Petrovic leaves Serbia post

Vladimir Petrovic has stepped down as coach of the Serbian national team in the wake of his side's UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying failure. The Serbian Football Association announced today that they had reached an agreement with the 56-year-old over the termination of his contract. Tuesday's 1-0 defeat to Slovenia meant Serbia missed out on a play-off place after finishing third in Group C behind runaway leaders Italy and second-placed Estonia. "As of today Vladimir Petrovic is not the coach of the national team of Serbia," read a statement on the Serbian FA's official website, www.fss.rs. Petrovic said: "I had the honour and pleasure to have led the Serbia national team. Unfortunately for all of us, we have not qualified for the European Championships." Petrovic took charge of Serbia in September 2010 after replacing Radomir Antic. Today's news comes two days after Serbia captain Dejan Stankovic, 33, announced his retirement from international football.