The round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup between Switzerland and Algeria this Friday (5 a.m.) will also be a duel between Murat Yakin and Vladimir Petkovic, now coach of the Fennecs. Since he succeeded the Ticino at the head of the Swiss team in the summer of 2021, the Basel native has been constantly compared to his predecessor on the style of play, the tactical approach and even the results. What do the statistics say about this?
Vladimir Petkovic led the Nati 78 times, a record, for an average of 1.79 points per game. He can also boast of having led Switzerland to the quarter-finals of Euro 2021 and the round of 16 of Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup.
Murat Yakin follows closely with 62 matches, the third total in history, as coach. It also has a quarter-final at the Euro (2024) and a round of 16 at the World Cup (2022). However, his average points per game is lower (1.65).
Bernese derbies
Advantage Vladimir Petkovic? Not so fast. Because before becoming coaches, both men were club coaches. They even faced each other five times in the Super League between 2010 and 2012. The results are clear: Murat Yakin has never lost to Vladimir Petkovic!
Four of these meetings took place during the 2010-2011 season when Murat Yakin was in charge of FC Thun and Vladimir Petkovic was on the Young Boys bench. There were first three draws then the Oberlanders won the last derby of the year, on April 30, with a score of 1-0 at Wankdorf. A few days later, Vladimir Petkovic was fired by YB.
The last confrontation between the two technicians dates back to May 23, 2012 when FC Lucerne of “Muri” won at Tourbillon against FC Sion of “Petko”. Swiss supporters will perhaps see this as a positive sign this Friday morning at dawn.
