Vladimir Petković

Vladimir Petković (; born 15 August 1963) is a Bosnian professional football manager and former player. He last served as the coach of the Algeria national team. He was previously manager of French side Bordeaux, the Switzerland national team, a string of Swiss clubs, Turkish club Samsunspor, and Italian club Lazio.

Petković is from Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He holds Bosnian, Swiss and Croatian passports.

Early life Petković was born in Sarajevo, SFR Yugoslavia, modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovina, in 1963 to a Bosnian Croat family. He is a naturalized Swiss and holds Bosnian, Swiss and Croatian passports. His parents worked in education and due to the family's frequent moving, Petković changed schools several times. They first lived in Vrelo Bosne and then when he was five years old, in Hadžići near Sarajevo. in the early 1980s. Petković made only a handful of appearances in a strong Sarajevo side led on the pitch by Bosnian Safet Sušić. On 15 May 2012, he was named the new temporary manager of Sion until the end of the 2011–12 season.

Lazio On 2 June 2012, Petković became the new manager of Italian side Lazio in Serie A. He won the Coppa Italia with the club in the 2012–13 season, thanks to a 71st minute goal from compatriot Senad Lulić in the 2013 Coppa Italia Final against Roma.|final.

Switzerland national team

On 23 December 2013, it was announced that Petković was to succeed Ottmar Hitzfeld as the manager of the Switzerland national team after the 2014 FIFA World Cup. As a result, Claudio Lotito fired Petković claiming a breach of the contract due to not having been duly informed by Petković about the latter's ongoing negotiations with the Swiss Football Association. Petković was sacked as Lazio manager on 4 January 2014 and was replaced by Edy Reja, which resulted in a legal dispute concerning the contract termination.

Since his appointment to the national team spot in July 2014, Petković has guided the Swiss to the Round of 16 stages of both the UEFA Euro 2016 and the 2018 FIFA World Cup, along with the quarter-finals of UEFA Euro 2020. They also reached the 2019 UEFA Nations League Finals. At the UEFA Euro 2020, he led Switzerland to defeat world champions France 5–4 on penalties in the Round of 16, after a 3–3 draw, to qualify to the quarter-finals of the European Championship for the first time in their history.

Bordeaux In late July 2021, Petković became the manager of French club Bordeaux. In February 2022, he was sacked as the team was struggling in the relegation positions in Ligue 1.

Algeria On 29 February 2024, Petković became the head coach of the Algerian national team. Later that year, on 6 June, he lost his first competitive match 2–1 at home against Guinea during the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification. Four days later, he achieved his first win in a 2–1 victory over Uganda. On 9 October 2025, Algeria qualified for the 2026 World Cup. The Algerian Football Federation sacked him after losing 2–0 to Switzerland in the World Cup round of 32.

Charitable work While living in Switzerland, Petković worked for Caritas Ticino, a Catholic relief development and social service organisation, for five years.

Managerial statistics

Honours Player Sarajevo Yugoslav First League: 1984–85

Manager Malcantone Agno 1. Liga: 2002–03

Lazio Coppa Italia: 2012–13