Aleksandar "Aco" Petrović (; born 16 February 1959) is a Croatian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

coach and former player who is currently the head coach of the Brazil men's national team.

Playing career

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

and

shooting guard The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game ...

, Petrović achieved prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. The pro clubs he played for included Šibenka, Cibona, Scavolini Pesaro,

Novi Zagreb Novi Zagreb () is the part of the city of Zagreb located south of the Sava, Sava river. Novi Zagreb forms a distinct whole because it is separated from the northern part of the city both by the river and by the levees around Sava. At the same time ...

, and Racing Luxembourg. He was among the 105 player nominated for the

50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors The 50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors (2008) of FIBA European Champions Cup and EuroLeague history were awarded and chosen on February 3, 2008, in Madrid, Spain. The occasion was the fiftieth anniversary since the founding of the inaugural s ...

list.

Coaching career

Petrović started his club

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

ing career with Cibona in 1991. Between 1995 and 1997, he coached the

Spanish ACB League The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administered by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, w ...

team Caja San Fernando, before returning to Cibona for the 1997–98 season. In the 2001–02 season, he went to Poland to coach

Anwil Włocławek Anwil is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Sissach (district), Sissach in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Basel-Country in Switzerland. History Anwil is first mentioned in 1276. Geography Anwil has an are ...

. In 2004 he was again as head coach in Spain, that time with Caprabo Lleida. In 2006 he took over the Italian Serie A team Carifac Fabriano, before switching to Eurorida Scafati. In the 2007–08 season, he took over the Croatian A-1 Liga team

Zadar Zadar ( , ), historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian, ; see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Croatia. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar ...

. He then became head coach of

Cedevita Cedevita d.o.o. is a Croatian company which produces a wide range of teas, instant drinks, and dietetic products. A notable owner of the company was the Croatian pharmaceutical company Pliva d.d. Since 2001 Cedevita has been part of the Atlan ...

. He was named the EuroCup Coach of the Year in 2011. Following the departure of

Božidar Maljković Božidar "Boža" Maljković ( sr-Cyrl, Божидар "Божа" Маљковић; born 20 April 1952) is a Serbian former professional basketball coach and current president of the Olympic Committee of Serbia. He is one of the most successful b ...

, Petrović once again took charge over Cedevita on 26 November 2012. After Cedevita was eliminated from the

EuroLeague The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

and

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and left without any chance of qualifying for the ABA League final four, Petrović offered his resignation to the club, which was accepted on 3 March 2013. On 16 December 2013, Petrović was named head coach of the Lithuanian team

Lietuvos rytas ''Lietuvos rytas'' (lit. 'Morning of Lithuania') is a Lithuanian daily newspaper. History and profile "Lietuvos rytas" was established in 1990 on a basis of newspaper "Komjaunimo tiesa". The paper is printed in Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is ...

. Following a 91–92

final game loss to

Prienai Prienai () is a city in Lithuania situated on the Nemunas River, south of Kaunas. In 2023, the city had 8,894 inhabitants. The name of the city is a derivative from the surname ''Prienas''. Pociūnai Airport is associated with the city. Histor ...

, he was sacked on 31 March 2014. On 16 July 2021, Petrović was named head coach for

Victoria Libertas Pesaro Victoria Libertas (also known as "VL" or in Italian ''Vuelle''), full name Unione Sportiva Victoria Libertas Pallacanestro, is a professional basketball team that is based in Pesaro, Italy. The club competes in the top level Italian professiona ...

of the Italian Serie A.

National team coaching

In February 2012, Petrović was appointed head coach of the senior men's Bosnia and Herzegovina national team, guiding them at the 2013 EuroBasket in Slovenia. In November 2013, the Basketball Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina sacked him. Petrović had coached the

Croatia men's national basketball team The Croatia men's national basketball team () represents Croatia in international basketball matches. The team is controlled by the Croatian Basketball Federation (HKS). The biggest success Croatia has achieved was at the 1992 Barcelona Olymp ...

on three occasions; in 1995, when Croatia finished third in

EuroBasket EuroBasket, also commonly referred to as the European Basketball Championship, is the main international basketball competition that is contested quadrennially, by the senior men's national teams that are governed by FIBA Europe, which is the E ...

, from 1999 to 2001, when they finished seventh in the

2001 EuroBasket The 2001 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 2001, was the 32nd FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as Europe qualifier for the 2002 FIBA World Championship, giving a be ...

and from 2016 to 2017. On 23 March 2016, Petrović was named head coach of the senior men's Croatia national team for the third time in his head coaching career. In August 2016, Croatia managed to reach the 2016 Summer Olympics tournament surprisingly winning qualifying tournament in

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

. At the Olympic finals, Croatia lost in the quarterfinal game of the tournament from

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

. On 15 September 2017, following a defeat to host

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

in the round of 16 at

, Petrović resigned from Croatia bench. In October 2017, a month after leaving Croatia, Petrović was named head coach of the

Brazil men's national basketball team The Brazil national basketball team is governed by the Brazilian Basketball Confederation (), abbreviated as CBB. They have been a member of the International Federation of Basketball (FIBA), since 1935. Brazil's national basketball team remain ...

, which he led at the 2019 World Cup in China, but failed to qualify for the 2020 Summer Olympics tournament through the qualifying tournament in

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enter ...

. On 24 October 2022, Petrović was named interim head coach of the Croatia men's national team, being appointed to that role for the fourth time in his coaching career.

Personal life

Aleksandar Petrović was born in

Šibenik Šibenik (), historically known as Sebenico (), is a historic town in Croatia, located in central Dalmatia, where the river Krka (Croatia), Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea. Šibenik is one of the oldest Croatia, Croatian self-governing cities ...

as the first child of mother Biserka (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Mikulandra), and father Jovan "Jole" Petrović. His father, of

Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history, and language. They primarily live in Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia ...

ethnicity, was born in 1927 in

Trebinje Trebinje ( sr-Cyrl, Требиње, ) is a city and municipality in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the southernmost city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and is situated on the banks of the Trebišnjica river in the region of East Her ...

, Bosnia and Herzegovina. His mother, of

Croat The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...

ethnicity, was born in 1941 in the village of Bilice, Croatia, a municipality based a few kilometres west from Aleksandar's hometown of Šibenik. His younger brother, Dražen, who died in a June 1993 car accident, was also a professional

player. Petrović's cousin is the Serbian former basketball player and current executive

Dejan Bodiroga Dejan Bodiroga ( sr-Cyrl, Дејан Бодирога; born 2 March 1973) is a Serbian basketball executive and former professional player, who is currently the president of EuroLeague Basketball. In 1998 and 2002, he received the Golden Badge ...

. Aleksandar's paternal grandfather Jovan and Dejan's paternal grandmother Gospava were siblings. Petrović's wife is Jadranka, whom he married in 1985. The couple have two children: a daughter Lina and son Marko, who is also a professional basketball player. Aleksandar's father, Jovan, died in April 2021 after a long illness.

References

External links