New Urawa Reds manager Zeljko Petrovic aims to emulate his friend and former international teammate Dragan Stojkovic by winning the J. League with the team he once played for — as long as the trigger-happy Saitama club has the patience to back him every step of the way.
Montenegrin Petrovic becomes the fourth manager to take charge of Reds since their sole league title win in 2006, returning to the club he represented as a player from 1997 to 2000 after making the transition to management with teams in Portugal, the Netherlands and England.
A 10th-place finish was enough to spell the end for predecessor Volker Finke last season, but while Petrovic acknowledges the road ahead is a treacherous one, he can at least draw inspiration from a source close to home.