Zeljko Petrovic has had an eventful debut as Iraq national coach. After a tumultuous end, the successor to the resigned Dick Advocaat drew 1-1 against Oman in the FIFA Arab Cup. After ninety minutes of play, Iraq still faced a 1-0 deficit in the Qatari Al Wakrah stadium.
A penalty called for Iraq in the 96th minute seemed to be the saviour and would prevent a defeat after all. Aymen Hussain took that spot kick and missed, but Petrovic had seen that the Oman goalkeeper had come off his line too early. The coach furiously stormed into the field and started prtesting to the referee in a graphic manner. He was right, as the VAR decided that the Omani Keeper made an illegal move and the penalty had to be retaken. Iraq scored the equalizer from the repeated penalty kick.
The excitement facing the Montenegrin coach of Iraq in the Middle East seems to have no end. Zeljko Petrovic was the right-back of the Yugoslavia team that faced Iran in the Stade Geoffroy Guichar , Saint-Etienne in Group D of the FIFA World Cup 1998. The East Europeans defeated Iran with a solitary goal scored by Milosovic in the 72nd minute. In the pre-match press confrence, Petrovic was reminded of that match by a lady reporter. He was surprised and apprecieted the sharp remark of the reporter and acknowldeged that match and how he was assigned to control Mehdi Mahdivikia.
History aside, Petrovic concern is rather immidiate. He is desperate to get all the three points of the match against Iran in Azadi, a mission that seems to be as far fetched as he can imagine. But the Tough man is not one that quits so easily and despite the slim chances, especialiiy with a depleted team and his main striker missing among many other players, he will hardly let Iran have an easy game like the last time the two have met.
He spoke about his team’s limitations due to the absence of some of his team players, such as the Iranian national team, which does not have several players:
“Four of our players are infected with the Corona virus. We are experiencing a difficult situations. It is a problem for both teams, but it is easier for Iran because they are the hosts and they can manage this problem. We are testing now and we are worried about the results.”
“Yesterday, we were really glad that Bashar and Amjad, joined us. Yesterday, the Amjad test was also positive. On the other hand, we had the problem that some of our players were stuck in Turkey and they only managed to arrive late today. All we can do is have a good perspective. It is not right to weave negatively. What has happened is in accordance with the law of nature, and it is only a bigger problem for us than Iran. Because Iran, along with South Korea, are certain to qualify for the World Cup. It is our team that is struggling with these big problems to get the third place. The players we lost were among our key players,” Petrovic said. “The current problem is global, and we try to add motivated players to tomorrow’s game who have the best performance.”
It seems that both the teams have faced simiular problem, but Petrovic is a great motivator and will be looking to give Iran a tough game.
Zeljko Petrovic in Yugoslavia jersey against Iran in Stade Geoffroy Guichar , Saint-Etienne