Dejan Petkovic
Encyclopedia
Dejan Petković (born 10 September 1972 in Majdanpek
, Serbia
, SFR Yugoslavia
) is a retired Serbian football
player. In his native country he's widely known under the nickname Rambo while in Brazil he often goes by Pet. He has played seven times for the FR Yugoslav national team, having scored one goal.
) and mother Milena (construction technician from Petrovac na Mlavi) who met in Majdanpek where they both arrived in search of work, young Dejan immediately took to football.
. He became the youngest player ever to play an official match in the history of old Yugoslav First League
, debuting on September 25, 1988 when he was 16 years and 15 days old, against Željezničar Sarajevo thus beating Mitar Mrkela
's record by 1 day. Radnički ended up winning 4-0 that day. Petković's age record has since been broken by Slavko Perović
and Danijel Aleksić
. Until nowadays, Petković helps his first club, which has since then fallen on hard times.
. Though not even 20 years of age yet, he arrived with a reputation as a skilled technical playmaker. Since bona fide stars such as Dejan Savićević
, Darko Pančev
, Vladimir Jugović
, and Siniša Mihajlović
left the club during the same summer, young Petković was thrown into the mix right away by new head coach Milan Živadinović
, appearing in 30 league matches and scoring 5 goals in his first season in Belgrade.
He ended up staying with Red Star until December 1995 (three and a half seasons), winning two Yugoslav First League
titles. His transfer to Real Madrid was principally agreed during summer 1995, but Red Star decided to hang on to him for the 1995–96 UEFA Cup where the club expected to do well after finally being allowed back on the European scene following years of sporting sanctions under UN trade embargo. However, Red Star got upset by Swiss club Neuchâtel Xamax
in the preliminary round.
giants Real Madrid
. Playing under head coach Jorge Valdano, Rambo was not able to earn a regular playing spot, appearing only in 3 league matches (as a sub in all three) before being loaned out to Sevilla
where he finished out the 1995-1996 La Liga season and to Racing de Santander
in 1997. He had briefly returned to Real until 1997 when he was discovered by the Brazilian football club Vitória
in a friendly tournament where both teams (Real with his B side) played, along with Real Mallorca and Flamengo.
and Túlio Costa
, the three signed for the club thanks to the sponsorship of Banco Excel. In the rubro-negro baiano he started his successful Brazil
ian career, winning two Bahia State Championships
and a Copa do Nordeste. He stayed until 1999 at Vitória.
. In Flamengo his skills were fundamental in helping the team win the last two titles of the historic three in a row series against arch-rivals
Vasco, from 1999 to 2001. One Flamengo supporter was quoted saying that "his amazing 89th minute free kick goal in the 2001 final match, which granted the title to Flamengo, shall never be forgotten".
One month later, another free kick goal by Petkovic, against São Paulo, allowed Flamengo to win the Copa dos Campeões
and return to Copa Libertadores next year. Hugely popular at the time, he was known as "Pet" by the supporters.
However, at 2001 Campeonato Brasileiro
, Flamengo finished only one position above the relegated teams. The club also lost, in January 2002, the Copa Mercosul
final against the Argentine
side San Lorenzo
, in a match in which "Pet" received the red card.
, where he stayed until 2004. He played for a short time at the Chinese
club Shanghai Shenhua
during this period. During his second spell at Vasco he helped his team avoid relegation at Campeonato Brasileiro, being the club's top scorer and top assistant. Vasco failed to record a win the 10 matches without "Pet", acquiring only 10% of available points; with him the cruzmaltinos obtained 45,7% of these points. Leader of Vasco campaign of salvation, Petković was awarded the Bola de Prata
from Placar Magazine
as one of the two best midfielders of Brasileirão.
During that year he often played with an ex-teammate from Radnički, Montenegrin goalkeeper Željko Tadić, who was scouted by him.
, where he played for Al-Ittihad, he returned to Rio de Janeiro
in August 2005, now to play for Fluminense
. Already 33 years old, Petković had to face a certain mistrust from the Tricolor fans. However, his amazing performance in his third match against Cruzeiro Esporte Clube
, put an end to fan's misgivings. Playing at the opponent stadium, (Mineirão
), he led Flu in a 6-2 rout of Cruzeiro, scoring twice. His first was the 1000th goal score by the Fluminense in the Brazilian Championship, earning Petković a commemorative plate in his honor at the club's headquarters. In this goal, "Pet" passed through three opponents in a short space, shooting just in time to avoid the incoming goalkeeper. In the second one, Petković placed a powerful left foot shot from outside the penalty box.
