But I have to say I never did. Because while a person can always grow, mature and change, the natural talent that Husejinović has simply can’t be taught. I was worried that Said might have ruined his chance to make it at a big club like Werder, but held out hope that he would pull himself together and get his career back on track. Repentant remarks after a charity friendly for east Bosnian refugees last summer gave me cause for optimism, as did the ecstatic reviews of Bremen fans who had watched him at training.

Then last week, after many months, Said finally got his chance. After sitting on the bench again in a cup tie, he found himself in the squad again in last round’s Bundesliga match against Nürnberg. In just fourteen minutes, he managed a fantastic cross and directly participated in the build-up to Aaron Hunt’s equalizer. Praise followed from the press, the fans and even general manager Klaus Allofs.

“… he was involved in all the dangerous actions. He did very well… now he just has to stabilize [his performances during training]” – Klaus Allofs

What will happen next is open to question. Said didn’t play in the Europa League this weekend because he wasn’t registered for the competition, but he does seem to have clawed back into the squad for the Bundesliga. The competition is stiff, and the coaching staff’s expectations for him in terms of discipline and work ethic are quite high. If he can put in the required effort, however, there’s no reason we can’t hope that Said’s abilities will shine through and that he can stake out a spot in Werder’s rotation. And at that point, the national team could always use another pacy winger.

How do I feel about this? Firstly, I’m disappointed that we just lost a guy who is a year or two away from being a regular in the premiership and who would have provided us with security between the sticks for a solid decade. Given the nature of these things, I think we can hold out hope until the upcoming friendly in August (wasn’t he at the Bosnian embassy a few days ago to sort things out with his passport?), but I wouldn’t invest too much into it. Shame – goalkeeping has historically been a weak link for the Yugoslav countries, and we honestly don’t have anyone quite as good as Begović coming up to replace Hasagić.

But secondly, I’m honestly flummoxed as to why anyone, given the choice, would opt for playing international football for Canada, a country that has more polar bears than football fans. At least when the United States was treading water in the Subotić affair with Serbia, they were able to (somewhat) legitimately argue that a player is more likely to play in the World Cup with the United States than with a 2nd-to-3rd-seed UEFA country. Granted, I’ve actually read Canadian fans make the same argument with Begović, but it’s hard to take it as anything but a bad joke. Canada has not only made just one appearance at the World Cup, they’re currently lying in last place in their CONCACAF qualifying group with a grand total of zero wins and a -7 goal difference. Say what you will about Bosnia’s modest results since independence, but we’re still far ahead of Canada as a footballing country by any objective account.

Furthermore, the number of people who actually care about football in Canada could fit into Koševo, while the number of people who actually know about Begović would probably fit comfortably into Otoka. In choosing between Canada and Bosnia, Begović has a choice between either playing against Barbados and Honduras in half empty empty stadiums or facing some of the top players in the world in the seething cauldron that is Bilino polje with an entire people on its feet. If Begović prefers the former, perhaps he isn’t the kind of player we’d want to see in a Bosnian shirt anyway.

Since Felix Magath has admitted that he will be leaving Wolfsburg for Schalke at the end of the season, it’s become increasingly clear that Džeko isn’t particularly interested in staying behind. He recently revealed to the German press that he’s keeping his options open, and Bosnian media claim that his manager has already traveled to London for talks with Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool. All three are interested, together with just about every other major club in the world that’s looking for a striker. AC Milan probably has the best chance out of the continental clubs, as not only have they been following Džeko for some time, they are also his favorite club from childhood (or second to Željezničar at least). As much as I don’t like the Serie A, I think Milan would be a great fit; not only is it one of the most famous clubs in the world, but you’d assume that Džeko would almost be guaranteed a starting spot (half of the Rossoneri strike-force is on the verge of retirement). Arsenal seems like the next likeliest candidate, since Mostar-native and trusted Wenger-assistant Boro Primorac has been trackin Džeko since he first arrived in the Bundesliga. Given Džeko’s stated desire to move to the Premiership, I’d even say that a move to the Emirates is the most likely option. With Arsenal, however, much depends on what happens with Adebayor (and maybe even van Persie and Bendtner). Similarly, Chelsea’s interest probably hinges on the possible sale of Drogba. To round out the big four, Liverpool and Manchester United are also both interested, but I don’t see him starting out at either of the two beyond rotation, and Džeko will be looking to move somewhere where he can play right away. Given all of this, I’d give the edge to Milan and Arsenal, with the latter slightly in front. Of course, with so many clubs interested, anything is possible. Anything except Sunderland at least.

