Ljupko Petrović
![]() Petrović as CSKA Sofia manager in 2019 | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Ljubomir Petrović | ||
Date of birth | 15 May 1947 | ||
Place of birth | Brusnica Velika, SFR Yugoslavia | ||
Position(s) | Forward | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1967–1979 | Osijek | 318 | (134) |
1979–1981 | Buffalo Stallions (indoor) | 70 | (79) |
1981–1982 | Kansas City Comets (indoor) | 25 | (15) |
1982 | Phoenix Inferno (indoor) | 15 | (8) |
Total | 428 | (236) | |
Managerial career | |||
1982–1984 | Osijek (youth) | ||
1984 | Espanyol (assistant) | ||
1984–1987 | Osijek | ||
1987–1988 | Spartak Subotica | ||
1987 | Yugoslavia U18 (assistant) | ||
1988 | Yugoslavia U21 | ||
1988–1990 | Vojvodina | ||
1990 | Rad | ||
1990–1991 | Red Star Belgrade | ||
1991 | Espanyol | ||
1992 | Peñarol | ||
1992–1993 | PAOK | ||
1993 | Olympiacos | ||
1994–1996 | Red Star Belgrade | ||
1996 | Grazer AK | ||
1996–1997 | Vojvodina | ||
1998–1999 | Al-Ahli Dubai | ||
1999–2000 | Shanghai Shenhua | ||
2000–2001 | Levski Sofia | ||
2002–2003 | Beijing Guoan | ||
2003–2004 | Litex Lovech | ||
2004 | Red Star Belgrade | ||
2005–2007 | Litex Lovech | ||
2008 | OFK Beograd | ||
2008 | Croatia Sesvete | ||
2008–2009 | Vojvodina | ||
2010–2011 | Lokomotiva | ||
2011–2013 | Taraz | ||
2013 | Akzhayik | ||
2015 | APR FC | ||
2015 | Litex Lovech | ||
2016 | Levski Sofia | ||
2017 | Thanh Hóa | ||
2018 | APR FC | ||
2018–2019 | CSKA Sofia (consultant) | ||
2019 | CSKA Sofia | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Ljubomir "Ljupko" Petrović (Serbian Cyrillic: Љубомир Љупко Петровић; born 15 May 1947) is a Serbian professional football manager and former player. He also holds a Bosnian passport.
As a manager, his biggest success was winning the European Cup in the 1990–91 season with Red Star Belgrade.
Playing career
Born in Brusnica Velika (a village near Bosanski Brod) in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Yugoslavia, Petrović, Started playing for NK Darda and then moved to NK Osijek during most of his career. After his career at Osijek he also spent some time in the United States.
Managerial career
As a manager, he has been in charge of NK Osijek, FK Spartak Subotica, FK Rad, FK Vojvodina, and finally Red Star Belgrade, with whom he won the 1991 European Cup.
He has also managed Spanish side RCD Espanyol, Uruguayan C.A. Peñarol, Austrian Grazer AK and Chinese Shanghai Shenhua and Beijing Guoan.
He had another two spells at Red Star before moving to Bulgaria in the 2000s to coach PFC Levski Sofia and later PFC Litex Lovech. He came back to Serbia in March 2008 to become the manager of OFK Beograd, but he resigned from this position one month later.
On 2 July 2008, Petrović became the head coach of Croatian First League team Croatia Sesvete, thus becoming the first Serbian head coach of a Croatian first division team after the Yugoslav wars.
On 23 December 2008, he was appointed for the head coach of his former team FK Vojvodina from Novi Sad, title challengers in the Serbian Superliga for the 2008–09 season. Yet, after gaining only one point in the first two matches of the second part of the season, he resigned from this position on 8 March 2009. In 2010 he coached Croatian side NK Lokomotiva a feeding club of Croatian football giant GNK Dinamo Zagreb.
In the summer of 2015 Petrović managed Litex Lovech for three matches, leading them to first place in the 2015–16 A PFG standings, but left the team in early August for family reasons.[1] In early December he returned to the team from Lovech once again after the position of manager was vacated by Laurențiu Reghecampf. Petrović guided them to the 1/2 finals of the Bulgarian Cup. However, it eventually turned out to be another short-lived appointment for the Serbian head coach, as Litex were expelled from the A PFG by the Bulgarian Football Union after their players were ordered off the pitch in a heated derby match against Levski Sofia held on 12 December.[2][3]
In May 2016, he was unveiled as the new manager of Levski Sofia, replacing Stoycho Stoev.[4] He left Levski on 22 October 2016.[5]
After Levski he also managed Viatnemese club Thanh Hoa FC and Rwandan club APR FC.