After other great exhibitions, the Serb received his second consecutive Silver Ball in the Brazilian federation annual award ceremony. After a bad season in 2006, when Fluminense had to fight relegation, he left the club.
after signing a short term deal from Goiás
until the end of the 2007 season. In 2008, "Pet" played for Atlético Mineiro, signed in late March 2008 as the great star of the centennial celebrations of Galo. Nevertheless, his contract was not renewed at the end of the season on orders from the newly arrived coach, Emerson Leão
who previously also cut Petković from Santos when he arrived there in December 2007.
announced the free transfer signing of Serbian attacking midfielder "Rambo" who already spent two hugely successful seasons at the club from 2000 to 2001. Following those campaigns his relations with the club leadership soured to the point where they even went to court over unpaid wages in the amount of US$9 million. Though the two parties managed to settle the outstanding financial issues out of court prior to his signing, Petković's return was still met with a lot of skepticism, even outright opposition, from many people within the club as well as outside observers all of whom had doubts about his ability to perform at such an age. Some also expressed concern over the fact that he missed the Rio de Janeiro state championship
part of the season, meaning that he hasn't played any competitive football in the 6 months since his dismissal from Mineiro.
However, much to the surprise of many people, the 37-year-old Serbian played a pivotal role for Flamengo, scoring 8 goals (including 2 Olympic goals) and leading the Rubro-Negro challenge to eventually win its sixth Brazilian Championship title, the first of Pet's career. Still, it wasn't smooth sailing from the get go. At the time of Pet's arrival to the squad in early June 2009, Flamengo was sitting in 14th spot of the Brazilian championship league standings. Furthermore, he had trouble breaking into the first team as head coach Cuca preferred others for his position. On July 23, 2009, Cuca was sacked due to poor results and the arrival of new head coach Jorge Luís Andrade spelled better days for both Petković and the club. Little by little, Flamengo started climbing up the table thanks in large part to his contributions. Pet was praised by the Brazilian press for a number of outstanding performances, including a brace he scored in round 30 for a 0-2 win away at league leaders Palmeiras on October 18, 2009, as well as his round 34 contribution on November 8 away at Atlético Mineiro where the team recorded important 1-3 win.
On November 20, 2009 he was inducted into the Brazilian Hall of Fame at Maracana, thus becoming only the fifth non-Brazilian and third European to receive such an honour in Brazil. Then on December 7, as the season finished and Flamengo celebrated its title, Petković won the traditional Bola de Prata (Silver Ball) organized by the sports magazine Placar and ESPN Brasil
for best midfielder of the 2009 Brazilian Championship. It was the third time he was awarded the prize.
Starting the new season from the very beginning, Pet entered his first match of the 2010 Rio state championship as a 72nd minute sub and scored a goal on what was virtually his first touch of the contest at Volta Redonda
on January 20, 2010.
, who did not call him for 1998 FIFA World Cup
. He returned to the national team, curiously, in a friendly against Brazil
, after the World Cup, in September 1998, when Milan Živadinović
became the new Yugoslavia coach. At that time playing for EC Vitória, Petković traveled to São Luís, where the game would be played, in the same flight of the Brazilian team.
His last match for Yugoslavia was in December 1999 (when he was in Venezia), with him being the captain. Another reason for him not being called very often to the national team was the fact that he was playing for a South American club side, and therefore being out of the spotlight and the sight of the Yugoslavian coaches, who tend to follow European football only. After he returned to Brazil to play for Flamengo, Vujadin Boškov
did not remember him for the Euro 2000. In an interview to Placar magazine, he declared that, if he had stayed in Venezia, a "ten times weaker club than Flamengo", he would have continued to be called. Yet another reason for his infrequent call-up to the Yugoslavian/Serbian national team could have been his alleged bad relations with the Football Association of Yugoslavia
committee.
It has been said that if he was Brazilian, he would have made it to the national team. So, after the breakway of Yugoslavia and the appearance of Serbia and Montenegro
, in 2003, he planned to naturalize Brazilian, desiring to play for the Seleção, because the national team the he already played didn't exist anymore (what could release him to play for another country).
In 2006, for the World Cup in Germany
, there was a campaign in Serbia to include him in the team. In an interview for the Brazilian media, Savo Milošević
said "Pet" would have a place in the group. However, nothing came out of it and he was not picked. Serb coach Ilija Petković
thought he would disrupt the team's harmony, as he had a reputation for having a very loud personality. Ironically, he called another Petković for the Cup, his son Dušan
, who had never played for the national team.
"Pet" has not been called for the new Serbian national team either.
, he scored an Olympic goal against Grêmio
. In the next game he scored another Olympic goal, but the ball hit the hand of a player from Fluminense
and entered the goal; nonetheless the officials counted it as one. Overall he scored eight goals from corner kicks in his career, the last one on November 8, 2009 for Flamengo
against Atlético Mineiro
in the Brazilian Série A. He is currently the record holder for most Olympic goals scored in football history.
, Vuk Jeremić
, announced the appointment of Dejan Petković to Honorary Consul
of Serbia in Brazil.
Majdanpek
Majdanpek is a town and municipality in Bor District of Serbia. According to 2011 census, the municipality of Majdanpek has a population of 18,179 people, while the town of Majdanpek has a population of 7,367....
, Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
, SFR Yugoslavia
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...
