Vladimir Petković

Vladimir Petković (Croatian pronunciation: [ʋlǎdimiːr pêtkoʋit͡ɕ]; born 15 August 1963) is a football manager and former professional player who played as a midfielder. He is currently the head coach of the Switzerland national team, having previously managed a string of Swiss clubs as well as Italian side Lazio.

For the Serbian art historian and professor, see Vladimir Petković (art historian). For the Serbian politician, see Vladimir Petković (politician). For the geologist, see Vladimir K. Petković.

Vladimir Petković
Petković as Switzerland manager at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
Personal information
Full name Vladimir Petković
Date of birth (1963-08-15) 15 August 1963
Place of birth Sarajevo, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina,
SFR Yugoslavia
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Playing position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Switzerland (manager)
Youth career
0000–1978 Igman Ilidža
1978–1981 Sarajevo
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1981–1984 Sarajevo 8 (0)
1984–1985 Rudar Prijedor 15 (7)
1985 Sarajevo 2 (0)
1985–1986 Koper 14 (4)
1986–1987 Sarajevo 17 (3)
1987–1988 Chur 97
1988–1989 Sion 6 (0)
1989–1990 Martigny-Sports 31 (8)
1990–1993 Chur 97 87 (19)
1993–1996 Bellinzona 63 (8)
1996–1997 Locarno 32 (3)
1997–1998 Bellinzona
1998–1999 Buochs
Total 275 (52)
Teams managed
1997–1998 Bellinzona
1999–2004 Malcantone Agno
2004–2005 Lugano
2005–2008 Bellinzona
2008–2011 Young Boys
2011–2012 Samsunspor
2012 Sion
2012–2014 Lazio
2014– Switzerland
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He is an ethnic Croat from Bosnia and Herzegovina. He holds both Swiss and Bosnian-Herzegovinian passports.

Early life

Petković was born in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1963. He is a naturalized Swiss[1][2][3][4] and holds Swiss and Bosnian-Herzegovinian passports.[5] Both of his parents worked as educational workers, resulting in several transfers to other schools due to the family’s frequent moving.[6] They first lived in Vrelo Bosne and then when he was five years old, in Hadžići near Sarajevo.[6]

Playing career

A midfielder with good technique, Petković started playing football in Ilidža as an eleven-year-old before joining the youth sector of his hometown side FK Sarajevo youth as a fifteen-year-old.[6]

He remained at FK Sarajevo and began his professional career there[7] in the early 1980s. Petković made only a handful of appearances in a strong Sarajevo side led on the pitch by Bosnia's player, Safet Sušić.[6] Petković was a part of the Sarajevo side that won the 1984–85 Yugoslav First League, making only two league appearances for them.[1] His time at Sarajevo was interrupted by two brief stints elsewhere, first a successful time with Rudar Prijedor, where Petković showed a good of scoring form, and then a season in the Yugoslav Second League with NK Koper, which finished last and were relegated.

Petković emigrated from Yugoslavia in 1987, leaving FK Sarajevo and moving permanently to Switzerland, where he joined second division club Chur 97. After a season with Chur, Petković moved to the Swiss top division, joining a strong Sion side. Sion achieved a third-place finish in the Nationalliga but Petković left the club at the end of the season after only making six league appearances.

After leaving Sion, Petković moved back into the lower tiers, first joining Martigny-Sports before returning to his first Swiss club, Chur 97. Petković enjoyed a career as a regular goalscoring midfielder in the Swiss second division, which included two more stints at Bellinzona and Lugano.

Petković completed his playing career as a player-manager with Bellinzona and Malcantone Agno, the latter having later merged with financially stricken Lugano.

Managerial career

After his retirement from playing, he became a coach and his first job was player-manager at Bellinzona in 1997. In 2004, he took over the reins at Lugano before returning to Bellinzona for the fourth time in his career, where he led the club to the 2008 Swiss Cup final, only to lose out to Basel, and promotion to the Swiss Super League. At the beginning of the 2008–09 season, he was appointed as manager of Young Boys. After taking charge at the club, Petković installed a 3–4–3 formation and took the Bern side to a second-placed league finish. After two more seasons with Young Boys, he was sacked after a 1–1 draw against Luzern on 7 May 2011. The club finished in third place in the league behind their rivals Zürich and Basel.

