• Bruno Petkovic kept Croatia’s dream alive with his last-gasp leveller against Brazil

• He spent more than six years in Italy but did not manage a single goal in Serie A

• Now he dreams of making history again against Argentina

Though 42 Serie A appearances were not enough for Croatia forward Bruno Petkovic to register a goal, it took him just four games at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ to net the most important strike of his life.

Who can say whether, during the wild celebrations that followed his goal late on in extra time in the World Cup quarter-final against Brazil, Petkovic’s thoughts turned to his long and difficult experience in Italy, which saw him play for seven clubs in six seasons? From Catania to Bologna, with stops throughout the country, the Croatian attacker’s time in Italian football was anything but stellar. With the exception of a short spell at Trapani under the guidance of expert coach Serse Cosmi, who compared him to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the first part of Petkovic’s career generally looks like a missed opportunity. The goal that pulled Croatia back onto level terms with Brazil might just represent a turning point for the forward, who no longer believes in setting limits for himself. Starting with the next game, against Argentina, where a place in the World Cup Final is at stake. But first, let us hit the rewind button on his career.

Petkovic arrived in Italy at the age of 18 in 2012, signed by Catania. After starting off in the youth ranks, he made his Serie A debut in the last game of the 2012-13 season against Torino. The following year he established himself in the first-team squad, but only played four games, starting just one. The 2013-14 season ended with the Sicilian club suffering relegation to Serie B, and it was time for Petkovic to move on to pastures new. Leaving Sicily, Petkovic joined Varese on loan, but played just eight games in six months. In January 2015 he joined Reggiana, again on loan, and in the Italian third tier he was able to nail down a regular place in the team and score some goals. This was enough to take him back to Serie B the next summer, with Virtus Entella, though this too was an unhappy experience and after half a season he was on the move once more.

In February 2016 the Croatian forward returned to Sicily, this time with Trapani. Under manager Serse Cosmi, the squad was one of the strongest in Serie B and fighting for promotion. Yet they needed a striker and Petkovic did not disappoint, scoring seven goals in the second half of the season and being one of the stars of the play-off campaign, in which Trapani fell at the final hurdle against Pescara. His good performances convinced Trapani to sign him on a permanent basis, while also earning him effusive praise from his manager: “He reminds me of Ibrahimovic,” said Cosmi. “He has incredible quality. I’m sure he’ll be a thoroughbred, a superstar.” Cosmi’s appreciation for the Croatian forward has never faded: on Friday evening, just after his goal against Brazil, Petkovic’s former manager posted on Instagram to remind the world where it all began for him and who believed in him from the beginning.

After a solid start to the 2016-17 season, Petkovic once again attracted the attention of Serie A clubs. His return to the top division eventually came in January, when Bologna came calling. But his time there did not go according to plan, and Petkovic made 22 appearances without scoring a single goal. So in January 2018 he went out on loan once more, this time to Verona, a club in desperate need of a goalscorer to drag them away from the relegation zone. Alas, things did not click for Petkovic there either: he failed to find the net in 16 appearances and Verona were relegated.

After a demoralising year and a half in Serie A, with his goals scored tally remaining stubbornly on zero, it was time for Petkovic to say goodbye to Italy and return to Croatia after six years away. In the summer of 2018 he joined Dinamo Zagreb on loan and did well right away. His good performances convinced Dinamo to make the move permanent after just six months, and above all, brought a call-up from Croatia manager Zlatko Dalic. His debut for the national team came in March 2019 against Azerbaijan, and his first goal in June against Tunisia. He was named in the squad for Qatar 2022 in November and made his first appearance in the second group game against Canada. In the quarter final against Brazil he scored the 117th-minute goal that took the match to a shoot-out, which Croatia won. “Without a doubt that goal against Brazil was the most important of my career. It’s something that will stay with me forever, that I’ll tell my children about, and it’s part of the country’s history too,” said Petkovic.

“With every passing day I understand a bit more about what that goal means, for me and for the people of Croatia. I think our fighting spirit has a lot to do with the history that we’ve lived through,” said the forward ahead of the meeting with Argentina.

Petkovic’s story is enough to make anyone question the worth of predictions based on statistics and numbers. So now it is reasonable for Petkovic and for all of Croatia to expect the impossible: starting with the next game against Argentina, where the prize is nothing short of a date with destiny.

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