) is a retired Serbian football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
player. In his native country he's widely known under the nickname Rambo while in Brazil he often goes by Pet. He has played seven times for the FR Yugoslav national team, having scored one goal.
Early life
Born to father Dobrivoje (traffic technician from NišNiš
Niš is the largest city of southern Serbia and third-largest city in Serbia . According to the data from 2011, the city of Niš has a population of 177,972 inhabitants, while the city municipality has a population of 257,867. The city covers an area of about 597 km2, including the urban area,...
) and mother Milena (construction technician from Petrovac na Mlavi) who met in Majdanpek where they both arrived in search of work, young Dejan immediately took to football.
Radnički Niš
His playing career started in 1988 at Radnički NišRadnicki Niš
FK Radnički Niš is a football club based in the city of Niš in Serbia. The team is currently playing in the Serbian First League.-History:...
. He became the youngest player ever to play an official match in the history of old Yugoslav First League
Yugoslav First League
The Yugoslav First League was the premier football league in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and socialist Yugoslavia...
, debuting on September 25, 1988 when he was 16 years and 15 days old, against Željezničar Sarajevo thus beating Mitar Mrkela
Mitar Mrkela
Mitar Mrkela is a retired Serbian football player, who was a member of the Yugoslavian team that won the bronze medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California.-Career:...
's record by 1 day. Radnički ended up winning 4-0 that day. Petković's age record has since been broken by Slavko Perović
Slavko Perovic (footballer)
Slavko Perović is a Serbian football striker, currently playing for FK Rad.-History:...
and Danijel Aleksić
Danijel Aleksic
Danijel Aleksić is a Serbian footballer who plays for the Greek club AO Kavala on loan from Italian club Genoa C.F.C.-Biography:...
. Until nowadays, Petković helps his first club, which has since then fallen on hard times.
Red Star Belgrade
In July 1992, Petković was bought by Red Star BelgradeRed Star Belgrade
Red Star Belgrade is a football club from Belgrade, Serbia. The club is a part of the Red Star Sports Society.Red Star Belgrade is the most successful Serbian club, with a record of 25 national championships and 23 national cups in both Serbian and ex-Yugoslav competitions...
. Though not even 20 years of age yet, he arrived with a reputation as a skilled technical playmaker. Since bona fide stars such as Dejan Savićević
Dejan Savicevic
Dejan Savićević , is a Montenegrin former football player and is the president of the Montenegrin FA....
, Darko Pančev
Darko Pancev
Darko Pančev is a retired Yugoslav and Macedonian footballer, and winner of the Golden Boot award in 1991.-Club career:Pančev was the highest scorer in top-division European football in the 1990–91 season with 34 goals, and should have won the European Golden Boot award...
, Vladimir Jugović
Vladimir Jugovic
Vladimir Jugović is a retired Serbian football player renowned for his vision and technique.-Career:Born in Milutovac, a village near Trstenik, Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia, Jugović played throughout his career for numerous top European teams, winning the Champions League twice...
, and Siniša Mihajlović
Siniša Mihajlovic
Siniša Mihajlović is a Serbian football manager and former player. He was in charge of Serie A club Fiorentina since June 2010 to November 2011....
left the club during the same summer, young Petković was thrown into the mix right away by new head coach Milan Živadinović
Milan Živadinovic
Milan Živadinović is a Serbian former football player and most recent manager of Myanmar.He is known as a coach who advocates an old-school system of coaching...
, appearing in 30 league matches and scoring 5 goals in his first season in Belgrade.
He ended up staying with Red Star until December 1995 (three and a half seasons), winning two Yugoslav First League
Yugoslav First League
The Yugoslav First League was the premier football league in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and socialist Yugoslavia...
titles. His transfer to Real Madrid was principally agreed during summer 1995, but Red Star decided to hang on to him for the 1995–96 UEFA Cup where the club expected to do well after finally being allowed back on the European scene following years of sporting sanctions under UN trade embargo. However, Red Star got upset by Swiss club Neuchâtel Xamax
Neuchâtel Xamax
Neuchâtel Xamax Football Club is a Swiss football club, based in Neuchâtel. It was created in 1970 through a merger between FC Cantonal and FC Xamax . The club plays in red shirts, black shorts and red socks and are currently in the Axpo Super League, the highest Swiss football league. They play...
in the preliminary round.
Spain
In December 1995 Petković joined the SpanishSpain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
giants Real Madrid
Real Madrid C.F.