In 2011, he became the new manager of Turkish side Samsunspor. He resigned from that position in January 2012 with the club in the relegation zone.[8] On 15 May 2012, he was named the new temporary manager of Sion until the end of the 2011–12 season.[9]

On 2 June 2012, Petković became the new manager of Italian side Lazio in Serie A.[10] With the club, he won the Coppa Italia in 2013, thanks to a goal from Senad Lulić.

On 23 December 2013, it was announced that Petković was to succeed Ottmar Hitzfeld as the manager of the Switzerland national team after the 2014 FIFA World Cup.[11] As a result, Claudio Lotito fired Petković claiming a breach of the contract due to not having been duly informed by Petković about the latter's ongoing negotiations with the Swiss Football Association. Petković was sacked as Lazio manager on 4 January 2014 and was replaced by Edy Reja. The legal dispute concerning the contract termination between S.S. Lazio and Petković is still ongoing.

Since his appointment to the national team spot in July 2014, Petković has so far guided the Swiss to the round of 16 stages of both the UEFA Euro 2016 in France and the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

Charitable work

While living in Switzerland, Petković worked for Caritas Ticino, a Catholic relief development and social service organisation, for five years.[12][13][14]

Managerial statistics
As of 18 November 2019
Team From To Record
G W D L Win %
Bellinzona July 1997 May 1998 26 10 6 10 038.46
Malcantone Agno 1999 2004
Lugano June 2004 June 2005 34 14 8 12 041.18
Bellinzona October 2005 June 2008 97 56 21 20 057.73
Young Boys August 2008 8 May 2011 131 78 21 32 059.54
Samsunspor 1 July 2011 27 January 2012 22 4 7 11 018.18
Sion 15 May 2012 1 June 2012 4 1 0 3 025.00
Lazio 2 June 2012 4 January 2014 79 38 21 20 048.10
Switzerland 1 July 2014 Present 60 34 12 14 056.67
Total 451 233 96 122 051.66

Honours

Player

Club

Sarajevo

Manager

Malcantone Agno

Lazio

  • Euro 2016: 1/8 Finals
  • World Cup 2018: 1/8 Finals
  • Euro 2020: Euro 2020 Qualification
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References
  1. "The official website for European football". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 6 January 2013.
  2. Tagesanzeiger.ch: «Die Berner denken zu oft ans Verlieren»:Ich bin Schweizer und bosnischer Kroate aus Sarajevo.
  3. "Trainersteckbrief Vladimir Petkovic, Schweiz".
  4. Ilmessaggero.it: Petkovic, in testa solo la Lazio Il tecnico ha lasciato la famiglia in Svizzera per evitare ogni distrazione: In realtà, per non rimanere tanto lontani al famoso film dove ci sono due mostri sacri come De Sica e la Lollo (Pane, amore e fantasia ndc), a lui molto caro secondo alcuni amici, in questo uomo croato tutto d’un pezzo c’è tanta fantasia e soprattutto tantissimo amore per la sua famiglia., archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20121023213332/http://www.ilmessaggero.it/sport/sslazio/petkovic_in_testa_solo_la_lazio_il_tecnico_ha_lasciato_la_famiglia_in_svizzera_per_evitare_ogni_distrazione/notizie/219395.shtml
  5. Petkovic wird neuer Sion-Trainer!: Mit YB wurde der Staatsbürger von Kroatien und der Schweiz zweimal Vize-Meister und verlor 2009 mit den Bernern den Cupfinal - gegen Sion.
  6. "Mourinho sa Ilidže".
  7. "zerodic.com". Archived from the original on 30 March 2016. Retrieved 9 December 2008.
  8. "Samsunspor'da Mesut Bakkal dönemi" (in Turkish). NTVSpor.net. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
  9. "FC Sion - Vladimir Petkovic ist der neue Trainer des FC Sion".
  10. FIFA.com. "Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) - FIFA.com".
  11. fifa.com (23 December 2013). "Petkovic to succeed Hitzfeld".
  12. Caritas-ticino.ch: Auguri a Vladimir Petkovic
  13. expert, James Horncastle Italian football. "Tottenham and Lazio united by fondness for former star Gazza".
  14. "Hrvatski sport u Svicarskoj". Archived from the original on 3 January 2013. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
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