The former Swiss coach is very weakened in Gironde. He should be sacked in the event of another poor performance this weekend.
© AFP
Vladimir Petkovic’s situation in Bordeaux is deteriorating from week to week.
Football is an unforgiving world, where the exploits of the past offer little resistance to the reality of the moment. Vladimir Petkovic once again confirms this. At the end of July, the “Mister” left the Swiss selection through the front door, after having led it to a historic quarter-final of the Euro. Six months later, he has become a pariah on the Bordeaux side.
Arrived in Gironde with the heavy task of straightening this historic Ligue 1 club, “Petko” fails to convince. It certainly benefits from extenuating circumstances (the workforce has been decimated by the Covid-19 and its leaders have just dismissed six players, including captain Laurent Koscielny), but the balance sheet is alarming. After twenty-one days, his team has won only three matches and is in penultimate place, with the second worst defense in Europe (50 goals conceded).
Its president, Gérard Lopez, continues to support it in the face of the discontent of the supporters. “There is no point in changing to have an announcement effect, he recently defended in the columns of “Sud Ouest”. It would be a response from a team that plays in the short term, used to moving between Ligue 1 and Ligue 2.
But that was before the debacle suffered in Rennes on Sunday (0-6). The feeling of resignation given off by the players on the pitch and by Petkovic at the press conference – “I didn’t manage to push them enough” – seems to have changed the position of the Bordeaux president. So much so that, according to “L’Équipe”, “a real doubt exists today in the minds of Bordeaux decision-makers about the technician’s ability to straighten the bar”.
6 – Bordeaux suffered against Rennes this afternoon (0-6) its biggest setback in Ligue 1 since January 18, 1986, in Monaco (0-9). Historical. pic.twitter.com/6K4QyvZkHW
– OptaJean (@OptaJean) January 16, 2022
The former Lazio manager is unlikely to be ousted this week. On the other hand, he should not survive another poor performance against Strasbourg on Sunday. The club would then benefit from a little time to look into a successor, since an international truce is scheduled between January 24 and the 1is February. The French sports daily specifies that a shortlist of names has already been studied, but no contact has been initiated.
????⚪️ Petkovic in the hot seat
The direction of @girondins awaits a strong signal against Strasbourg to demonstrate that he remains the man for the job. A new counter-performance should be fatal to him. #FCGB #Bordeaux https://t.co/kG35zEqSCg
– Emery Taisne (@EmeryTaisne) January 18, 2022
A dismissal of Vladimir Petkovic, whose salary is estimated at 300,000 euros gross per month with another two and a half years of contract, would not be without consequences for Gironde finances. Gérard Lopez assures, however, that the financial aspect is not an obstacle.
The future of the best Swiss coach in history hangs by a thread and the slightest mistake should be fatal to him.