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
. Playing under head coach Jorge Valdano, Rambo was not able to earn a regular playing spot, appearing only in 3 league matches (as a sub in all three) before being loaned out to Sevilla
Sevilla FC
Sevilla Fútbol Club S.A.D. is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville, Spain that plays in the Spanish La Liga championship.They are one of the most successful clubs in Spanish football having won a 1 La Liga title, 5 Spanish "Copa del Rey" Cups, 1 Spanish Super Cup and 2 UEFA...
where he finished out the 1995-1996 La Liga season and to Racing de Santander
Racing de Santander
Real Racing Club de Santander, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Santander, in the autonomous community of Cantabria. Founded in 1913, it currently plays in La Liga, holding home games at Estadio El Sardinero, with a capacity for 22,400 spectators....
in 1997. He had briefly returned to Real until 1997 when he was discovered by the Brazilian football club Vitória
Esporte Clube Vitória
Esporte Clube Vitória, usually known simply as Vitória, is a Brazilian football team from Salvador in Bahia, founded on May 13, 1899.Vitória's home games are played at the club's own stadium . They play in red and black horizontal striped shirts, black shorts and black socks...
in a friendly tournament where both teams (Real with his B side) played, along with Real Mallorca and Flamengo.
Arriving in Brazil with Vitória
He joined Vitória along with BebetoBebeto
José Roberto Gama de Oliveira, known as 'Bebeto', is a former football forward, a World Champion for Brazil in the 1994 World Cup...
and Túlio Costa
Túlio Costa
Túlio Humberto Pereira Costa , sometimes simply referred as Túlio or Túlio Maravilha for his great creativity on the field and for his charisma, is a former Brazilian international football forward. He has scored more than 900 goals and intends to score the 1000th with Botafogo...
, the three signed for the club thanks to the sponsorship of Banco Excel. In the rubro-negro baiano he started his successful Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian career, winning two Bahia State Championships
Campeonato Baiano
The Campeonato Baiano is the football league of the state of Bahia, Brazil. The championship has been played since 1905 without interruption.-2008 format:First stage:...
and a Copa do Nordeste. He stayed until 1999 at Vitória.
Flamengo
In 1999 he moved to Venezia but failed to succeed, quickly returning to Brazil, where he joined FlamengoClube de Regatas do Flamengo
Clube de Regatas do Flamengo , also known as Flamengo and familiarly as Mengão, is a Brazilian sports club based in the Flamengo bairro, Zona Sul, Rio de Janeiro, best known for its professional football team...
. In Flamengo his skills were fundamental in helping the team win the last two titles of the historic three in a row series against arch-rivals
Sports rivalry
A sports rivalry is intense competition between athletic teams or athletes. This pressure of competition is felt by players, coaches, and management, but is perhaps felt strongest by the fans. The intensity of the rivalry varies from a friendly competition on one end to serious violence on the...
Vasco, from 1999 to 2001. One Flamengo supporter was quoted saying that "his amazing 89th minute free kick goal in the 2001 final match, which granted the title to Flamengo, shall never be forgotten".
One month later, another free kick goal by Petkovic, against São Paulo, allowed Flamengo to win the Copa dos Campeões
Copa dos Campeões
Copa dos Campeões was a Brazilian football competition contested by the best teams from each one of the regional cups.The Copa dos Campeões winner was automatically qualified to following year's Copa Libertadores....
and return to Copa Libertadores next year. Hugely popular at the time, he was known as "Pet" by the supporters.
However, at 2001 Campeonato Brasileiro
Campeonato Brasileiro Série A 2001
The 31st season of the Campeonato Brasileiro began on August 1, 2001, and reached its end on December 23, 2001. The competition was won by Atlético Paranaense.-Format:The 28 teams played against each other once...
, Flamengo finished only one position above the relegated teams. The club also lost, in January 2002, the Copa Mercosul
Copa Mercosur 2001
The Copa Mercosur 2001 was the 4th and final staging of the international club cup.The competition started on 21 July 2001 and concluded on 24 January 2002 with San Lorenzo beating Flamengo in the final.-Participants:...
final against the Argentine
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
side San Lorenzo
Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro
Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro is an Argentine sports club based in Boedo neighbourhood, Buenos Aires, mostly known because of its football team....
, in a match in which "Pet" received the red card.
Vasco da Gama
In 2002 he moved to Vasco da GamaClub de Regatas Vasco da Gama
Club de Regatas Vasco da Gama |Rowing Club]]), usually known as Vasco da Gama or simply Vasco, is a famous and traditional Brazilian multisports club from Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, founded on August 21, 1898...
, where he stayed until 2004. He played for a short time at the Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
club Shanghai Shenhua
Shanghai Shenhua
Shanghai Shenhua is a professional Chinese football club currently playing in Chinese Super League. The club is currently owned by Zhu Jun , Shanghai SVA Group, SMEG and Huangpu Investment Ltd. . The current head coach is Dražen Besek...
during this period. During his second spell at Vasco he helped his team avoid relegation at Campeonato Brasileiro, being the club's top scorer and top assistant. Vasco failed to record a win the 10 matches without "Pet", acquiring only 10% of available points; with him the cruzmaltinos obtained 45,7% of these points. Leader of Vasco campaign of salvation, Petković was awarded the Bola de Prata
Bola de Prata
The Bola de Prata is a Primeira Liga award for the top scorer. In case two or more players have the same amount of goals, the award goes to the footballer with the least games played. It was first awarded has a prize in the 1952–53 season by sport newspaper A Bola.-List of winners:...
from Placar Magazine
Placar
Placar is a monthly Brazilian sports magazine. Its first edition was issued on March 20, 1970, and since then the it has become the most successful sports publication in Brazil, even though it focuses fully on football . It is published by Grupo Abril....
as one of the two best midfielders of Brasileirão.