- Of course, in highlighting Džeko and Grafite’s contributions to Wolfsburg’s title run, I’ve neglected to mention the remaining member of the Wolves’ trinity: Zvjezdan Misimović. Our offensive mastermind has been pulling the strings from Wolfsburg’s midfield, and has had the best season of his career in the process, tallying somewhere between 19 or 21 assists. The exact number depends on whether you believe Kicker or Sportbild respectively, but both agree on one thing: whatever the figure, Miske has just set the Bundesliga’s single-season assist record. This is a fantastic achievement by any count, and a sure measure that Misimović has entered the prime of his career.

On the verge of turning 27, Misimović has not attracted the same interest from big-name clubs as his teammate and compatriot. The situation with Magath, however, has raised doubts about his future as well. Misimović has brushed off the speculation for the moment, claiming that he hasn’t had any concrete offers, but nonetheless making to sure to leave the door open by noting “Who knows what the summer will bring?” Although his relative lack of speed has always brought his value down, a rumored 8 million Euro release clause in his contract would surely be enough to lure the interest of top clubs from Germany and elsewhere. With the recent soap operas surrounding Diego and Ribéry, two of the Bundesliga’s top clubs may be looking for reinforcements in midfield, and Misimović could well fit the bill. Whether anything will materialize, however, remains to be seen. Bayern is a particularly appealing option, as this will likely be Misimović’s last chance to play in one of Europe’s top clubs. From the sound of it, however, Uli Hoeneß is pretty hostile to the idea, perhaps still smarting from the fact that he gave Zvjezdan away for nothing only a few years ago.

- Unfortunately, two players who probably won’t be moving to any top clubs are Hoffenheim’s Vedad Ibišević and Sejad Salihović. Both are young (24) players who played crucial roles in the village club’s early season fairytale. Unfortunately, after setting the scoring charts ablaze and attracting interest from the likes of Manchester United and Inter Milan, Ibišević suffered a terrible injury in January that he’s only now recovered from. Not surprisingly, Hoffenheim’s form took a nose-dive towards mid-table following this disaster, and Salihović’s stock inevitably dropped after a string of sub-par performances. The future looks bright, with Ibišević back in training and Salihović spearheading recent Hoffenheim victories, but neither of the two will be making the blockbuster moves that some were predicting back in December.

From a Bosnian perspective, however, their performances in the Bundesliga (together with those of Misimović and Džeko) have hardly been in vain. This year has seen a surge in interest for Bosnian players and talents on the part of German clubs, and that can only be a good thing for Bosnian football and the national team. Ermin Zec, one of the Croatian league’s biggest talents, is free from his contract with HNK Šibenik at the end of the season, and had been linked with a free transfer to Schalke even before infamous Bosniophile Magath decided to move to Gelsenkirchen. Lech Poznan maestro Semir Štilić has already been linked with various illustrious German clubs, and he could well make a move over the summer as well. Even a relatively unknown Bosnian-American defensive talent, Nurdin Hrustić, is apparently on the verge of signing with Borussia Dortmund.

- Following our schooling of their national team in Genk and Zenica, a similar situation has developed in Belgium. Defender Safet Nadarević, currently toiling away in the Turkish top-flight, has aroused the interest of Anderlecht, with the Brussels club also casting an eye on captain Emir Spahić. Both of these players are expected to move somewhere during this transfer window, and Anderlecht seems like an attractive destination for someone at Nadarević’s level. The Krajišnik is rumored to be looking for a move to England, however, and more power to him if he manages one. Spahić’s situation is a little different, since he’s actually been without a club since the “messy divorce” with Lokomotiv, but he’s too big a name not to have one by the time we face Armenia and Turkey. His story has been one of the more disappointing ones for Bosnian fans this year, with many hoping that he could still move to a reputable club like PSG or Hamburger SV. As of right now, however, I don’t think anyone outside of Spahić’s closest friends has any idea where he’ll continue his career. But let’s get back to Belgium. Admir Aganović and Sulejman Smajić have had excellent seasons at FCV Dender, and some are saying that they’ll be making a move up sooner rather than later. All in all, it adds up to make for an exciting summer transfer window for fans of Bosnian football.

The real tragedy here is Ibišević’s career itself. No player deserves such an awful injury, but it seems particularly unjust for the man with one of the most feel-good stories in European football. This is a fall of epic proportions, and to put it in perspective you should know that just a few days earlier he received the first annual award for Bosnian player of the year. The award is technically called “Idol nacije,” which literally translates to “National Idol,” and it describes the status Ibišević has enjoyed perfectly. Bosnian football hasn’t had the best of luck in its troubled post-war history, and Ibišević’s meteoric rise captured the imagination of a nation that hasn’t really had much to celebrate in recent years.

