Ilija Petković ( sr-Cyrl, Илија Петковић, ; 22 September 1945 – 27 June 2020) was a Serbian

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

er and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

. Petković was capped 43 times for

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

, participating in the 1968 European Football Championship, and in the

1974 FIFA World Cup The 1974 FIFA World Cup was the 10th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, 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 ...

where he scored a goal in a huge 9–0 win against

Zaire Zaire, officially the Republic of Zaire, was the name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1971 to 18 May 1997. Located in Central Africa, it was, by area, the third-largest country in Africa after Sudan and Algeria, and the 11th-la ...

. He played much of his career in

OFK Beograd OFK Beograd ( sr-Cyrl, ОФК Београд – Омладински фудбалски клуб Београд, English language, English: ''Belgrade Youth Football Club''), also known in English as OFK Belgrade and currently referred to as OFK ...

, with a mid-career stint playing for

Troyes Troyes () is a Communes of France, commune and the capital of the Departments of France, department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within ...

. He began his coaching career in 1990 with his original club, OFK Beograd, and he went on to coach numerous other clubs. Initially starting as an assistant, Petković coached his

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

from 2000 to 2001 and from 2003 to 2006 – including most notably the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to FIFA World Cup hosts ...

Playing career

OFK Beograd

When Petković left his hometown

Knin Knin () is a city in the Šibenik-Knin County of Croatia, located in the Dalmatian hinterland near the source of the river Krka (Croatia), Krka, an important traffic junction on the rail and road routes between Zagreb and Split, Croatia, Split. ...

for the capital city

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

, he had not yet decided if he wanted to play football professionally because, in addition to training and playing with

, he simultaneously enrolled in and eventually completed the Economics college. He signed his first professional contract with OFK in 1964. Though the club was even then in the constant shadow of its big city rivals

Red Star Belgrade Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club), commonly referred to as Crvena zvezda () and colloquially referred to as Red Star Belgrade in anglophone media, is a ...

and Partizan, it still managed to put in many memorable league campaigns as well as to win the 1965–66 Yugoslav Cup with a 6–2 final thrashing of

Dinamo Zagreb Građanski nogometni klub Dinamo Zagreb (), commonly referred to as simply Dinamo Zagreb (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. Dinamo play their home matches at Stadion Maksimir. They are the most successful club in Cr ...

. In 1972, Petković played as a guest for Uruguayan side

Peñarol Club Atlético Peñarol (), more commonly referred to as Peñarol, is a Uruguayan professional football club based in Montevideo. The club currently competes in the Uruguayan Primera División, the highest tier in Uruguayan football. The nam ...

where he suffered a fracture caused by Nacional defender

Juan Mujica Juan Martín Mugica Ferreira (also spelled ''Mujica'', 22 December 1943 – 11 February 2016) was a Uruguayan football (soccer), football player and manager who played as a Defender (association football), defender. He represented his Uruguay n ...

Troyes

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

where he spent three seasons.

OFK Beograd again

His second stint with OFK started in 1976 after returning from

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

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 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 Second League. They quickly gained promotion at the end of that year and played two more seasons in the top flight before being relegated again after 1982–83, Petković's last playing season.

International career

Petković debuted for Yugoslavia on 24 April 1968, at the age of 22 when Yugoslavia hosted

's Partizan Stadium in the second leg of the qualifying round quarter-final. The score from the first leg eighteen days earlier in

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

was 1–1 and qualification was at stake but Petković scored his first goal in the national team just three minutes in, before adding another one in the 33rd minute as Yugoslavia won 5–1. He went on to play for Yugoslavia at the final tournament in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. He also played at the

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

, scoring a goal in the group stage 9–0 victory over

. He played his final international there, against

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

Coaching career

FR Yugoslavia

Petković was named as an assistant to

Slobodan Santrač Slobodan Santrač (, ; 1 July 1946 – 13 February 2016) was a Serbian football manager and player. He is the all-time top scorer of the Yugoslav First League with a total of 218 goals, as well as the top scorer in the history of OFK Beograd. A ...

in 1997, prior to the

1998 FIFA World Cup The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 1 ...

FR Yugoslavia The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro or simply Serbia and Montenegro, known until 2003 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and commonly referred to as FR Yugoslavia (FRY) or simply Yugoslavia, was a country in Southeast Europe locate ...