During that year he often played with an ex-teammate from Radnički, Montenegrin goalkeeper Željko Tadić, who was scouted by him.
Fluminense
After a half-year in Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
, where he played for Al-Ittihad, he returned to Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
in August 2005, now to play for Fluminense
Fluminense Football Club
Fluminense Football Club is a sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Founded in the beginning of the 20th century as a single-sport institution, Fluminense is today an umbrella organization for several teams in more than 16 different sport activities. The most popular endeavor of Fluminense,...
. Already 33 years old, Petković had to face a certain mistrust from the Tricolor fans. However, his amazing performance in his third match against Cruzeiro Esporte Clube
Cruzeiro Esporte Clube
Cruzeiro Esporte Clube is a Brazilian football team, from Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, and are one of the only five clubs to have never been relegated, along with Santos, São Paulo, Flamengo and Internacional. Founded on January 2, 1921, they are only one of three clubs to have participated in...
, put an end to fan's misgivings. Playing at the opponent stadium, (Mineirão
Mineirão
Mineirão , officially Estádio Governador Magalhães Pinto established in 1965 in Belo Horizonte, is the largest football stadium in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, and the second largest in the country, after Maracanã...
), he led Flu in a 6-2 rout of Cruzeiro, scoring twice. His first was the 1000th goal score by the Fluminense in the Brazilian Championship, earning Petković a commemorative plate in his honor at the club's headquarters. In this goal, "Pet" passed through three opponents in a short space, shooting just in time to avoid the incoming goalkeeper. In the second one, Petković placed a powerful left foot shot from outside the penalty box.
After other great exhibitions, the Serb received his second consecutive Silver Ball in the Brazilian federation annual award ceremony. After a bad season in 2006, when Fluminense had to fight relegation, he left the club.
Other clubs
In 2007, he played at SantosSantos Futebol Clube
Santos Futebol Clube is a Brazilian professional football club based in Santos, São Paulo They play in the Campeonato Paulista and the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the highest professional leagues in São Paulo state and Brazil, respectively....
after signing a short term deal from Goiás
Goiás Esporte Clube
Goiás Esporte Clube, also known as Goiás, is a Brazilian football team in Goiânia, Goiás state. It is one of the largest clubs of the Central-Western part of Brazil and they won the 'Série B once.Its main rival is Vila Nova...
until the end of the 2007 season. In 2008, "Pet" played for Atlético Mineiro, signed in late March 2008 as the great star of the centennial celebrations of Galo. Nevertheless, his contract was not renewed at the end of the season on orders from the newly arrived coach, Emerson Leão
Émerson Leão
Émerson Leão is a Brazilian manager and former football player. He is one of the all-time best Brazilian goalkeepers. A documentary video produced by FIFA, FIFA Fever, called him the third-most impressive defense player of all time. He was born in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo.-Playing career:He was...
who previously also cut Petković from Santos when he arrived there in December 2007.
Return to Flamengo
On 20 May 2009 FlamengoClube de Regatas do Flamengo
Clube de Regatas do Flamengo , also known as Flamengo and familiarly as Mengão, is a Brazilian sports club based in the Flamengo bairro, Zona Sul, Rio de Janeiro, best known for its professional football team...
announced the free transfer signing of Serbian attacking midfielder "Rambo" who already spent two hugely successful seasons at the club from 2000 to 2001. Following those campaigns his relations with the club leadership soured to the point where they even went to court over unpaid wages in the amount of US$9 million. Though the two parties managed to settle the outstanding financial issues out of court prior to his signing, Petković's return was still met with a lot of skepticism, even outright opposition, from many people within the club as well as outside observers all of whom had doubts about his ability to perform at such an age. Some also expressed concern over the fact that he missed the Rio de Janeiro state championship
Campeonato Carioca 2009
The 2009 edition of the Campeonato Carioca kicked off on January 24th and ended on May 3rd, 2009. It is the official tournament organized by FFERJ The 2009 edition of the Campeonato Carioca kicked off on January 24th and ended on May 3rd, 2009. It is the official tournament organized by FFERJ The...
part of the season, meaning that he hasn't played any competitive football in the 6 months since his dismissal from Mineiro.
However, much to the surprise of many people, the 37-year-old Serbian played a pivotal role for Flamengo, scoring 8 goals (including 2 Olympic goals) and leading the Rubro-Negro challenge to eventually win its sixth Brazilian Championship title, the first of Pet's career. Still, it wasn't smooth sailing from the get go. At the time of Pet's arrival to the squad in early June 2009, Flamengo was sitting in 14th spot of the Brazilian championship league standings. Furthermore, he had trouble breaking into the first team as head coach Cuca preferred others for his position. On July 23, 2009, Cuca was sacked due to poor results and the arrival of new head coach Jorge Luís Andrade spelled better days for both Petković and the club. Little by little, Flamengo started climbing up the table thanks in large part to his contributions. Pet was praised by the Brazilian press for a number of outstanding performances, including a brace he scored in round 30 for a 0-2 win away at league leaders Palmeiras on October 18, 2009, as well as his round 34 contribution on November 8 away at Atlético Mineiro where the team recorded important 1-3 win.
