonspor.[4] He scored another goal in the second leg played on 2 October 1991, which HAŠK tied 1–1.[5] In spite of Petrović's goalscoring form, HAŠK were eliminated from the UEFA Cup losing to Trabzonspor on aggregate.

Sevilla[]

Petrović joined Sevilla in November 1991,[6] with his transfer from HAŠK Građanski costing the Spanish team 500,000 DM.[7] HAŠK Građanski had agreed on Petrović's transfer as part of a package with Davor Šuker, who joined Sevilla simultaneously.[8] At the time, La Liga teams could field only up to four foreigners on the pitch, and Sevilla already had two foreign starters in Iván Zamorano and Pablo Bengoechea.[9] With the addition of Šuker, Petrović was meant to be Sevilla's fourth foreign starter, although he initially enjoyed little playing time.[9] Gradually, coach Víctor Espárrago began bringing him off the bench, and in a breakthrough performance, Petrović made an assist in Sevilla's 1–0 win against Real Murcia in the 1992 Copa del Rey Round of 16.[10] On 22 March 1992, Petrović scored his only goal in a league match with Real Burgos, with Sevilla winning 3–2.[9] However, after the departure of coach Espárrago, a markedly dry spell followed, especially when Sevilla signed Diego Maradona in the summer of 1992.[9] Therefore, he was quick to sign for Dutch club FC Den Bosch that summer.

Den Bosch and Waalwijk[]

Petrović joined FC Den Bosch in 1992 while his father was living in nearby Heusden as a guest worker.[11] This circumstance seemed to be a deciding factor in his move to Den Bosch, as it was widely regarded that he could have easily played for a more competitive team.[11] Den Bosch director Chris van der Laar commented that Petrović was "too good for Den Bosch".[11] In spite of Petrović's good reception, Den Bosch struggled in the 1992–93 season and ended up relegated back to the second tier at the end of the season. After a 5–0 loss against Feyenoord in May 1993, Den Bosch coach Hans van der Pluijm noted that "[Petrović] is playing three classes better than the rest of the team."[11] He was eager to join RKC Waalwijk in 1994. It was at this club which he excelled as an attacking right-back, and he scored 13 goals in total of 2 seasons before joining Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven in 1996.

PSV[]

Petrović joined PSV Eindhoven in the summer of 1996. He was a regular starter during the 1996–97 season, when PSV won the Eredivisie that season under coach Dick Advocaat.[12] In his second season at the club, however, he proved a difficult player to manage and he was also involved in a spat with team captain Arthur Numan. Towards the end of Petrović's time at PSV, coach Advocaat was critical of his smoking habits.[13] In the fall of 1997, Petrović accepted a lucrative offer from the Urawa Red Diamonds, which estranged him from the rest of the club.[13] He insisted that he did not wish to leave PSV, but that the offer could not be ignored since ten of his relatives were living off of his money in Yugoslavia.[12] Petrović played a total of 35 games for PSV.[12] He played his last game for PSV on 5 November 1997, in a Champions League match against Newcastle United at St James' Park.[12]

Urawa Red Diamonds[]

In 1997, he moved to Japan to play for Urawa Red Diamonds[14] before returning to RKC Waalwijk in 2000 where he finished his playing career.

International career[]

Petrović made his debut for the national team of Yugoslavia on 12 September 1990 in a match against Northern Ireland.[15] Yugoslavia was subsequently banned from the Euro 1992, the 1994 FIFA World Cup, and the Euro 1996 due to FIFA suspending Yugoslavia following the international sanctions against Yugoslavia. Petrović would play for Yugoslavia again five years after his debut, for the qualification to the 1998 FIFA World Cup.

Death threat[]

Petrović was a regular of the Yugoslav national team throughout the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification. On 28 October 1997, the night before the first leg of the qualifying play-off against Hungary, Petrović received a death threat by an anonymous phone caller.[16] The caller gave Petrović twelve hours to leave Yugoslavia before being killed.[17] In the time preceding the death threat, Petrović had been subject to a whispering campaign that suggested he once played for the Croatian national team during the breakup of Yugoslavia, before Croatia became an official FIFA member.[17] Petrović strongly denied this,[17] and teammate Savo Milošević accused some journalists of jeopardizing Petrović's life by spreading fake news about him.[16] Petrović went on to play for Yugoslavia at the 1998 FIFA World Cup.[18]

After the rumors were spread, Petrović took several opportunities to explain how the media identified him. When a Dutch journalist asked Petrović about his nationality considering the breakup of Yugoslavia, Petrović insisted on his identity as a Yugoslav. He explained himself with the following:

"I'm not going to change...I'm Montenegrin, as you are Brabantian and he is Frisian. But here [in the Netherlands] are all Dutch people. That's not what we are after, after the war [in Yugoslavia]. But if you're Yugoslav, you're Yugoslav."[13]

Managerial and coaching career[]

On 21 August 2006, Petrović was appointed as the new head coach of Portuguese team Boavista. In his first match as manager, Boavista won 3–0 against Benfica. However, he resigned in October 2006 after only a month and a half in charge.[19] The following 2007–08 season Petrovic managed RKC Waalwijk to a second place in the Dutch 2nd division and failed to gain promotion to the Eredivisie. In the 2008–09 season he was Martin Jol's assistant at Hamburger SV.

