Although grouped with one of the fancied teams Argentina and strong Nigeria, Bosnia & Herzegovina must not be considered a mere pushover. After years of near misses and hard luck stories, Bosnia and Herzegovina topped their UEFA qualifying group with a very impressive record. Successful qualification was icing in the cake for the Bosnian outfit that also ranked 13 in the FIFA ranking in 2013.
2014 FIFA world cup will be their first major tournament as an independent nation, after winning their qualifying group ahead of Greece. Bosnia-Herz. national team however are yet to qualify for a European Championship. Before this success, the national team came close to qualifying for major tournaments on a few occasions. The team lost to Portugal in play-offs for both 2010 FIFA world cup and UEFA Euro 2012. The national side has also been in a situation during qualifiers for both UEFA Euro 2004 and UEFA Euro 2012 needing a victory in the final game to progress directly to the final tournament. During world cup qualifying, the team needed a victory in the final match to book a playoff berth, at its opponent’s expense.
In 2010 veteran manager Miroslav Blazevic took them to play off with Portugal. They lost 0-1 in both round. After a prolific qualifying campaign, Bosnia has raised expectations in Brazil world cup. They may not turn the table on any favorite but at the same time they must not be taken lightly by any opponent. Most of the leading players regularly play for major teams in European leagues. Underestimating them may be a huge risk and may leave complacent team caught napping.
Goalkeepers: Asmir Begovic (Stoke City), Asmir Avdukic (Borac Banja Luka), Jasmin Fejzic (VFR Aalen)
Defenders: Emir Spahic (Bayer Leverkusen), Sead Kolasinac (Schalke 04), Ermin Bicakcic (Eintracht Braunschweig), Ognjen Vranjes (Elazigspor), Toni Sunjic (Zarya Lugansk), Avdija Vrsajevic (Hajduk Split), Mensur Mujdza (Freiburg)
Midfielders: Zvjezdan Misimovic (Guizhou Renhe), Haris Medunjanin (Gaziantepspor), Miralem Pjanic (AS Roma), Sejad Salihovic (Hoffenheim), Senad Lulic (Lazio), Izet Hajrovic (Galatasaray), Senijad Ibricic (Erciyesspor), Tino Sven Susic (Hajduk Split), Muhamed Besic (Ferencvaros), Anel Hadzic (Sturm Graz)
Strikers: Edin Dzeko (Manchester City), Vedad Ibisevic (VfB Stuttgart), Edin Visca (Istanbul BB)
Players to Watch
With an attack-minded coach and a world-class striker leading the way, Bosnia is looking to score plenty of goals at the world cup. Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko scored most of the team’s goals in qualifying, and Coach Safet Susic will be looking for plenty more when the team gets to Brazil to face Argentina, Iran and Nigeria in Group F. A creative midfield run by Miralem Pjanic will help, too.
Despite being in and out of the Manchester City squad, Edin Dzeko managed to score 10 of Bosnia’s 30 goals in world cup qualifying. Dzeko, nicknamed “the Diamond” in Bosnia, has scored 26 goals in 49 international matches and will be the key man up front in an attack-minded line-up. There are few players in the world who possesses more natural instinct for finding the back of the net than Dzeko. The 193 cm striker is a goal machine, scoring bulk loads for every team he has ever played for. He will undoubtedly be relishing his first appearance at a major international tournament. The 28 year old’s tally of 33 international goals makes him his country’s all-time leading goal scorer. This three time Bosnian best footballer of the year could well lead the world cup debutants into the second round if he is on song.
Roma attacking midfielder Miralem Pjanic provides flair in the Bosnia midfield. Pjanic started his international career in Luxembourg following his family’s move to the country shortly before the outbreak of the war in Bosnia in 1991. He had to wait two years to get permission to play for Bosnia, making his debut in 2008. He has scored eight goals in 46 appearances for Bosnia.
Vedad Ibisevic’s strike gave Bosnia a 1-0 win over Lithuania in Kaunas to assure his team of world cup qualification. The Stuttgart forward has also played club football in Switzerland, the United States and France. In 2008, Ibisevic was awarded the “National Idol” award as Bosnian footballer of the year. He has scored 20 goals in 51 appearances for Bosnia.
Stoke goalkeeper Asmir Begovic is considered among the top net minders in the English Premier League. Begovic, who left Bosnia when he was 4, conceded only six goals in 10 qualifying matches for Bosnia. He opted to play for Bosnia ahead of Canada, the side with which he started his international youth career in 2004.
Midfielder Zvjezdan Misimovic leads Bosnia with 80 international appearances, and has scored 26 goals. Playing for Wolfsburg and winning the Bundesliga in 2009, Misimovic led the league with 20 assists. Misimovic currently plays for Chinese club Guizhou Renhe
Coach Safet Susic
Susi’s persistence has been rewarded after seeing his country stumble in play offs for two major international tournaments in 2009. Susic represented Yugoslavia in FIFA world cup in Spain 1982 and in Italy 1990. He is known as a cool tactician and intelligent strategist. “I prefer my team score one more goal than the opposition.” he says. “That is my football philosophy “.
Prediction
No one should expect Bosnia upset strong Argentina. But they have enough quality to win against Nigeria and Iran. However, the world cup debutants do not possess the big stage pedigree needed to run deep into a major tournament and will fall to France in the round of 16.
BDST: 1228 HRS, JUNE 11, 2014
