Vladimir Petkovic’s coaching experience had been largely confined to the relatively tame Swiss league before he took charge at Lazio this season and few gave him much hope of success in the cut-throat world of Serie A.
Six months later and the scepticism has turned to admiration as the Bosnia-born coach, who found time to do charity work during his earlier coaching years in Switzerland, has led an unexpected Lazio challenge for the title.
Second-placed Lazio visit Palermo today having cut Juve’s lead at the top from eight to three points in the last two rounds of matches.
Instead of smirking at his curriculum and speculating on how many weeks he would last in the hot seat, Italian critics are now singing the praises of Petkovic’s motivational skills and his meticulous attention to detail.
“There is a good rapport between us and I think you can tell. I can get a decision right or wrong, but the important thing is to remain humble and united,” Petkovic told reporters earlier this week.
Petkovic, who began his football career as a midfielder with FK Sarajevo, left the Balkans in 1987 and spent the next 24 years in Switzerland, first as a player and then as a coach.
He coached Bellinzona, the now extinct Malcatone Agno and Lugano, all in the Italian-speaking part of the country, then got his chance with Young Boys, leading them to the runners-up spot in the Swiss Super League.
For five of those years, he spent the daytime working at the local office of the Catholic charity organisation Caritas, before taking charge of training sessions in the evening.
He ventured outside Switzerland in 2011 for a spell with Turkey’s Samsunspor, but lasted only a few months.
Unbeaten in their last 14 matches in all competitions, Lazio have enjoyed the rub of the green recently with controversial wins over Cagliari and Atalanta in their last two Serie A outings.
Palermo are one from the bottom with only three wins and Gian Piero Gasperini has been told he must take four points from the next six if he is to avoid becoming their second coaching victim of the season.
“Gasperini has to stop complaining that the squad is inadequate and we need reinforcements,” said president Maurizio Zamparini.
“The squad is certainly not the problem.”
Defending champions Juventus, who lead with 45 points from 20 games, have taken only one point from their last two outings and will try to stop the rot at home to Udinese tonight.
Their opponents appear to be recovering after a sluggish start to the season, when they were clearly affected by a traumatic elimination by Braga in the Champions League play-offs in August.
Napoli, joint second with Lazio after having a two-point deduction for alleged involvement in match-fixing overturned on appeal on Thursday, visit fifth-placed Fioren-tina, who are in danger of losing touch with the top three after losing their last two games.
Fiorentina have dropped seven points behind Lazio and Napoli and cannot afford a slip-up today if they are to stay in contention for a Champions League place.
Meanwhile, Roma coach Zdenek Zeman will be eager to avoid resorting to emergency measures against fourth-placed Inter tomorrow, even if a make-shift defence did yield a surprising 1-0 win away at Fiorentina in the Coppa Italia quarter-final on Thursday.
Roma deserved to win regardless, according to Zeman, but he is unwilling to test the unfamiliar 3-4-3 arrangement for a second time against title-chasing Inter.
Fixtures
Serie A - Playing Today
Palermo Vs Lazio - 18.00
Juventus Vs Udinese - 20.45
Tomorrow – 15.00
Atalanta Vs Cagliari
Chievo Vs Parma
Fiorentina Vs Napoli - 12.30
Genoa Vs Catania
Milan Vs Bologna
Pescara Vs Torino
Roma Vs Inter - 20.45
Siena Vs Sampdoria
Standings: Juventus 45; Napoli, Lazio 42; Inter 38; Fiorentina 35; Roma 32; Milan 31; Udinese, Parma 30; Catania 29; Chievo 24; Torino (-1) 23; Atalanta (-2) 22; Bologna, Sampdoria 21; Pescara 20; Cagliari 19; Genoa 17; Palermo 15; Siena (-6) 11.
Serie B
Playing Today
Varese Vs Grosseto - 14.30
(Match To Resume From 83rd Minute With Grosseto Leading 3-0)