 Petrović asCSKA Sofia manager in 2019 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ljubomir Petrović | ||
| Date of birth | (1947-05-15)15 May 1947 (age 78) | ||
| Place of birth | Bosanski Brod,PR Bosnia and Herzegovina,FPR Yugoslavia | ||
| Position | 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 | |||
Ljubomir "Ljupko" Petrović (Serbian Cyrillic:Љубомир "Љупко" Петровић; born 15 May 1947) is a Serbian professionalfootball manager and formerplayer. He also holds aBosnian passport.
As a manager, Petrović's biggest success was winning theEuropean Cup in the1990–91 season withRed Star Belgrade.
Born inBrusnica Velika (a village nearBosanski Brod) inBosnia and Herzegovina,Yugoslavia, Petrović, Started playing for NK Darda and then moved toNK Osijek during most of his career. After his career at Osijek he also spent some time in theUnited States.
As a manager, he has been in charge ofNK Osijek,FK Spartak Subotica,FK Rad,FK Vojvodina, and finallyRed Star Belgrade, with whom he won the1991 European Cup.
He has also managed Spanish sideRCD Espanyol, UruguayanC.A. Peñarol, AustrianGrazer AK (where he was dismissed after slappingBoban Dmitrović[1]) and ChineseShanghai Shenhua andBeijing Guoan.
He had another two spells at Red Star before moving to Bulgaria in the 2000s to coachPFC Levski Sofia and laterPFC Litex Lovech. He came back to Serbia in March 2008 to become the manager ofOFK Beograd, but he resigned from this position one month later.
On 2 July 2008, Petrović became the head coach ofCroatian First League teamCroatia Sesvete, thus becoming the first Serbian head coach of a Croatian first division team after theYugoslav wars.
On 23 December 2008, he was appointed for the head coach of his former teamFK Vojvodina fromNovi Sad, title challengers in the Serbian Superliga for the2008–09 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 sideNK Lokomotiva Zagreb a feeding club of Croatian football giantGNK Dinamo Zagreb.
In the summer of 2015 Petrović managedLitex Lovech for three matches, leading them to first place in the 2015–16A PFG standings, but left the team in early August for family reasons.[2] In early December he returned to the team fromLovech once again after the position of manager was vacated byLaurențiu Reghecampf. Petrović guided them to the 1/2 finals of theBulgarian 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 againstLevski Sofia held on 12 December.[3][4]
In May 2016, he was unveiled as the new manager ofLevski Sofia, replacingStoycho Stoev.[5] He left Levski on 22 October 2016.[6]
After Levski he also managed Vietnemese clubThanh Hoa FC and Rwandan clubAPR FC.
In December 2018, Petrović became a consultant atPFC CSKA Sofia.[7]
Since 21 July 2019 he is officially the head coach ofPFC CSKA Sofia, replacingDobromir Mitov who was demoted to assistant.
In 2020, he returned toVietnam to manageFLC Thanh Hóa, currentlyĐông Á Thanh Hóa once again for the2021 V.League 1 season.
On 8 April 2014, Petrović was announced as the successor of the recently sacked Croatian managerRobert Jarni as the head of theFK Sarajevo team.[8]
However, only two days after, a picture of the manager and deceased Serbian paramilitary commanderArkan 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 theYugoslav wars nor theparamilitary 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]
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.[12]
Petrović appeared in the ninth position on theelectoral list of theSocialist Party of Serbia (SPS) in the2020 Serbian parliamentary election and was elected to theSerbian 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 withBulgaria,Cyprus,Greece,Japan,Kazakhstan, andRwanda.[14] He resigned from the legislature on 13 May 2021.[15]
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | |||
| NK Osijek | 1985 | 1987 | 76 | 32 | 13 | 31 | 042.11 |
| FK Spartak Subotica | 1987 | 1988 | 37 | 21 | 9 | 7 | 056.76 |
| FK Vojvodina | 1988 | 1989 | 45 | 23 | 8 | 14 | 051.11 |
| FK Rad | 1990 | 1990 | 17 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 047.06 |
| Red Star Belgrade | 1990 | 1991 | 53 | 35 | 11 | 7 | 066.04 |
| RCD Espanyol | 1991 | 1991 | 18 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 033.33 |
| Club Atlético Peñarol | 1992 | 1992 | 18 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 027.78 |
| PAOK | 1992 | 1993 | 39 | 19 | 9 | 11 | 048.72 |
| Olympiacos F.C. | 1993 | 1994 | 24 | 15 | 7 | 2 | 062.50 |
| Red Star Belgrade | 1994 | 1996 | 81 | 54 | 16 | 11 | 066.67 |
| Grazer AK | 1996 | 1996 | 22 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 040.91 |
| FK Vojvodina | 1996 | 1997 | 20 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 045.00 |
| Shabab Al-Ahli | 1998 | 1999 | 33 | 15 | 7 | 11 | 045.45 |
| Shanghai Shenhua F.C. | 1999 | 2000 | 26 | 14 | 8 | 4 | 053.85 |
| Levski Sofia | 2000 | 2001 | 54 | 37 | 11 | 6 | 068.52 |
| Beijing Guoan F.C. | 2002 | 2003 | 52 | 24 | 12 | 16 | 046.15 |
| PFC Litex Lovech | 2003 | 2004 | 42 | 26 | 13 | 3 | 061.90 |
| Red Star Belgrade | 2004 | 2004 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 037.50 |
| PFC Litex Lovech | 2005 | 2007 | 72 | 46 | 12 | 14 | 063.89 |
| OFK Beograd | 2008 | 2008 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 000.00 |
| Croatia Sesvete | 2008 | 2008 | 18 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 027.78 |
| FK Vojvodina | 2008 | 2009 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 000.00 |
| NK Lokomotiva Zagreb | 2010 | 2011 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 027.27 |
| FC Taraz | 2011 | 2012 | 29 | 15 | 5 | 9 | 051.72 |
| FC Akzhayik | 2013 | 2013 | 35 | 8 | 11 | 16 | 022.86 |
| APR F.C. | 2014 | 2014 | 30 | 20 | 6 | 4 | 066.67 |
| PFC Litex Lovech | 2015 | 2015 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 075.00 |
| Levski Sofia | 2016 | 2016 | 13 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 061.54 |
| Dong A Thanh Hoa | 2017 | 2017 | 27 | 13 | 9 | 5 | 048.15 |
| APR F.C. | 2018 | 2018 | 18 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 066.67 |
| CSKA Sofia | 2019 | 2019 | 14 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 042.86 |
| Dong A Thanh Hoa | 2020 | 2022 | 38 | 17 | 6 | 15 | 044.74 |
| PFC Litex Lovech | 2023 | 2023 | 12 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 041.67 |
| Total | 975 | 504 | 227 | 244 | 051.69 | ||
Osijek
Spartak Subotica
Vojvodina
Red Star Belgrade
Levski Sofia
Beijing Guoan
Litex Lovech
APR FC
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