In December 2018, Petrović became a consultant at PFC CSKA Sofia.[6]
Since July 21, 2019 he is officially the head coach of PFC CSKA Sofia, replacing Dobromir Mitov who was demoted to assistant.
FK Sarajevo controversy
On 8 April 2014, Petrović was announced as the successor of the recently sacked Croatian manager Robert Jarni as the head of the FK Sarajevo team.[7]
However, only two days after, a picture of the manager and deceased Serbian paramilitary commander Arkan erupted in the Bosnian media depicting Petrović holding a weapon while instructed by the war criminal.[8] This resulted in a hurried press conference where the FK Sarajevo board of members announced that no contract would be signed with Petrović.
The manager himself agreed to the decision, citing the possibility of strained working conditions after the unexpected publication. He however claimed no involvement in the Yugoslav wars nor the paramilitary activities of Arkan.[9] Petrović managed FK Sarajevo for only one day, conducting a single training with the players. The authenticity of the photo has later been brought to doubt.[10]
Personal life
Petrović is married to Snežana with whom he has two children: son Srđan and daughter Svetlana. He also has three grandchildren: Nikola, Anastasija and Viktor.
Honours
Player
Osijek
Manager
Spartak Subotica
Vojvodina
Red Star Belgrade
- Yugoslav First League: 1990–91
- Serbia and Montenegro First League 1994–95
- Serbia and Montenegro Cup: 1994–95
- European Cup: 1990–91
Levski Sofia
Beijing Guoan
Litex Lovech
APR FC
Thanh Hóa
- V.League 1: Runner-up: 2017
References
- ^ "Люпко Петрович напусна Литекс, Регенкампф поема тима. Сърбинът имал семейни проблеми". topsport.bg. 5 August 2015. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
- ^ Tomov, Assen; Kichukov, Simeon (4 December 2015). "Точно преди дербито с "Лудогорец", Регекампф абдикира и избяга в "Стяуа". 7sport.net. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
- ^ "Люпко Петрович напусна Литекс". sportal.bg. 23 December 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
- ^ ""Левски" представи Петрович, целта му е първото място". dnevnik.bg. 17 May 2016. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
- ^ "Шок в Левски: Люпко подаде оставка минути преди мача" (in Bulgarian). gong.bg. 22 October 2016.
- ^ A. Pašić (5 December 2018). "Ne pomišlja na penziju: Petrović našao novi angažman" (in Bosnian). sportsport.ba. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
- ^ "Ljupko Petrović novi trener FK Sarajevo". Klix.ba. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
- ^ Vedran Radenović. "Petrović zbog Arkana neće biti trener Sarajeva". Nezavisne.com. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
- ^ "FK Sarajevo neće potpisati ugovor sa Petrovićem zbog fotografije sa Arkanom". Klix.ba. 23 October 2012. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
- ^ "ATV VIDEO: Petrović bez posla zbog fotografije sa Arkanom - ATV - ATV". Atvbl.com. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
External links
- Official website
- MISL career stats
- Ljupko Petrović at Footballdatabase
- 1947 births
- Living people
- Association football forwards
- Yugoslav football managers
- Serbian football managers
- Serbian footballers
- NK Osijek players
- Buffalo Stallions players
- Kansas City Comets (original MISL) players
- Phoenix Inferno players
- Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players
- FK Vojvodina managers
- FK Rad managers
- Red Star Belgrade managers
- Peñarol managers
- PAOK FC managers
- La Liga managers
- RCD Espanyol managers
- Grazer AK managers
- NK Osijek managers
- OFK Beograd managers
- PFC Litex Lovech managers
- PFC Levski Sofia managers
- UEFA Champions League winning managers
- Expatriate football managers in Bulgaria
- Expatriate football managers in Greece
- Expatriate football managers in Spain
- Beijing Guoan F.C. managers
- Expatriate football managers in China
- NK Lokomotiva managers
- FC Taraz managers
- FK Spartak Subotica managers
- Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina
- NK Croatia Sesvete managers