Vladimir Petrović ( sr-Cyrl, Владимир Петровић, ; born 1 July 1955) is a Serbian

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

manager and former player. He is widely known domestically by his nickname Pižon ( sr, Пижон), after the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

for '' pigeon''.

Club career

During his playing career, he mostly played for Red Star Belgrade and is one of the five Zvezdine zvezde (The Stars of Red Star) — the legends of the club. He started out at Red Star making his debut in 1971, at the age of 16. With the team, he won four Yugoslav League Championship titles, one Yugoslav Cup and reached the final of the

1979 UEFA Cup Final The 1979 UEFA Cup Final was played on 9 May 1979, and 23 May 1979, between Red Star Belgrade of SFR Yugoslavia and Borussia Mönchengladbach of West Germany. Mönchengladbach won 2–1 on aggregate. Route to the final Match details First leg ...

, losing to

Borussia Mönchengladbach Borussia Verein für Leibesübungen 1900 e. V. Mönchengladbach, commonly known as Borussia Mönchengladbach (), Mönchengladbach () or Gladbach (; abbreviated as Borussia MG, BMG), is a professional Association football, football club based in ...

. In 1980, he was named the Yugoslav Footballer of the Year. In 1982, he moved abroad, and briefly played for

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

; he joined the London side in December 1982 and made 22 appearances in the 1982–83 season. At Arsenal he had a brief but memorable career and helped them reach the semi-finals of both domestic cups (losing both to

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

). He scored twice in the league against

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...

and West Ham United and once in the FA Cup quarter final against

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

. In June 1983 he left Arsenal and subsequently played for Brest and AS Nancy in France, and Royal Antwerp (1) and Standard Liège (16) in Belgium. In all he played 526 matches for the clubs.

International career

He also represented Yugoslavia 34 times and played in the

1974 World Cup The 1974 FIFA World Cup was the tenth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in West Germany (and West Berlin) between 13 June and 7 July. The tournament marked the first time that the ...

and

1982 World Cup The 1982 FIFA World Cup was the 12th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Spain between 13 June and 11 July 1982. The tournament was won by Italy, who defeated West Germany 3–1 i ...

Managerial career

As assistant coach, Petrović won the

1990–91 European Cup The 1990–91 European Cup was the 36th season of the European Cup, a tournament for men's football clubs in nations affiliated to the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). It was won for the first time by Red Star Belgrade on penaltie ...

with Red Star, and as head coach when they won the

1996–97 FR Yugoslavia Cup The 1996–97 FR Yugoslavia Cup was the fifth season of the FR Yugoslavia's annual football cup. The cup defenders was Red Star Belgrade, and they were him successfully defended, after they defeated FK Vojvodina in the final. First round ...

. He guided the Serbia and Montenegro national under-21 football team to a runners-up finish at the

2004 UEFA European Under-21 Championship The 2004 UEFA European Under-21 Championship was the 14th staging of UEFA's European Under-21 Championship. The final tournament was hosted by Germany between 27 May and 8 June 2004. Italy U-21s won the competition for the fifth time. Italy's Al ...

. In 2005, Petrović managed the Chinese Dalian Shide team to the double. On 14 September 2007, Petrović was named as coach of the Chinese national team. After China failed to qualify for the

2010 World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

, he was sacked. On 2 June 2009, Petrović returned to Red Star Belgrade. As manager, Petrović was part of takeover of Red Star by the club's veterans, replacing caretaker/interim coach

Siniša Gogić Siniša Gogić ( sr-Cyrl, Синиша Гогић, ; el, Σίνισα Γκόγκιτς; born 20 October 1963) is a football manager and former professional player who played as a striker. At club level he played for Yugoslav clubs Radnički ...

. On 21 March 2010, Red Star officials unexpectedly sacked Petrović after a league defeat against Metalac. On 4 June 2010, he was named the manager of Romanian club Politehnica Timișoara. On 15 September 2010, Petrović was named the new head coach of Serbia. On 14 October 2011, the football association of Serbia announced they had terminated their contract with Petrović. In 2013, he was the head coach of the Iraq national team. On 13 December 2013, he was named the head of coach of the Yemen national team. In May 2014, he resigned following the expiration of the contract."Yemen Football." Yemen.fa. Ministry of Youth, 26 Dec. 2013. Web. 3 Mar. 2014. In 2015, Petrović managed OFK Beograd.

Career statistics

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Club

Red Star Belgrade * Yugoslav First League: 1972–73, 1976–77, 1979–80, 1980–81 * Yugoslav Cup: 1981–82 * UEFA Cup runner-up: 1978–79

Manager

Red Star Belgrade * FR Yugoslavia Cup: 1996–97 Dalian Shide * Chinese Super League:

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

* Chinese FA Cup:

International

Serbia and Montenegro U21 * UEFA Euro U21 runner-up:

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

References

External links