On November 20, 2009 he was inducted into the Brazilian Hall of Fame at Maracana, thus becoming only the fifth non-Brazilian and third European to receive such an honour in Brazil. Then on December 7, as the season finished and Flamengo celebrated its title, Petković won the traditional Bola de Prata (Silver Ball) organized by the sports magazine Placar and ESPN Brasil
ESPN Brasil
ESPN Brasil is a Brazilian cable television network. Launched in June 1995 through a joint venture between ESPN Inc. and Grupo Abril's television arm TVA, ESPN Brasil was the first country-specific version of ESPN outside the United States. Today, the network has 12.2 million subscribers...
for best midfielder of the 2009 Brazilian Championship. It was the third time he was awarded the prize.
Starting the new season from the very beginning, Pet entered his first match of the 2010 Rio state championship as a 72nd minute sub and scored a goal on what was virtually his first touch of the contest at Volta Redonda
Volta Redonda Futebol Clube
Volta Redonda Futebol Clube, Volta Redonda or simply by its nickname Voltaço, as they are usually called, is a Brazilian football team from Volta Redonda in Rio de Janeiro, founded on February 9, 1976....
on January 20, 2010.
Retirement
On 5 June 2011, Petković retired as a professional player after playing the first half of the league match against Corinthians. To commemorate his retirement, all Flamengo players had the Petkovic’s name on the back of their jersey’s in the match.International career
Petković debuted for FR Yugoslavia in 1995, but he played only a few matches due to disagreements with the coach Slobodan SantračSlobodan Santrac
Slobodan Santrač is a retired Serbian football player and currently manager of Chinese Super League side Shaanxi Renhe Commercial Chanba F.C.....
, who did not call him for 1998 FIFA World Cup
1998 FIFA World Cup
The 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 16th FIFA World Cup, was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. France was chosen as host nation by FIFA on 2 July 1992. The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final...
. He returned to the national team, curiously, in a friendly against Brazil
Brazil national football team
The Brazil national football team represents Brazil in international men's football and is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation , the governing body for football in Brazil. They are a member of the International Federation of Association Football since 1923 and also a member of the...
, after the World Cup, in September 1998, when Milan Živadinović
Milan Živadinovic
Milan Živadinović is a Serbian former football player and most recent manager of Myanmar.He is known as a coach who advocates an old-school system of coaching...
became the new Yugoslavia coach. At that time playing for EC Vitória, Petković traveled to São Luís, where the game would be played, in the same flight of the Brazilian team.
His last match for Yugoslavia was in December 1999 (when he was in Venezia), with him being the captain. Another reason for him not being called very often to the national team was the fact that he was playing for a South American club side, and therefore being out of the spotlight and the sight of the Yugoslavian coaches, who tend to follow European football only. After he returned to Brazil to play for Flamengo, Vujadin Boškov
Vujadin Boškov
Vujadin Boškov is a retired Serbian football player and coach.Boškov was born in the village of Begeč near Novi Sad, Danube Banovina, Kingdom of Yugoslavia). He played with FK Vojvodina for most of his career...
did not remember him for the Euro 2000. In an interview to Placar magazine, he declared that, if he had stayed in Venezia, a "ten times weaker club than Flamengo", he would have continued to be called. Yet another reason for his infrequent call-up to the Yugoslavian/Serbian national team could have been his alleged bad relations with the Football Association of Yugoslavia
Football Association of Yugoslavia
The Football Association of Yugoslavia was the governing body of football in Yugoslavia, based in Belgrade, with a major administrative branch in Zagreb....
committee.
It has been said that if he was Brazilian, he would have made it to the national team. So, after the breakway of Yugoslavia and the appearance of Serbia and Montenegro
Serbia and Montenegro
Serbia and Montenegro was a country in southeastern Europe, formed from two former republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia : Serbia and Montenegro. Following the breakup of Yugoslavia, it was established in 1992 as a federation called the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia...
, in 2003, he planned to naturalize Brazilian, desiring to play for the Seleção, because the national team the he already played didn't exist anymore (what could release him to play for another country).
