Oleksandr Petrakov

Oleksandr Vasylyovych Petrakov (Олександр Васильович Петраков; born 6 August 1957) is a Ukrainian professional football manager and former player who played as a defender. He is the coach of the Armenia national team.

Playing career
Born in Kyiv, Petrakov is a product of the local Dynamo Kyiv youth sportive school system. He played for the Soviet third tier sides of Ukrainian group such as Lokomotyv Vinnytsia (1976–1978), SKA Kyiv (1978–1979), Dnipro Cherkasy (1979–1980), Avanhard Rivne (1981–1982), Kolos Nikopol (1983–1984). In 1986 Petrakov went abroad to play for the Soviet Southern Group of Forces team in Budapest, Hungary (1986–1990). In 1978 and 1991 he played for couple of amateur clubs like Bilshovyk Kyiv and Budivelnyk Ivankiv (near Chernobyl).

Coaching career
In his coaching career were included: amateur side Budivelnyk Ivankiv (1991–1993, head coach), top tier Torpedo Zaporizhzhia (1993–1994, assistant coach), several second tier clubs like CSKA-2 Kyiv (1996–1998, assistant coach; 1998–1999, head coach), Spartak Sumy (2000–2001, head coach), FC Vinnytsia (2001, head coach), Dynamo Kyiv academy (2001–2005), amateur RVUFC Kyiv (2006–2010), different youth national teams of Ukraine (2010–2021), winning the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup when his side defeated South Korea 3–1 in the final. He was leading national team sides of 1996 years of birth, 1999 and 2003.

Petrakov from March 2014 possesses UEFA Pro Licence.

On 17 August 2021, Petrakov was appointed as an acting coach of Ukraine for the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying cycle. On 12 January 2023, Petrakov left his post as manager of Ukraine.

On 14 January 2023, he became the manager of the Armenia national team.

Personal life
Petrakov is married to Irina. The couple have a daughter, Viktoria, and a son, Yevhen.

During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Petrakov and his wife refused to flee besieged Kyiv. Petrakov tried to sign up to Ukraine’s territorial defence forces, but his lack of military experience prevented this. According to Petrakov: “I am 64 but I felt it was normal to do this. I think I could take two or three enemies out.”

Manager
Ukraine U20
 * FIFA U-20 World Cup: 2019