Željko Petrović (; born 13 November 1965) is a Montenegrin professional football manager and former player. As a player, he represented the FR Yugoslavia national team at the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
Club career
Budućnost
Petrović made his professional debut with Budućnost in 1986 under manager Milan Živadinović. In Petrović's second and third season at Budućnost under manager Stanko Poklepović, the team included the likes of Dejan Savićević, Branko Brnović, Anto Drobnjak, Predrag Mijatović and Niša Saveljić. During Petrović's time at Budućnost, the team finished in seventh place in the 1986–87 season, in ninth place in the 1987–88 season, fourteenth in the 1988–89 season, and tenth in the 1989–90 season.
Dinamo Zagreb
Petrović moved to Dinamo Zagreb in 1990, where he played as a right-back. In June 1991, Dinamo changed their name to HAŠK Građanski. In HAŠK Građanski's short 1991–92 UEFA Cup campaign, Petrović scored all three of HAŠK Građanski's goals over two legs played against Trabzonspor. He scored two penalties in the first leg played on 17 September 1991, which HAŠK lost 3–2 to Trabzonspor. He scored another goal in the second leg played on 2 October 1991, which HAŠK tied 1–1. In spite of Petrović's goalscoring form, HAŠK were eliminated from the UEFA Cup losing to Trabzonspor on aggregate.
Sevilla
Petrović joined Sevilla in November 1991, with his transfer from HAŠK Građanski costing the Spanish team 500,000 DM. HAŠK Građanski had agreed on Petrović's transfer as part of a package with Davor Šuker, who joined Sevilla simultaneously. At the time, La Liga teams could field only up to four foreigners on the pitch, and Sevilla already had two foreign starters in Iván Zamorano and Pablo Bengoechea. With the addition of Šuker, Petrović was meant to be Sevilla's fourth foreign starter, although he initially enjoyed little playing time. On 22 March 1992, Petrović scored his only goal in a league match with Real Burgos, with Sevilla winning 3–2. This circumstance seemed to be a deciding factor in his move to Den Bosch, as it was widely regarded that he could have easily played for a more competitive team. In his second season at the club, however, he proved a difficult player to manage and he was also involved in a spat with team captain Arthur Numan. Towards the end of Petrović's time at PSV, Advocaat was critical of his smoking habits. In the fall of 1997, Petrović accepted a lucrative offer from the Urawa Red Diamonds, which estranged him from the rest of the club. before returning to RKC Waalwijk in 2000 where he finished his playing career.
International career
Petrović made his debut for the national team of Yugoslavia on 12 September 1990 in a match against Northern Ireland. Yugoslavia was subsequently banned from the Euro 1992, the 1994 FIFA World Cup, and the Euro 1996 due to FIFA suspending Yugoslavia following the international sanctions against Yugoslavia. Petrović would play for Yugoslavia again five years after his debut, for the qualification to the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
Death threat
Petrović was a regular of the Yugoslavia national team throughout the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification. On 28 October 1997, the night before the first leg of the qualifying play-off against Hungary, Petrović received a death threat by an anonymous phone caller. The caller gave Petrović twelve hours to leave Yugoslavia before being killed. In the time preceding the death threat, Petrović had been subject to a whispering campaign that suggested he once played for the Croatia national team during the breakup of Yugoslavia, before Croatia became an official FIFA member.
After the rumors were spread, Petrović took several opportunities to explain how the media identified him. When a Dutch journalist asked Petrović about his nationality considering the breakup of Yugoslavia, Petrović insisted on his identity as a Yugoslav. He explained himself with the following: