Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Nickname(s)	Zmajevi (Dragons) Liljani (Golden Lilies)[1]
Association	Football Association of Bosnia & Herzegovina
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	vacant
Captain	Emir Spahić
Most caps	Elvir Bolić (55)
Top scorer	Elvir Bolić (24)
Home stadium	Bilino Polje, Zenica Asim Ferhatović Hase, Sarajevo
FIFA code	BIH
FIFA ranking	51[2]
Highest FIFA ranking	25 (October 2007)
Lowest FIFA ranking	173 (September 1996)
Elo ranking	50
Highest Elo ranking	47 (July 2009)
Lowest Elo ranking	87 (October 5, 1999)
Home colours Away colours
First international
Iran 1 - 3 BiH (Tehran, Iran; Jun 6, 1993)
Biggest win
BiH 7 - 0 Estonia  (Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina; Sep 10, 2008)
Biggest defeat
Argentina 5 - 0 BiH (La Plata, Argentina; May 14, 1998)

The Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team is the national football team of Bosnia and Herzegovina, governed by the Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina. They played their first match against Iran in 1993 after the split of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Prior to that, Bosnian-Herzegovinian players played for the Yugoslavia national football team. The independent Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team has never qualified for any major tournament, but has come close on multiple occasions.

Contents 1 Brief History 2 Team Nickname(s) 3 Home Stadiums 3.1 Asim Ferhatović Hase Stadium (Koševo Stadium) 3.2 Bilino Polje Stadium 4 Qualifiers 4.1 UEFA Euro 2008 4.2 2010 FIFA World Cup 4.3 UEFA Euro 2012 5 Current squad 5.1 Current starting 11 5.2 Recent call ups 5.3 World Cup record 5.4 European Championship record 6 Managers 7 Most appearances 7.1 Notable BiH Players 8 Head-to-Head Records against other countries 9 See also 10 References 11 External links

Brief History

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2009)

The team has come very close but has never qualified for a major tournament since its FIFA and UEFA recognition in 1996 and 1998 respectively.

In the qualifying campaign for Euro 2004, only one goal in the last home game against Denmark separated the Bosnian national football team from the finals in Portugal. The team ended the qualifiers in fourth position, with the same amount of won games as the other three teams. Denmark won the group, although Bosnia took 4 points from them in two head to head matches.

In the World Cup 2006 qualifying round, the Bosnians continued to play well when matched against teams like Spain (drawing both times), Belgium (one win, one loss), and Serbia and Montenegro (one draw, one loss). Playing against the Serbian team inspires much national pride, as is common with any match that features two former Yugoslav republics. Against Serbia and Montenegro, the Bosnian team drew at home but lost the second leg in Belgrade with a score 1-0. Both matches had extra precautions employed by officials to prevent nationalistic rioting. Disturbances occurred anyway and UEFA fined both football federations. The Bosnians finished third in the group four points behind second place Spain.

In 2009, the Bosnian national team made their greatest achievement in their history by qualifying for the UEFA Second Round in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification. They played Portugal in the contest, but did not win. Along the standard qualification process the team beat Belgium, Estonia and Armenia at both home and away. This is the furthest the Bosnian and Herzegovinian national team has progressed in any one qualification phase for a major tournament.

Team Nickname(s)

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the team is typically referred to as the "Fudbalska Reprezentacija" (football(soccer) representatives), "Ljiljani" (Lilies, a reference to the Fleur-de-lis of Bosnian Kingdom) or "Zmajevi" (Dragons). Whereas in foreign media, sometimes they are referred to as the "Golden lilies".^[1]

Home Stadiums

Asim Ferhatović Hase Stadium (Koševo Stadium)

Koševo Stadium as it is also known was opened in the year 1947. In 1984, it was reconstructed for the 1984 Winter Olympics, and is therefore often called Olympic Stadium. In the present day it is officially called "Asim Ferhatović - Hase" since July 2004, after Asim Ferhatović, the legendary FK Sarajevo player who retired in 1967. Today Koševo can seat 37,500^[3] and is also the alternate home stadium of the national team.

For the first time in its history, Koševo Stadium, as it is otherwise known as, was not used in any of the qualifying home games by the Bosnian national side for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification The Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina has acknowledged that both players and fans prefer Bilino Polje as the home stadium for the national team. In addition, the FFA has been renovating the facilities there indicating its plans for the future. Asim Ferhatović Hase Stadium has however been used for friendly matches while another Sarajevo club has given permission to also use their Grbavica Stadium for team training sessions.

Bilino Polje Stadium

Bilino Polje is the home football stadium of NK Čelik from the city of Zenica in Bosnia and Herzegovina and one of two stadiums used by the national team. The capacity of the stadium is 25,000, but some reports state attendance has exceeded 35,000 in the past.

The stadium was built and opened by Dino Dženanović in 1972. The stadium is considered a "curse" for foreign national teams due to the fact that the Bosnian national team maintains an impressive win record at the stadium. Since 1995, the Bosnian national team has played 20 international games in Zenica with a record of 11 wins, 5 draws and only 4 losses. Bosnia never lost a single game in 2010 World Cup qualification at Bilino Polje stadium until the last match of the group qualifiers when they lost 5-2 to Spain.

In a period stretching from 1995 to October 2006, Bosnia and Herzegovina went undefeated at home in about 10 games played in Zenica. The city of Zenica had to wait another 5 years (1995-2000) before the next match of the national team was played at the stadium. This match was also a friendlythis against Macedonia, with the final result being a victory for the home side 1-0. The national team never lost on this field until the Euro 2008 qualifier against Hungary on September 6 2006 during this time period.

Qualifiers

UEFA Euro 2008

After the World Cup 2006 qualifying round, much was expected of the Bosnian squad for the 2008 UEFA European Football Championship qualifying. Bosnia and Herzegovina opened their race for the tournament with a 5-2 victory over Malta playing away. However, major disappointing results followed with losses to Hungary and Greece at home soil, and a bitter draw with Moldova in Chisinau. With little hopes left for the squad, major changes took place. Coach Fuad Muzurović replaced Blaž Slišković and following the protest of 13 different players against the Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina by not attending national games, Muzurovic was forced to rebuild the national team from scratch. Bosnia was then forced to play the rest of their qualifying games with a poor B or C team.

After this period of turmoil, a team was successfully put together, although little was expected of the squad since they did not have enough time to go under proper training against the next qualifying match against the solid Norwegians at home. However, with a stunning upset the Bosnians took advantage of all chances and played brilliantly, defeating Norway with 2-1 win, restoring the team's morale and reviving hopes of qualifying.

After the game against Norway, the Bosnian team continued its amazing success with astounding victories against Turkey and Malta. After these two games, the Bosnian squad unfortunately entered a second depression for the qualifiers which cost them the loss of qualification. A defeat by Hungary and a historically horrible bitter defeat by Moldova at home soil dramatically reduced the morale of both the team and the fans. The Bosnians then suffered two more defeats against Greece and Norway officially dropping them out of qualifications.

2010 FIFA World Cup

On 6 September 2008, Bosnia and Herzegovina, under new veteran coach Miroslav Blažević, began qualification for the 2010 FIFA World Cup against the current European champions Spain, losing 1-0 away but playing surprisingly well. Four days later, the national team recorded a historical 7-0 annihilation of Estonia, the biggest ever win in Bosnia's football history. On 11 October, Bosnia and Herzegovina lost 2-1 away to Turkey in Istanbul. Despite the defeat, the Bosnians still grew in confidence. The next qualifier against Armenia, which occurred on 15 October at home, was won by the team with a score of 4-1 which allowed them to receive another three points.

In March/April 2009, Bosnia and Herzegovina played the double header games against Belgium. Announced as heavy underdogs to win, Bosnia and Herzegovina stunned the football world with an impressive 4-2 away win to boost them up to second place, marking a new historical phase of high morale and overall player skill in the team's history. Only four days later, Belgium were unable to grab needed points away from home, receiving another blow with a loss of 2-1. This opened up a crucial four point cushion ahead of Turkey who lost twice to Spain.

In the final September/October qualifiers, Bosnia and Herzegovina gained a further seven points from four matches; two wins versus the two bottom teams of the group, Armenia and Estonia at away. The team drew against Euro 2008 semi-finalists Turkey, securing their historical achievement at being qualified for the UEFA Secound Round. The national team however suffered a high loss to Spain in the final standard qualification match, although both fans and the media portrayed the match as almost a friendly match as both teams played casually since the qualification objectives by both teams have been met.

Bosnia was scheduled against Portugal in the contest, but lost in both legs 1-0 and 0-1 respectively. The team did show skill in the first leg however, threatening Portugal multiple times but unfortunately often striking the woodwork.

UEFA Euro 2012

According to the final UEFA rankings for EURO 2012 qualifiers, released on November 19, 2009, Bosnia and Herzegovina has been seeded in Pot 3 for Euro 2012 qualifications. Final draw will be held in Poland on February 7th, 2010.

2010 FIFA World Cup qualification - UEFA Group 5

Team v • d • e Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  Spain 10 10 0 0 28 5 +23 30  Bosnia and Herzegovina 10 6 1 3 25 13 +12 19  Turkey 10 4 3 3 13 10 +3 15  Belgium 10 3 1 6 13 20 −7 10  Estonia 10 2 2 6 9 24 −15 8  Armenia 10 1 1 8 6 22 −16 4

Armenia  – 2 – 1 0 – 2 2 – 2 1 – 2 0 – 2 Belgium  2 – 0 – 2 – 4 3 – 2 1 – 2 2 – 0 Bosnia and Herzegovina  4 – 1 2 – 1 – 7 – 0 2 – 5 1 – 1 Estonia  1 – 0 2 – 0 0 – 2 – 0 – 3 0 – 0 Spain  4 – 0 5 – 0 1 – 0 3 – 0 – 1 – 0 Turkey  2 – 0 1 – 1 2 – 1 4 – 2 1 – 2 –

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5 September 2009 20:00 UTC+5	Armenia	0 – 2	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Hanrapetakan Stadium, Yerevan Attendance: 1,800 Referee: Eric Braamhaar (Netherlands)
		Report	Ibričić  6' Muslimović  73'

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9 September 2009 20:00 UTC+2	Bosnia and Herzegovina	1 – 1	Turkey	Bilino Polje, Zenica Attendance: 18,000 Referee: Olegário Benquerença (Portugal)
	Salihović  25'	Report	Emre B.  4'

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14 October 2009 20:00 UTC+2	Bosnia and Herzegovina	2 – 5	Spain	Bilino Polje, Zenica Attendance: 20,000 Referee: Konrad Plautz (Austria)
	Džeko  90' Misimović  90+2'	Report	Piqué  13' Silva  14' Negredo  50', 55' Mata  89'

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Current squad

Squad called up for Play-Off matches against Portugal on 14 November and 18 November 2009.

No. Pos. Player DoB (Age) Caps Goals Club 1 GK Kenan Hasagić February 1, 1980 (1980-02-01) (age 29) 34 0 İstanbul BB 12 GK Nemanja Supić January 12, 1982 (1982-01-12) (age 27) 4 0 Timişoara 23 GK Asmir Begović June 20, 1987 (1987-06-20) (age 22) 1 0 Portsmouth 22 DF Dario Damjanović July 23, 1981 (1981-07-23) (age 28) 17 2 Kaiserslautern 8 DF Sanel Jahić December 10, 1981 (1981-12-10) (age 28) 10 1 AEK Athens 4 DF Emir Spahić August 18, 1980 (1980-08-18) (age 29) 37 2 Montpellier 13 DF Safet Nadarević August 30, 1980 (1980-08-30) (age 29) 25 0 Eskişehirspor 20 DF Adnan Mravac December 10, 1981 (1981-12-10) (age 28) 4 0 Westerlo 21 DF Boris Pandža December 15, 1986 (1986-12-15) (age 23) 8 0 Hajduk Split 17 DF Damir Mirvić November 30, 1982 (1982-11-30) (age 27) 0 0 K.S.V. Roeselare 2 DF Džemal Berberović November 5, 1981 (1981-11-05) (age 28) 30 0 Denizlispor DF Ninoslav Milenković December 31, 1977 (1977-12-31) (age 31) 16 0 Enosis Paralimni 18 MF Miralem Pjanić April 2, 1990 (1990-04-02) (age 19) 13 0 Olympique Lyonnais 16 MF Zlatan Bajramović August 12, 1979 (1979-08-12) (age 30) 33 3 Eintracht Frankfurt 19 MF Semir Štilić October 8, 1987 (1987-10-08) (age 22) 4 0 Lech Poznań 15 MF Sejad Salihović 8 October 1984 (1984-10-08) (age 25) 16 2 Hoffenheim 17 MF Senijad Ibričić September 26, 1985 (1985-09-26) (age 24) 22 3 Hajduk Split 7 MF Admir Vladavić June 29, 1982 (1982-06-29) (age 27) 17 0 Red Bull Salzburg 6 MF Elvir Rahimić April 4, 1976 (1976-04-04) (age 33) 19 0 CSKA Moscow 5 MF Samir Muratović February 25, 1976 (1976-02-25) (age 33) 20 0 Sturm Graz 10 MF Zvjezdan Misimović June 5, 1982 (1982-06-05) (age 27) 47 16 Wolfsburg 7 MF Haris Medunjanin March 8, 1985 (1985-03-08) (age 24) 1 0 Real Valladolid 11 FW Edin Džeko March 17, 1986 (1986-03-17) (age 23) 22 14 Wolfsburg 14 FW Vedad Ibišević August 6, 1984 (1984-08-06) (age 25) 19 4 Hoffenheim 9 FW Zlatan Muslimović March 6, 1981 (1981-03-06) (age 28) 21 13 PAOK FW Ermin Zec March 28, 1988 (1988-03-28) (age 21) 1 0 HNK Šibenik Current starting 11 Last updated on 14 November 2009. Hasagić Ibričić Nadarević Jahić Salihović Spahić Misimović Rahimić Muratović Džeko Ibišević Recent call ups The following players have been called up for World Cup 2010 Qualifiers. No. Pos. Player DoB (Age) Caps Goals Club GK Goran Brašnić (v.  Armenia; 15 Oct 08) September 26, 1973 (1973-09-26) (age 36) 13 0 Inter Zaprešić GK Adis Nurković (v.  Belgium; 1 Apr 09) April 28, 1986 (1986-04-28) (age 23) 1 0 Travnik GK Bojan Tripić (v.  Armenia; 15 Oct 08) November 18, 1981 (1981-11-18) (age 28) 0 0 Modriča GK Romeo Mitrović (v.  Belgium; 1 Apr 09) July 12, 1979 (1979-07-12) (age 30) 0 0 Kecskemét DF Ivan Radeljić (v.  Belgium; 1 Apr 09) September 14, 1980 (1980-09-14) (age 29) 10 0 Gençlerbirliği DF Velibor Vasilić (v.  Armenia; 15 Oct 08) June 13, 1980 (1980-06-13) (age 29) 2 0 Zvijezda Gradačac DF Mario Jurić (v.  Estonia; 9 Sept 08) August 7, 1976 (1976-08-07) (age 33) 0 0 Slaven Belupo DF Sedin Torlak (v.  Armenia; 15 Oct 08) January 12, 1985 (1985-01-12) (age 24) 0 0 FK Sarajevo DF Mirko Hrgović (v.  Spain; 14 Oct 09) February 5, 1979 (1979-02-05) (age 30) 30 3 Greuther Fürth MF Said Husejinović (v.  Estonia; 6 Sept 08) May 13, 1988 (1988-05-13) (age 21) 2 0 Werder Bremen MF Branislav Krunić (v.  Estonia; 6 Sept 08) January 28, 1979 (1979-01-28) (age 30) 6 0 FC Moscow FW Marko Topić (v.  Belgium; 1 Apr 09) January 1, 1976 (1976-01-01) (age 33) 24 2 Saturn Moscow Oblast FW Mladen Bartolović (v.  Armenia; 15 Oct 08) April 10, 1977 (1977-04-10) (age 32) 11 1 Foolad World Cup record Year Round Position GP W D L GS GA 1998 Did Not Qualify 2002 Did Not Qualify 2006 Did Not Qualify 2010 Playoffs Total European Championship record Year Round Position GP W D L GS GA 2000 Did Not Qualify 2004 Did Not Qualify 2008 Did Not Qualify 2012 Total World Cup 1930 to 1990 - was part of SFR Yugoslavia Euro 1960 to 1992 - was part of SFR Yugoslavia Managers Manager Time Period Position in Qualifiers Mirsad Fazlagić 1992 - 1993 Fuad Muzurović 1993 - 1998 4/5 for WC1998 Faruk Hadžibegić 1999 - 1999 Mišo Smajlović 1999 - 2002 4/6 for EURO2000 ; 4/5 for WC2002 Blaž Slišković 2002 - 2006 4/5 for EURO2004 ; 3/6 for WC2006 Fuad Muzurović 2006 - 2007 4/7 for EURO2008 Meho Kodro 2008 - 2008 Miroslav Blažević 2008 - 2009 2/6 Playoff for WC2010 For players of Yugoslavian national team see Yugoslavia national football team. Most appearances # Name Clubs BiH career Caps Goals 1 Elvir Bolić Rijeka/Rayo Vallecano/Fenerbahçe/Čelik Zenica 1996–2006 55 24 2 Sergej Barbarez Bayer Leverkusen/Hamburg/Borussia Dortmund/Hansa Rostock, Union Berlin/Velež Mostar 1998–2006 47 17 3 Zvjezdan Misimović Wolfsburg/Nuremberg/Bayern Munich 2004–present 47 16 4 Vedin Musić Padova/Torino/Antalyaspor/Sloboda Tuzla 1995–2007 45 0 5 Hasan Salihamidžić Juventus/Bayern Munich/Hamburg/Velež Mostar 1996–2006 43 6 Notable BiH Players This section may contain original research or unverified claims. Please improve the article by adding references. See the talk page for details. (December 2009) This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2009) Retired Still active Sergej Barbarez Edin Džeko Elvir Bolić Zvjezdan Misimović Hasan Salihamidžić Vedad Ibišević Elvir Baljić Emir Spahić Meho Kodro Sejad Salihović Mirsad Hibić Zlatan Bajramović Vedin Musić Miralem Pjanić Saša Papac Kenan Hasagić Muhamed Konjić Elvir Rahimić Mirsad Bešlija Zlatan Muslimović Head-to-Head Records against other countries [4] Opponent Games Wins Draws Losses Goals For Goals Against Goal Differential  Portugal 2 0 0 2 0 2 -2  Macedonia 5 1 3 1 8 8 =0  Spain 6 0 2 4 6 14 -8  Serbia 3 0 1 2 0 3 -3  Denmark 4 2 1 1 6 3 +3  Hungary 4 0 2 2 3 6 -3  Estonia 5 3 1 1 14 3 +11  Malta 4 3 0 1 9 4 +5  Belgium 4 3 0 1 8 7 +1  Croatia 4 0 0 4 6 14 -8  Iran 6 1 1 4 10 17 -7  Greece 4 0 0 4 2 11 -9  Slovenia 3 3 0 0 7 4 +3  Liechtenstein 3 2 1 0 8 0 +8  Malaysia 3 2 1 0 5 2 +3  Luxembourg 3 3 0 0 5 1 +4  Norway 4 2 0 2 3 5 -2  Lithuania 4 2 1 1 6 5 -1  Turkey 5 2 1 2 7 5 +2  San Marino 2 2 0 0 6 1 +5  Germany 1 0 1 0 1 1 =0  Uzbekistan 2 0 1 1 1 2 -1  Scotland 2 0 0 2 1 3 -2  Israel 2 0 1 1 1 3 -2  Faroe Islands 2 1 1 0 3 2 +1  Czech Republic 2 0 0 2 1 6 -5  Albania 2 0 1 1 0 2 -2  Jordan 2 1 1 0 2 1 +1  Austria 2 0 1 1 1 3 -2  Japan 2 0 1 1 2 5 -3  Romania 2 0 0 2 0 5 -5  Moldova 2 0 1 1 2 3 -1  France 2 0 1 1 2 3 -1  Italy 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1  Wales 1 0 1 0 2 2 =0  Finland 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1  Bulgaria 1 0 0 1 1 2 -1  Armenia 2 2 0 0 6 1 +5  Azerbaijan 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1  Slovakia 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1  Uruguay 1 1 0 0 3 2 +1  Chile 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1  Argentina 1 0 0 1 0 5 -5  Vietnam 1 1 0 0 4 0 +4  Indonesia 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2  China PR 1 0 0 1 0 3 -3  Qatar 1 0 0 1 0 2 -2  Bangladesh 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2  Bahrain 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1  Poland 1 0 0 1 0 1 -1  Korea Republic 1 0 0 1 0 2 -2  Oman 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1  Tunisia 1 0 0 1 1 2 -1  Zimbabwe 1 0 1 0 2 2 =0  South Africa 1 1 0 0 4 2 +2  Brazil 1 0 0 1 0 1 -1 56 Countries 127 47 27 53 170 183 0.20 See also FIFA World Cup UEFA European Football Championship Bosnia and Herzegovina national under-21 football team Bosnia and Herzegovina national under-19 football team Bosnia and Herzegovina national under-17 football team Bosnia and Herzegovina women's national football team References ^ a b "Golden Lilies blossoming". FIFA.com. 9 April 2009. http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/ranking/news/newsid=1046853.html. Retrieved 10 October 2009.  ^ "Bosnia Herzegovina". http://www.fifa.com/associations/association=bih/ranking/gender=m/index.html.  ^ Stadion Koševo: Stadion "Asim Ferhatović - HASE" ^ Bosnia-Herzegovina - List of International Matches External links Reprezentacija.net - News portal about Bosnian national football team SportSport.ba Sportin.ba BHFanaticos Sport Becka Raja BiHSoccer Bosnia and Herzegovina Football Association UEFA.com (Bosnia and Herzegovina) RSSSF archive of results RSSSF archive of most capped players and highest goalscorers v • d • e Football in Bosnia and Herzegovina Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina National teams Bosnia and Herzegovina · U-21 · U-19 · U-17 League system Premier League · First League (FBiH, RS) · Second League (FBiH, RS) Domestic cups National Cup · Super Cup List of clubs · List of stadiums v • d • e International football FIFA · World Cup · Confederations Cup · U-20 World Cup · U-17 World Cup · Olympics · Asian Games · All-Africa Games · Pan American Games · Minor tournaments · World Rankings · Player of the Year · Teams · Competitions · Federations · Codes Asia AFC – Asian Cup Africa CAF – Africa Cup of Nations North America CONCACAF – Gold Cup South America CONMEBOL – Copa América Oceania OFC – Nations Cup Europe UEFA – European Championship Non-FIFA NF Board – Viva World Cup v • d • e National football teams of Europe (UEFA) Albania · Andorra · Armenia · Austria · Azerbaijan · Belarus · Belgium · Bosnia and Herzegovina · Bulgaria · Croatia · Cyprus · Czech Republic · Denmark · England · Estonia · Faroe Islands · Finland · France · Georgia · Germany · Greece · Hungary · Iceland · Israel · Italy · Kazakhstan · Latvia · Liechtenstein · Lithuania · Luxembourg · Macedonia · Malta · Moldova · Montenegro · Netherlands · Northern Ireland · Norway · Poland · Portugal · Republic of Ireland · Romania · Russia · San Marino · Scotland · Serbia · Slovakia · Slovenia · Spain · Sweden · Switzerland · Turkey · Ukraine · Wales