We followed and cheered along with every one of those 18 goals in an incredible ride that none of us will soon forget. Ibišević was the architect behind one of the greatest Cinderella stories in recent memory, and Bosnia basked in the attention that was suddenly given to one of our own. The game against Bayern maybe didn’t end the way I would’ve liked, but I remember it fondly as perhaps the first time I saw the whole former Yugoslavia united behind a footballing cause. Serbian commentator Marjan Mijajlović’s ecstatic “Raduj se Bosno što imaš Vedada Ibiševića!” (”Be happy, Bosnia, that you have Vead Ibišević!” at 0:34 below) seems destined to go down as one of those great cult pieces of commentary that people will recall for years to come (a Yugoslavian “Oh you beauty!” if you will). At the time, however, I thought it would simply mark the early rise of a player whose best was yet to come. How sad that it now just seems set to mark yet another in Bosnian football’s long line of “could-have-beens.”

- We’ve moved up six places in the latest FIFA World Ranking.We’re now #61 in the world, just in front of Gabon and Burkina Faso and breathing on the necks of Norway and Wales. Needless to say, FIFA’s calculations probably aren’t the best indicator of a team’s quality and international standing (I’m still not sure what Saudi Arabia and Slovenia are doing in front of us, but whatever). In a perfect world, Bosnia would consistently be in the sub-30 range. Ironically, the only time we’ve ever scaled that high (#25), it was a complete fluke during the chaos of the Euro 2008 campaign. With a little luck against Belgium and in our next friendly fixture, we’ll be back in the top 50 soon.

- While Edin Džeko is being linked to AC Milan, his partner in our attack, Bundesliga top-scorer Vedad Ibišević, is reportedly near the top of Inter’s wish-list. The idea of a Bosnian tandem at one of the world’s top clubs is enough to make any Bosnian fan salivate, but Vedad seems set on staying at Hoffenheim until the end of the season. “You can’t go higher than Inter… but I’ve already said that I will stay in Hoffenheim until the end of this season. That’s my final decision,” he said in a recent interview, nothing that “Anything is possible in the summer. [But] I don’t want to miss the chance of winning the German championship title with my club, or to spend my whole life wondering whether I could have been the Bundesliga top-scorer.” Personally I agree with Vedad’s reasoning 100%, but I hope this possibility will still be around at the end of the season – an Ibišević-Ibrahimović partnership would be too good to pass up.

- Bosnia’s domestic league, the infamous Premijer liga, is arguably the most corrupt, disorganized and kafkaesque sporting competition in Europe. Nonetheless, the actual level of footballing talent there is comparable to Croatia, Poland or any number of somewhat more highly regarded leagues. Lech Poznan found out that secret this season with the acquisition of 21-year-old Semir Štilić (see magazine cover above), who was just voted the Polish league’s foreign player of the year. Now Lech have gone in and purchased three more young Bosnian talents: Jasmin Burić and Fenan Salčinović from FK Čelik, and Haris Handžić from FK Sarajevo. Salčinović has been loaned to a Norwegian club, but Burić and Handžić will have the chance to earn playing time right away.

Burić was a highly-touted goalkeeping prospect from the same U21 generation as Štilić. When he was just starting out, he was heralded as the best keeper in Bosnia, but in the year since then his career has stagnated a bit. Lech provides him with a great opportunity to prove himself. In terms of quality of play, the Polish league really isn’t that much stronger than what Burić has seen in BiH, and if he can establish himself as a regular there, then he’ll probably become our #2 keeper. I’ve heard good things about Salčinović as well, but we’ll see whether he can use Norway as a spring-board or if he’ll get stuck there. 18-year old Handžić is probably the most exciting prospect of the three, and arguably the best product of FK Sarajevo’s youth school in this decade. He’s been more hyped than Štilić was at that age, and as long as he works hard he should be able to achieve similar success in another year or two. Here’s a clip of a nice goal he scored against Burić’s club this last season.

- Various other transfers have already taken place, mostly involving the exodus of young Bosnian players to other eastern European states. Ognjen Vranješ, a youth team national from FK Borac Banja Luka, is set to join either Hajduk Split or Red Star Belgrade. Vranješ is a promising young defender, which is why the news is particularly exciting (although I hope he won’t end up staying at either club too long). You can see a short highlight reel of him here. Meanwhile, Armin Pašagić, a previously unheard of prospect, has just joined VfL Bochum (there’s a nice youtube video of him as well). Also, veteran player Adnan Čustović, one of the Belgian league’s top scorers, has left R.E: Mouscron for the more notable K.A.A. Gent. Meanwhile, Edin Junuzović, the 22-year-old at the top of Slovenia’s scoring charts, is set to join Amkar Perm. It’s always nice to see our players move to stronger clubs, and the transfers of Vranjes and Pašagić in particular bode well for our U21 team.