exited the tournament in the

Round of 16 A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

to the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

which was labelled a disappointing result, leading Santrač and the entire coaching staff (including Petković) to resign after the tournament. In July 2000, Petković became the head coach of FR Yugoslavia after their exiting from

UEFA Euro 2000 The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Championship, a football tournament held every four years and organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe. The finals tournament was ...

in the quarter-final to the Netherlands by a score of 6–1 and the subsequent dismissal of head coach Vujadin Boškov. Petković started off well with a 2–1 away win in a friendly against

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

and a 2–0 win against

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

in a 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifier. As the

Football Association A football association, also known as a football federation, soccer federation, or soccer association, is a governing body for association football. Many of them are members of the sport's regional bodies such as UEFA and CONMEBOL and the world gov ...

was getting ready to choose a new president in January 2001, Petković resigned from his post citing the departure of outgoing FA president

Miljan Miljanić Miljan Miljanić ( sr-Cyrl, Миљан Миљанић; 4 May 1930 – 13 January 2012) was a Yugoslav and Serbian football administrator, coach and player who played as a defender. He was the all-powerful President of the Football Association ...

as the reason.

Serbia and Montenegro

In July 2003, Petković was named as the head coach of the Serbia and Montenegro national team by FA president Dragan Stojković. Petković managed to lead the team through 2006 World Cup qualifying in impressive fashion, with Serbia and Montenegro allowing only one goal in twelve 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 defeat at the hands of

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. Furthermore, Petković caused controversy ahead of the tournament when he named his son

Dušan Dušan ( sr-Cyrl, Душан) is a Slavic names, Slavic given name primarily used in the former Yugoslavia and the former Czechoslovakia. The name is derived from the Slavic noun ''duša'' "soul". Occurrence In Serbia, it was the 29th most po ...

in the final squad as a replacement for the injured Mirko Vučinić, a move that triggered widespread outrage and condemnation. Dragan Stojković (at this time the president of Red Star Belgrade) criticized Petković publicly. Faced with the barrage of criticism, Petković's son withdrew from the squad which meant that, since the squad list was already submitted,

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

didn't allow a replacement to be named so Serbia and 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, with Stojković denying the claims.

Death

Petković died on 27 June 2020, in

after being hospitalized with a

duodenal ulcer Peptic ulcer disease is when the inner part of the stomach's gastric mucosa (lining of the stomach), the first part of the small intestine, or sometimes the lower esophagus, gets damaged. An ulcer in the stomach is called a gastric ulcer, while ...

and becoming infected with

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Serbia. He is interred in the Alley of Distinguished Citizens in the Belgrade New Cemetery.

Honours

Player

OFK Beograd *

Yugoslav Cup The Yugoslav Cup (; ; , ), officially known between 1923 and 1940 as the King Alexander Cup (; , and between 1947 and 1991 as the Marshal Tito Cup (; ; ; ), was one of two major association football, football competitions in Socialist Federal Re ...

: 1965–66

Manager

Servette * Swiss National League A: 1993–94 Individual * Serbian Coach of the Year: 2005

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Petkovic, Ilija 1945 births 2020 deaths Footballers from Knin Serbs of Croatia Men's association football midfielders Yugoslav men's footballers Yugoslavia men's international footballers UEFA Euro 1968 players 1974 FIFA World Cup players OFK Beograd players ES Troyes AC players Yugoslav First League players Ligue 1 players Yugoslav expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in France Yugoslav expatriate sportspeople in France Yugoslav football managers Serbia and Montenegro football managers Serbian football managers OFK Beograd managers Servette FC managers Aris Thessaloniki F.C. managers Serbia and Montenegro national football team managers Shanghai Shenhua F.C. managers Incheon United FC managers Al Ahli SC (Doha) managers Gyeongnam FC managers Serbia national under-20 football team managers 2006 FIFA World Cup managers Yugoslav First League managers First League of Serbia and Montenegro managers Super League Greece managers Chinese Super League managers China League One managers K League 1 managers Qatar Stars League managers Serbia and Montenegro expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Switzerland Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in Japan Expatriate football managers in Greece Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in Greece Expatriate football managers in China Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in China Serbian expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in South Korea Serbian expatriate sportspeople in South Korea Expatriate football managers in Qatar Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Qatar Deaths from ulcers Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Serbia Burials at Belgrade New Cemetery