In 2006, for the World Cup in Germany
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
, there was a campaign in Serbia to include him in the team. In an interview for the Brazilian media, Savo Milošević
Savo Miloševic
Savo Milošević is a retired Serbian footballer who played as a striker.After making a name for himself at Partizan, he signed for Aston Villa, and went on to spend the vast majority of the following decade playing in Spain, where he represented four clubs, amassing La Liga totals of 241 games and...
said "Pet" would have a place in the group. However, nothing came out of it and he was not picked. Serb coach Ilija Petković
Ilija Petkovic
Ilija Petković is a retired Serbian footballer. Since the early 1990s he's been a football manager, his most notable appointment being with the Serbia and Montenegro national football team.-Playing career:He started playing football for Dinara Knin...
thought he would disrupt the team's harmony, as he had a reputation for having a very loud personality. Ironically, he called another Petković for the Cup, his son Dušan
Dušan Petkovic
Dušan Petković is a Serbian former footballer....
, who had never played for the national team.
"Pet" has not been called for the new Serbian national team either.
The skills
He is considered one of the best foreign players to have played in Brazil, a great free and corner kicker and ball passer. In 2006 while playing for FluminenseFluminense Football Club
Fluminense Football Club is a sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Founded in the beginning of the 20th century as a single-sport institution, Fluminense is today an umbrella organization for several teams in more than 16 different sport activities. The most popular endeavor of Fluminense,...
, he scored an Olympic goal against Grêmio
Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense
Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense, commonly known as just Grêmio , is a Brazilian professional association football team based in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul founded by English and German immigrants on September 15, 1903. Major titles captured by Grêmio include one Intercontinental Cup, two Copa...
. In the next game he scored another Olympic goal, but the ball hit the hand of a player from Fluminense
Fluminense Football Club
Fluminense Football Club is a sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Founded in the beginning of the 20th century as a single-sport institution, Fluminense is today an umbrella organization for several teams in more than 16 different sport activities. The most popular endeavor of Fluminense,...
and entered the goal; nonetheless the officials counted it as one. Overall he scored eight goals from corner kicks in his career, the last one on November 8, 2009 for Flamengo
Clube de Regatas do Flamengo
Clube de Regatas do Flamengo , also known as Flamengo and familiarly as Mengão, is a Brazilian sports club based in the Flamengo bairro, Zona Sul, Rio de Janeiro, best known for its professional football team...
against Atlético Mineiro
Clube Atlético Mineiro
Clube Atlético Mineiro , are a Brazilian football club based in Belo Horizonte, the oldest in the city. Founded in 1908, they play in the Campeonato Mineiro and Campeonato Brasileiro Série A or Brasileirão. Atlético Mineiro have been Brazilian champions once, state winners a record 40 times and...
in the Brazilian Série A. He is currently the record holder for most Olympic goals scored in football history.
Other
- Petković is fluent in Portuguese languagePortuguese languagePortuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
. His learning was easier due to his fluency in SpanishSpanish languageSpanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, after two years playing in SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. - His great success in the first half of 2001 opened doors in Brazilian football to another five Yugoslavian-origin players that year, before Đorđević. The same Željko Tadić who would play later with "Pet" in Vasco arrived in 2001 signed by XV de PiracicabaEsporte Clube XV de Novembro (Piracicaba)Esporte Clube XV de Novembro, or XV de Piracicaba as they are usually called, is a Brazilian football team from Piracicaba, São Paulo state, founded in 1913.-History:...
, playing also for LondrinaLondrina Esporte ClubeLondrina Esporte Clube, or Londrina as they are usually called, is a Brazilian football team from Londrina in Paraná, founded on April 5, 1956. The club won the Campeonato Brasileiro Série B in 1980, won the state championship three times, and competed several times in the Campeonato Brasileiro...
, BragantinoClube Atlético BragantinoClube Atlético Bragantino, or Bragantino as they are usually called, is a Brazilian football team from Bragança Paulista in São Paulo that was founded on January 8, 1928....
and UberabaUberaba Sport ClubUberaba Sport Club is a traditional Brazilian football club from Uberaba, Minas Gerais state. Their colors are red and white and their nicknames are "Colorado" , "Zebu " .-History:...
; Miodrag Anđelković (who would be known in Brazil as "Andjel") and Nikola DamjanacNikola DamjanacNikola Damjanac is a retired Bosnian Serb football goalkeeper, and current player manager....
(known there by his first name) came to play for CoritibaCoritiba Foot Ball ClubCoritiba Foot Ball Club, commonly known as Coritiba, is a Brazilian football team from Curitiba, Paraná. It's the state's oldest football team and the best classified in the CBF and FIFA classifications. Coritiba has been champion in Paraná State for 35 times, more times than the sum of all the...
and, later, Fluminense; Dejan OsmanovićDejan OsmanovicDejan Osmanović is Serbian footballer. He currently plays for FK Dinamo Vranje in the Serbian First League.-Career:...
, like Petković, came to VitóriaEsporte Clube VitóriaEsporte Clube Vitória, usually known simply as Vitória, is a Brazilian football team from Salvador in Bahia, founded on May 13, 1899.Vitória's home games are played at the club's own stadium . They play in red and black horizontal striped shirts, black shorts and black socks...