This interest has been going strong ever since Džeko established himself in the Bundesliga. Milan sent several scouts to the friendly against Slovenia last month, and they reportedly liked what they saw. Conveniently, Wolfsburg was set to face Milan at the San Siro in mid December, providing a perfect opportunity both for Džeko to showcase his skills and for Milan’s people to get a better look. Naletilić was scheduled to make a trip to Slovenia that day for some ceremony or another, but Braida (Milan’s sporting director) ordered him to stay behind so that they could take another look at Džeko. And although Edin failed to get on the scoresheet, he had a very strong game; he created three good opportunities and was touted by some as MOTM.

This is where the story – as reported by Bosnian media through interviews with Džeko and Naletilić – gets particularly interesting. According to the Herzegovinian, Braida was very pleased with what he saw, telling him “This Džeko was brilliant. A very interesting forward.” Naletilić said that Braida wanted to talk to Džeko, and implied that Milan could follow through on their interest. Džeko himself didn’t exactly dispel any rumors. At the end of the game, he switched shirts with Shevchenko – an exchange he would later comment on to Bosnian reporters.

“As long as I can remember, I’ve supported Milan and Shevchenko. As a boy, I dreamed of meeting Sergej Barbarez and Shevchenko. I met Sergej and played against him, and now I’ve finally met Shevchenko as well.”

As the clip above shows, Džeko is a strong and sturdy striker with a great sense of balance and a solid shot. He has great physical attributes (1.92m) and an outstanding technique/respectable pace for his build. He also has a reputation as a tireless worker, and through training has made great progress in his game. My favorite example of this is his heading; last year he was absolutely dreadful there, but this season he’s even scored two headers in a single match. It all adds up to a fine striker with plenty of upside, and interest from a giant like AC Milan should not come as a great surprise. If Džeko continues making similar strides in the year to come, he could soon grow into a world class player.

p.s. For all those wondering (including the numerous Spanish, Arabic and other TV commentators who routinely butcher his name), the Dž is pronounced like an English “Jay”. Je-ko, with an elongated E. Not Tse-ko, not Zeco, but Je-ko.

But I’m greedy, and I want to see Ibišević as more than just the top scorer in the Bundesliga. After all, Barbarez already did that a few years ago. What I want to see is Ibišević taking home the golden shoe as the top club scorer in Europe. Since Darko Pančev’s exploits for Red Star Belgrade, no post-break-up Yugoslav has come close to winning the title: not Šuker, not Kežman and not even Ibrahimović. But Ibišević, on pace for the magic 30 in one of Europe’s top 5 leagues, is undoubtedly one of the favorites right now. If he avoids injuries and maintains his form, there’s currently only one man standing in his way.

^ — Asshole

So maybe I’m a little unfair to Marc Janko. In fact, I know I am. After all, he’s had a magic season so far for Red Bull Salzburg. But you know what? I’m very biased and don’t particularly care. The fact that Janko might end up wresting the golden shoe from Ibišević’s hand drives me crazy, and for a very simple reason: he plays in Austria.

If Samuel Eto’o or David Villa edged out Ibišević in La Liga, I could understand that. Sure, I wouldn’t like Eto’o or Villa for it, but they’re proven players playing in one of the toughest competitions in Europe; I’d just have to accept it and cope. But Janko getting 1.5 points every time he scores in the Austrian bundesliga? That’s a different story altogether.

For the life of me, I can’t understand why that sorry league still has a 1.5 coefficient. That little number puts it on the same page as the Dutch Eredivisie or the Portuguese championship, which is ludicrous. Red Bull Salzburg might be halfway decent, but the rest of the league is a joke, and it’s against these other teams that Janko scores a hat trick every other match. I mean, Samir Muratović, our Bosnian midfielder, supposedly just came 2nd behind Janko for Austrian footballer of the year. No offense to Muratović, but any league where he’s a superstar is simply a notch below the European average. Janko’s 30 goals are certainly very impressive, but the fact that they’re given 45 points compared to Ibišević’s 34 is flat out absurd. In terms of quality, the Austrian league is somewhere around Croatia or Poland at the moment; applying the same coefficient they have (i.e. 1) would give us Janko at 30 and Ibišević at 34 – much fairer.

Here’s hoping that Janko completes a successful move during the January transfer window while Ibišević stays put.