When all is said and done, football is just a game and not as Bill Shankly once famously remarked, more important than life or death.
It’s 90 minutes of entertainment, often between 22 warriors who will shake hands with each other once the battle is over, rendering the previous nastiness moribund.
At the higher levels of the game the differences between winning and losing are more acute and can make or break a manager’s career.
One manager who has had his fair share of work over the years is European Cup winning manager, Ljupko Petrovic.
He famously took Red Star Belgrade to victory over Marseille in the 1991 final, the year before the competition was rebranded to the Champions League.
Robert Prosinecki, Sinisa Mihajlovic and Darko Pancev, were part of a brilliant side that won against the French champions on penalties.
Unfortunately, the 76-year-old Petrovic, who has had 39 different managerial positions in 41 years according to transfermarkt – some at the same club during various stages of his career – now finds himself in a critical condition.
Crvena Zvezda’s European Cup winning coach Ljupko Petrovi? is reportedly in a critical condition after suffering a car crash on the outskirts of Belgrade. Petrovi? has been in charge of Levski, Litex and CSKA-Sofia throughout his magnificent career. Hope he gets well ? pic.twitter.com/T5PJmSOMse
— Metodi_Shumanov (@shumanskoo) July 1, 2023
According to a tweet from Bulgarian sports writer, Metodi Shumanov, Petrovic has been in a car crash on the outskirts of Belgrade.
At the time of writing it isn’t clear whether he is out of danger or not, but surely those who have played under him over the years will all be praying for him and wishing him well.