 Petkovic hinted at a troubled camp |
Serbia and Montenegro's coach Ilija Petkovic will quit after the World Cup. His announcement came in the wake of Serbia and Montenegro's 6-0 embarrassment by Argentina which he described as "a debacle".
Petkovic, who led his team through an unbeaten qualifying campaign, said: "I disregarded my own principles and I'm sorry I didn't close down the defence."
He added: "The atmosphere within the team wasn't good, as it always is when a team is losing matches."
Former Yugoslavia player Petkovic will be joined in international retirement by striker Savo Milosevic, midfielder Predrag Djordjevic and defender Mladen Krstajic.
Serbia and Montenegro's World Cup appearance was their first and last under that name as Montenegro has voted for independence.
Their preparation for the Argentina game was beset by problems, including injuries, squabbles over tactics and training ground skirmishes between players.
Petkovic also hinted the breakup of the country contributed to their early exit, with Serbian fans disliking the old communist era Yugoslav anthem.
He said: "All teams at the World Cup sing their national anthem but ours is booed. It's hard to play in such an atmosphere."