On 28 July 2010, West Ham United confirmed Petrović as the assistant manager to manager Avram Grant.[20] On 23 November 2010, West Ham parted company with Petrović after less than four months. Upon his departure he made controversial comments about the Premier League questioning its quality.[21] In February 2010, Petrovic was named assistant to manager Guus Hiddink at Anzhi Makhachkala.[22]

On 17 March 2015, Petrović was named the assistant to manager Dick Advocaat at Sunderland, but was sacked on 4 October later that year.[23] He became assistant to manager Advocaat once more when he joined him at FC Utrecht in 2018.[24]

Botev Plovdiv[]

In the beginning of June 2019, Botev Plovdiv introduced Petrović as the new head coach of the club.[25] Following his recommendations the club signed Marko Pervan, Philippe van Arnhem and Rodney Klooster. After a long run of poor results, on 16 October, Petrović was sacked.[26] Shortly after that van Arnhem and Klooster were also released. In 12 games under his guidance Botev Plovdiv won only twice, achieved three draws and lost seven matches, last four of which in a row. The next Botev Plovdiv coach achieved seven wins in a row with the same squad attributing to the competency of Petrović.

Inter Zaprešić[]

In the beginning of January 2020, Inter Zaprešić introduced Petrović as the new head coach.[27] On 10 April 2020, following the COVID-19 pandemic, Petrović terminated the contract with the club.[28]

He was appointed assistant to Advocaat again at Feyenoord in summer 2020.[29]

Iraq[]

After the resignation of Dick Advocaat in November 2021 as manager of the Iraq national team, Petrović took over on a caretaker basis.[30] He would coach Iraq at the 2021 FIFA Arab Cup and the final round of the World Cup.[30] In the last seconds of his first match as coach against Oman, which ended in a 1–1 draw, Petrović entered the field to designate who would kick the penalty.[31] He was sacked on 2 February 2022.[32]

Career statistics[]

Club[]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[33]
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Budućnost Titograd 1987–88 First league 18 3 18 3
1988–89 21 3 21 3
1989–90 19 1 19 1
Total 58 7 58 7
Dinamo Zagreb 1990–91 First league 31 1 31 1
Sevilla 1991–92 La Liga 11 1 11 1
Den Bosch 1992–93 Eredivisie 13 1 13 1
1993–94 Eerste Divisie 27 6 27 6
Total 40 7 40 7
RKC Waalwijk 1994–95 Eredivisie 30 4 30 4
1995–96 30 9 30 9
Total 60 13 60 13
PSV 1996–97 Eredivisie 25 5 25 5
1997–98 10 1 10 1
Total 35 6 35 6
Urawa Reds 1997 J1 League 0 0 2 1 0 0 – 2 1
1998 27 2 3 0 0 0 – 30 2
1999 19 1 0 0 4 0 – 23 1
2000 J2 League 16 0 0 0 0 0 – 16 0
Total 62 3 5 1 4 0 0 0 71 4
RKC Waalwijk 2000–01 Eredivisie 21 2 21 2
2001–02 23 0 23 0
2002–03 22 1 22 1
2003–04 31 1 31 1
Total 97 4 97 4
Career total 394 42 5 1 4 0 0 0 403 43

International[]

Appearances and goals by national team and year[33]
National team Year Apps Goals
Yugoslavia 1990 1 0
1991 1 0
1992 0 0
FR Yugoslavia 1993 0 0
1994 0 0
1995 0 0
1996 0 0
1997 8 0
1998 8 0
Total 18 0

Managerial[]

[34][35]

Team From To Record
G W D L Win %
Urawa Reds 2011 2011 29 6 11 12 020.69
Iraq 2021 2 February 2022 6 1 3 2 016.67
Total 35 7 14 14 020.00

References[]

