Belgrade, November 5, 2003 (Reuters) - Serbia and Montenegro manager Ilija Petkovic will stay in charge for the team's World Cup 2006 qualifying campaign, the federation's football officials said on Wednesday.
Petkovic took over from Dejan Savicevic in July after the team's disastrous start to the European championship qualifying campaign killed off its hopes of reaching next year's finals in Portugal.
Serbia and Montenegro finished third in Group Nine behind winners Italy and play-off bound Wales but ended the campaign on a high note under Petkovic with two wins against the Welsh and a draw with Italy.
The football governing body's general secretary Branko Bulatovic said agreement was reached quickly to extend the 57-year old manager's contract.
"Petkovic did not set out any special conditions to stay in charge of the national team and we agreed the terms very quickly," Bulatovic told a news conference.
"There was no problem at any stage of the talks," he added.
It is a second spell in charge for Petkovic, who guided the former Yugoslavia in only one competitive match during their unsuccessful World Cup 2002 qualifying campaign - a 2-0 win over Luxembourg - before taking a lucrative offer in China.
He earlier said he was here to stay this time to rebuild a team with the aim of reaching the World Cup finals in Germany and doing well there.
