Petkovic, the coach who taught the Swiss team boldness

What you need to know about Vladimir Petkovic is that he changed a lot of things within the Swiss team. But beyond the tactical aspects, it is above all the mentalities that he has changed.

I will always remember a sentence uttered during one of his first speeches: “We have the qualities to look great nations in the eye.” Today this idea may seem obvious. At the time, she wasn’t at all. This sentence perfectly summed up his ambition: to ensure that Switzerland stopped putting up with the big teams and started facing them with conviction.

Before his arrival, Switzerland was known for its defensive solidity, organization and discipline. A team difficult to maneuver, but often cautious when it came to taking initiatives. Petkovic had another vision. He wanted a team capable of playing, taking risks, keeping the ball and imposing its identity, regardless of the opponent.

In his early days he was very strict. He wanted to control everything and imposed enormous demands on the smallest details. Nothing was left to chance. It was his way of establishing a solid framework and getting his ideas across.

But what struck me was his ability to evolve. Over the years, he has been able to adapt his management. Without ever losing its level of demands, it has become more flexible in the way it works with the players. He understood that a group is not built only with rules, but also with trust, listening and discussion. This evolution allowed him to create an even stronger relationship with his locker room.

Outside, particularly in front of the media, he often gave the image of a closed man, sometimes even harsh. However, in the privacy of the group, he was someone completely different. He was outspoken, knew how to joke, humor the players and lighten the atmosphere when necessary. This facet of his personality has remained largely unknown to the general public.

Personally, he is a coach that I greatly appreciated. Firstly because he was honest. With him, we always knew where we stood. Then because he was constantly looking for improvement, both individually and collectively. He was never satisfied with what had been done the day before.

If there’s one thing I would have liked for him, it’s for him to show more of that warmer personality. Let him smile a little more, let him show more of the man he really was. Many people judged him on his expression or his attitude at a press conference, while internally, he was someone who was deeply human.

Today, seeing him return to Switzerland necessarily gives a special flavor to this meeting. He knows several executives of this team perfectly. And we must not forget that he largely participated in their evolution.

I am obviously thinking of Granit Xhaka, whom he chose as captain. He placed total trust in him and gave him a central role in his project. This responsibility accompanied his evolution until he became the leader we know today.

I also think of Manuel Akanji, who grew enormously under his orders. Here again, the trust Petkovic placed in him played an important role in his progress.

It was also one of his greatest qualities: knowing how to convey confidence. By his words, of course, but above all by his daily management. He made everyone understand that they had an essential role to play in the collective. Solidarity and teamwork were at the heart of his project.

So, does he have an advantage because he knows this Swiss generation perfectly? Yes, definitely. He knows the habits of certain players, their preferred orientations, their automatisms, their strong points, but also their small weaknesses. These are details that can count at this level.

But knowing him, I am convinced of one thing: true to his philosophy, he will spend much more time preparing his team than thinking about the one opposite. This has always been his way of working. His obsession was not to adapt to the opponent, but to build the best possible plan to make his team competitive and give them every chance of winning.

Ultimately, this is perhaps what best defines Vladimir Petkovic. A demanding coach, faithful to his convictions, capable of helping a team progress in its game, but above all in its way of thinking. Perhaps his greatest legacy is not just the results he achieved, but the confidence he instilled in an entire group. The one that allowed Switzerland to look the greatest nations straight in the eye.