PLAYING for Partizan Belgrade against Red Star Belgrade in the Eternal Derby was, despite the intense hatred that exists between fans of the fierce city rivals and the notorious reputation of the fixture, never an experience that particularly fazed Gordan Petric.
“It is a big match,” the former Dundee United, Rangers and Hearts centre half said this week. “But at the end of the day it is still just a game between two teams on a pitch over 90 minutes.”
His laid-back attitude probably contributed as much to the success which he enjoyed as his football ability.
He helped Partizan to beat Red Star, who had won the European Cup the year before, in the Yugoslav Cup final in 1992 and then to the First League title the following season.
Petric is looking forward to seeing if his former club Rangers can fare as well against the Serbian champions as he did in the first leg of their Europa League last 16 double header at Ibrox on Thursday night.
Dejan Stankovic’s team topped Group F, a section that included Braga of Portugal, Ludogorets of Bulgaria and Midtjylland of Denmark, to reach this stage of the competition and are hopeful of progressing further in the competition.
But the man who helped the Glasgow giants to complete Nine-In-A-Row during the three years that he spent in Govan during the 1990s believes that Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side are more than capable of reaching the quarter-finals themselves and should not fear playing their renowned opponents either.
“For me, there is nothing between the teams,” he said. “I would say that Rangers have a 50/50 chance of winning. It will come down to who takes their chances in front of goal or gets that lucky break.
“I watched the Old Firm game last month and thought that Rangers were really bad against Celtic in the first-half and much better in the second-half.
“But I also saw them in both of their games against Borussia Dortmund and thought they were excellent. If they play as well as they did in those matches then Rangers can win and go through.
“I don’t see anything especially scary about Red Star for a team like Rangers. There is nothing in the Red Star team that should keep them awake at night.”
Red Star have won the Serbian SuperLiga in the past four seasons – the last two with former Lazio and Inter Milan midfielder Stankovic in charge.
Petric, who spent spells as both general secretary and vice-president at Partizan after retiring from playing, suspects the balance of power could be shifting as his old club are currently two points ahead of the defending champions in the table.
However, the five-times capped Yugoslavia defender knows the players who have contributed to Red Star’s prolonged period of domestic dominance will have to be monitored closely by James Tavernier and his team mates if Rangers are to prevail.
“I would say Red Star have four key players,” he said. “Aleksandar Katai is a very talented winger and is also their vice-captain. He can operate as a playmaker just behind their lone striker, Richairo Zivkovic or Milan Pavkov.
“Aleksandar Dragovic is an excellent centre half who has played for Basel, Dynamo Kiev, Bayer Leverkusen, and Leicester City in the past and has won nearly 100 caps for Austria.
“Milan Borjan, their goalkeeper and captain, has also been a big player for them for the past four years as they have won everything in Serbian football. He is 6ft 5in tall and also plays for the Canada team.
“Then Mirko Ivanic is an attacking midfielder who gets forward and scores a lot of goals for the team. I think those four players are the most important men for Red Star. They have experience and are at the heart of what their team do.
“Red Star have done well both in Serbia and Europe. Braga were a good team and they beat them 2-1 at home and drew 1-1 with them away. But I say to you that Rangers are a good side as well. I do not think there is a big difference between the two.”
Despite his close affiliations with and affection for both Partizan and Rangers, Petric admits that he is conflicted over the Europa League last 16 tie and will not be too downhearted if Red Star triumph and reach the last eight.
Serbia are currently in 11th place in the UEFA coefficient table and if they are in the top 10 at the end of the 2021/22 campaign their national champions will be guaranteed a lucrative place in the Champions League group stages next term.
“It is a tricky situation for me,” he said. “Red Star come from Serbia and if they win it could be very good for Partizan because it will help the winners of the league here get into Europe’s top club competition next season. That is very important for Serbian football.
“I think I would like Rangers to win at Ibrox and Red Star to win at the Marakana. Then we will see who scores the more goals. There will not be much in it.”
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