  1. ^ [1] Worldfootball.net: FK Budućnost Podgorica » Squad 1988/1989. Accessed 10 September, 2017.
  2. ^ Dragana Nikšić (20 January 2017). "Total Croatia News: Football". Retrieved 10 September 2017.
  3. '^ Miroslav Herceg (15 February 2017). "Narod.hr: Velikosrpski projekt i istina – Cvetković tvrdi: Bilić mi je rekao 'Da nije rata, svi bismo bili u Crvenoj zvezdi!" (in Croatian). Retrieved 10 September 2017.
  4. ^ [2] UEFA.com History: Dinamo Zagreb 2-3 Trabzonspor. 17 September 1991. Retrieved 10 September 2017
  5. ^ [3] UEFA.com History: Trabzonspor 1-1 Dinamo Zagreb. 2 October 1991. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
  6. ^ Miroslav Tomašević (10 September 2017). "Monitor: Bobana zaustavljali tenkovi, Bišćan posljednji Dinamov veliki tranfer?" (in Croatian). Retrieved 10 September 2017.
  7. ^ Alen Lesički (7 November 2013). "Jutarnji.hr: ŽELJKO PETROVIĆ U ČUDU" (in Croatian). Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  8. ^ "Vreme: Prijateljstvo iznad svega" (in Serbian). 13 March 1999. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  9. ^ a b c d Rinat Rafaé (13 November 2012). "Amigos de Colusso vs. Amigos de Kukleta: ZELJKO PETROVIC" (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  10. ^ Jesus Gomez (23 January 1992). "El Mundo Deportivo: Un gol dé Ramón clasifico al Sevilla" (PDF) (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  11. ^ a b c d Dick Wittenberg (3 May 1993). "nrc.nl: Jung jungskes begrijpen Zeljko Petrovic niet" (in Dutch). Retrieved 10 September 2017.
  12. ^ a b c d Edwin Cornelissen (26 November 2016). "NOS: Emotionele Petrovic keert even terug bij grote liefde PSV" (in Dutch). Retrieved 9 September 2017.
  13. ^ a b c Bart Jungmann (5 November 1997). "de Volksrant: Niemand kan zo mooi verongelijkt zijn als Zeljko Petrovic" (in Dutch). Retrieved 9 September 2017.
  14. ^ "Club History | Urawa Red Diamonds Official Website". Urawa-reds.co.jp. 17 November 1968. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
  15. ^ "Reprezentacija.rs: Petrović Željko" (in Serbian). Retrieved 10 September 2017.
  16. ^ a b "SPORTSKA KUPUSARA: Mijatovićeve simultanke protiv Mađarske" (in Serbian). Retrieved 10 September 2017.
  17. ^ a b c "When Saturday Comes (#131): Worst of both worlds". January 1998. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
  18. ^ Record at FIFA Tournaments – FIFA
  19. ^ "Pacheco replaces Petrovic as Boavista boss – Europe – ESPN Soccernet". Soccernet.espn.go.com. 23 October 2006. Retrieved 28 July 2010.
  20. ^ "Petrovic to assist Grant | News | Latest News | News | West Ham United". Whufc.com. Retrieved 28 July 2010.
  21. ^ "West Ham assistant boss Zeljko Petrovic departs". BBC Sport. 23 November 2010. Retrieved 23 November 2010.
  22. ^ Petrovic met Hiddink mee naar Anzhi - Rijnmond (in Dutch)
  23. ^ "Advocaat quits as Sunderland manager". BBC Sport.
  24. ^ FC Utrecht bevestigt komst Advocaat en Petrovic - Voetbal International (in Dutch)
  25. ^ "Желко Петрович е новият треньор на Ботев". botevplovdiv.bg (in Bulgarian). 9 June 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  26. ^ "ПРОМЕНИ В ТРЕНЬОРСКИЯ СЪСТАВ НА БОТЕВ". botevplovdiv.bg (in Bulgarian). 16 October 2019. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  27. ^ "Željko Petrović new coach of Inter Zapresic". 24sata.hr (in Croatian). 4 January 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  28. ^ "Raskid s Petrovićem, odbačene špekulacije". inter.hr. 10 April 2020. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  29. ^ Officieel: Zeljko Petrovic weer assistent van Dick Advocaat - Telegraaf (in Dutch)
  30. ^ a b Reuters (24 November 2021). "Advocaat quits after three months as Iraq coach". Reuters. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  31. ^ "Zeljko Petrovic over 'veldbestorming' bij penalty Irak: 'Het is nu duidelijk wie de baas is'". Algemeen Dagblad (in Dutch). 1 December 2021.
  32. ^ @IRAQFA (2 February 2022). "اتحاد كرة القدم العراقي يققر في اجتماعه، اليوم الاربعاء، إعفاء مدرب المنتخب الوطنيّ (بتروفيتش) وإناطة المهمة إلى مدربٍ محلي ستتم تسميتهُ في الأسبوعِ المقبل وتشكيل لجنةٍ من ذوي الخبرة والاختصاص، تضمُ مجموعةً من الأكاديميين والمدربين واللاعبين السابقين لوضع الخطط الاستراتيجيّة" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  33. ^ a b Željko Petrović at National-Football-Teams.com
  34. ^ J.League Data Site(in Japanese)
  35. ^ Željko Petrović

External links[]

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