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.
 Petrović as CSKA Sofia manager in 2019 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ljubomir Petrović | ||
| Date of birth | 15 May 1947 | ||
| Place of birth | Brusnica Velika, PR Bosnia and Herzegovina, FPR 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) | ||
| 1985–1987 | Osijek | ||
| 1987–1988 | Spartak Subotica | ||
| 1987 | Yugoslavia U18 (assistant) | ||
| 1988 | Yugoslavia U21 | ||
| 1988–1989 | 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 Zagreb | ||
| 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 | ||
| 2020–2022 | Thanh Hóa | ||
| 2023 | Litex Lovech (consultant) | ||
| 2023 | Litex Lovech | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
As a manager, Petrović's biggest success was winning the European Cup in the 1990–91 season with Red Star Belgrade.
Playing career
editBorn 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
editAs 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 (where he was dismissed after slapping Boban Dmitrović[1]) 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 Zagreb 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.[2] 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.[3][4]
In May 2016, he was unveiled as the new manager of Levski Sofia, replacing Stoycho Stoev.[5] He left Levski on 22 October 2016.[6]
After Levski he also managed Vietnemese club Thanh Hoa FC and Rwandan club APR FC.
In December 2018, Petrović became a consultant at PFC CSKA Sofia.[7]
Since 21 July 2019 he is officially the head coach of PFC CSKA Sofia, replacing Dobromir Mitov who was demoted to assistant.
In 2020, he returned to Vietnam to manage FLC Thanh Hóa, currently Đông Á Thanh Hóa once again for the 2021 V.League 1 season.
FK Sarajevo controversy
editOn 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.[8]
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.[9] 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.[10] 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.[11]
Personal life
editPetrović is married to Snežana with whom he has two children: son Srđan and daughter Svetlana. He also has three grandchildren: Nikola, Anastasija and Viktor.[12]
Politician
editPetrović appeared in the ninth position on the electoral list of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) in the 2020 Serbian parliamentary election and was elected to the Serbian parliament when the list won thirty-two seats.[13] During his time in the legislature, he was a member of Serbia's parliamentary friendship groups with Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Japan, Kazakhstan, and Rwanda.[14] He resigned from the legislature on 13 May 2021.[15]
Managerial statistics
edit- As of 16 December 2023[16]
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | |||
| NK Osijek | 1985 | 1987 | 76 | 32 | 13 | 31 | 42.11 |
| FK Spartak Subotica | 1987 | 1988 | 37 | 21 | 9 | 7 | 56.76 |
| FK Vojvodina | 1988 | 1989 | 45 | 23 | 8 | 14 | 51.11 |
| FK Rad | 1990 | 1990 | 17 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 47.06 |
| Red Star Belgrade | 1990 | 1991 | 53 | 35 | 11 | 7 | 66.04 |
| RCD Espanyol | 1991 | 1991 | 18 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 33.33 |
| Club Atlético Peñarol | 1992 | 1992 | 18 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 27.78 |
| PAOK | 1992 | 1993 | 39 | 19 | 9 | 11 | 48.72 |
| Olympiacos F.C. | 1993 | 1994 | 24 | 15 | 7 | 2 | 62.50 |
| Red Star Belgrade | 1994 | 1996 | 81 | 54 | 16 | 11 | 66.67 |
| Grazer AK | 1996 | 1996 | 22 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 40.91 |
| FK Vojvodina | 1996 | 1997 | 20 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 45.00 |
| Shabab Al-Ahli | 1998 | 1999 | 33 | 15 | 7 | 11 | 45.45 |
| Shanghai Shenhua F.C. | 1999 | 2000 | 26 | 14 | 8 | 4 | 53.85 |
| Levski Sofia | 2000 | 2001 | 54 | 37 | 11 | 6 | 68.52 |
| Beijing Guoan F.C. | 2002 | 2003 | 52 | 24 | 12 | 16 | 46.15 |
| PFC Litex Lovech | 2003 | 2004 | 42 | 26 | 13 | 3 | 61.90 |
| Red Star Belgrade | 2004 | 2004 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 37.50 |
| PFC Litex Lovech | 2005 | 2007 | 72 | 46 | 12 | 14 | 63.89 |
| OFK Beograd | 2008 | 2008 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0.00 |
| Croatia Sesvete | 2008 | 2008 | 18 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 27.78 |
| FK Vojvodina | 2008 | 2009 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.00 |
| NK Lokomotiva Zagreb | 2010 | 2011 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 27.27 |
| FC Taraz | 2011 | 2012 | 29 | 15 | 5 | 9 | 51.72 |
| FC Akzhayik | 2013 | 2013 | 35 | 8 | 11 | 16 | 22.86 |
| APR F.C. | 2014 | 2014 | 30 | 20 | 6 | 4 | 66.67 |
| PFC Litex Lovech | 2015 | 2015 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 75.00 |
| Levski Sofia | 2016 | 2016 | 13 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 61.54 |
| Dong A Thanh Hoa | 2017 | 2017 | 27 | 13 | 9 | 5 | 48.15 |
| APR F.C. | 2018 | 2018 | 18 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 66.67 |
| CSKA Sofia | 2019 | 2019 | 14 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 42.86 |
| Dong A Thanh Hoa | 2020 | 2022 | 38 | 17 | 6 | 15 | 44.74 |
| PFC Litex Lovech | 2023 | 2023 | 12 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 41.67 |
| Total | 975 | 504 | 227 | 244 | 51.69 | ||
Honours
editPlayer
editOsijek
- Yugoslav Second League: 1969–70 (West), 1972–73 (West), 1976–77 (West)
Manager
editSpartak Subotica
- Yugoslav Second League: 1987–88 (West)
Vojvodina
Red Star Belgrade
- Yugoslav First League: 1990–91
- First League of FR Yugoslavia: 1994–95
- FR Yugoslavia Cup: 1994–95
- European Cup: 1990–91
Levski Sofia
Beijing Guoan
Litex Lovech
APR FC
References
edit- ^ "Nach manchen Spielen habe ich geweint", Wiener Zeitung, 22 February 2012
- ^ "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. Archived from the original on 30 January 2016. 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 (10 April 2014). "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.
- ^ "Ljupko PETROVIC - Official Website". Archived from the original on 15 September 2013.
- ^ "Ko je sve na listi SPS-JS za republičke poslanike?", Danas, 7 March 2020, accessed 30 April 2021.
- ^ LjUBO PETROVIC, Archived 2021-12-07 at the Wayback Machine, National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, accessed 8 November 2024.
- ^ 3 August 2020 legislature, National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, accessed 8 November 2024.
- ^ J.League Data Site(in Japanese)
