Vladimir Petkovic pips Jose Peseiro to vacant Algeria coaching role

By Oyediji Oluwaseun Babatunde

Vladimir Petkovic has been appointed the head coach of Algeria’s senior men’s national team.

The appointment came on the day Jose Peseiro’s contract as the national team coach of Nigeria ended (February 29, 2024).

In a three-horse race for the job, it is Vladimir Petkovic the Bosnia-born former Swiss manager that has been taken ahead of Peseiro and Carlos Queiroz.

The 60-year-old led Switzerland for seven years, guiding them to the quarter-finals of the last European Championship with a last-16 victory over world champions France.

Bosnian-born Petkovic guided Switzerland to the 2018 World Cup and two European Championship finals before a brief spell as coach of French club Girondins de Bordeaux.

He replaced Algerian coach, Djamel Belmadi who led the team to the 2018 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title.

After back-to-back group stage ouster by the Desert Foxes at the 2021 and 2023 AFCONs, the exit door loomed for Belmadi after the tournament in Cote D’Ivoire where Peseiro led the Super Eagles to the final, losing 2-1 to host.

The Fennecs finished bottom of their group at the last AFCON beging Angola, Burkina Faso, and Mauritania.

They top Group G of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers with a maximum of six points after two games ahead of Botswana, Guinea, Uganda, Mozambique, and Somalia.

The target for Petkovic is to take the team to the next World Cup and regain their form at the AFCON which is taking place in Morocco next year (2025).