; and Vladimir PetkovićVladimir PetkovicVladimir Petković is a Bosnian football manager and former player who is currently in charge of Samsunspor of the Spor Toto Süper Lig.-Playing career:...
was hired by Botafogo, asking to be known as "Vlad" to be not confused with "Pet". - He attended and graduated from the streamlined Medicinal high school. During the course, he met and started to date the woman who he would later marry - Violeta.
- In November 2009, following Petković's pinnacle season at Flamengo, Serbian film director Darko Bajić started shooting a documentary on Petković's life and career path. Initially with the working title of Rambo Petković - 90 minuta sa produžecima, životni meč and later O Gringo, the film is meant to be shown before the 2010 World Cup. Apparently, the director wanted to make the film ever since Petković's initial successes with Flamengo in 2001, but the player wasn't thrilled with the idea. Petković eventually agreed during his second stint with Flamengo. The yet unfinished movie was promoted in Belgrade on December 29, 2009.
- His pivotal role in Flamengo's road to its sixth league title motivated a pop song, "É o Pet".
- Although his return home to possibly finish out his career with Red Star and/or perhaps take an administrative role in the club once his playing career is over was occasionally mentioned in Serbian media, Petković said in early 2010 that he'll continue living in Brazil even after stopping playing. Though not mentioning anything specific, he said that he wants to take advantage of the opportunities 2014 World Cup2014 FIFA World CupThe 2014 FIFA World Cup will be the 20th FIFA World Cup, an international association football tournament that will take place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014....
and 2016 Rio Olympics2016 Summer OlympicsThe 2016 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXXI Olympiad, are a major international multi-sport event to be celebrated in the tradition of the Olympic Games, as governed by the International Olympic Committee...
will provide for those who want to be involved with sports.
Flamengo
- Rio de Janeiro State ChampionshipCampeonato CariocaThe Campeonato Carioca, also known as Campeonato Estadual do Rio de Janeiro, is the football league of the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and is one of the most prestigious national football tournaments...
: 2000, 2001 - Copa dos CampeõesCopa dos CampeõesCopa dos Campeões was a Brazilian football competition contested by the best teams from each one of the regional cups.The Copa dos Campeões winner was automatically qualified to following year's Copa Libertadores....
: 2001 - Brazilian Série ACampeonato Brasileiro Série AThe Campeonato Brasileiro de Clubes da Série A , popularly known as the Brasileirão , is a professional football league at the top of the Brazilian football league system held annually since 1959. Contested by twenty clubs, it operates a system of promotion and relegation with the Série B...
: 2009Campeonato Brasileiro Série A 2009The 2009 Campeonato Brasileiro de Clubes da Série A was the 39th season of the Série A, the top-level of professional football in Brazil. It was contested by 20 clubs starting on May 9 and ending on December 6...
Red Star Belgrade
- Yugoslav First LeagueYugoslav First LeagueThe Yugoslav First League was the premier football league in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and socialist Yugoslavia...
: 1991-92, 1994–95 - Yugoslav CupYugoslav CupThe Yugoslav Cup, officially the Marshal Tito Cup, was one of two major football competitions in the former Yugoslavia, the other one being the Yugoslav League Championship. The Yugoslav Cup took place after the league championships when every competitive league in Yugoslavia had finished, in order...
: 1992-93, 1994–95
Individual
- Prêmio Craque do BrasileirãoPrêmio Craque do BrasileirãoThe Prêmio Craque do Brasileirão is an award given by the Brazilian Football Confederation and Rede Globo for the best players, head coaches, and referees of the Série A.-2005:The 2005 winners were:*Best Player: Carlos Tévez...
- Best XI: 2005, 2009 - Bola de PrataBola de PrataThe Bola de Prata is a Primeira Liga award for the top scorer. In case two or more players have the same amount of goals, the award goes to the footballer with the least games played. It was first awarded has a prize in the 1952–53 season by sport newspaper A Bola.-List of winners:...
- Best XI: 2004, 2005, 2009
Orders and special awards
- EC Vitória's Player of the Twentieth Century (by popular vote)
- Scored the thousandth goal of Fluminense FC in the Campeonato Brasileiro (v. Cruzeiro, on September 7, 2005)
- Scored the most Olympic goals ever by a professional footballer: 8
- Nominated to the Maracanã Walk of Fame
- Named Honorary Citizen of Rio de Janeiro by the State Legislative Assembly
Diplomatic career
On June 20. 2010, the Minister of Serbian Foreign AffairsForeign Affairs
Foreign Affairs is an American magazine and website on international relations and U.S. foreign policy published since 1922 by the Council on Foreign Relations six times annually...
, Vuk Jeremić
Vuk Jeremic
Vuk Jeremić is a Serbian politician and the current Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Government of Serbia. He was sworn in on May 15, 2007 and reelected on July 7, 2008.-Education:Jeremić was born in Belgrade in 1975 to Miško Jeremić and Sena Buljubašić...
, announced the appointment of Dejan Petković to Honorary Consul
Consul (representative)
The political title Consul is used for the official representatives of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, and to facilitate trade and friendship between the peoples of the two countries...
of Serbia in Brazil.