Ćiro reveals call-ups for qualifiers

Who the @#$% was Mirnel Sadović? Ćiro seems not to have known either; he allegedly screamed “who sent you to me?!” at a pre-friendly training session. No matter. With or without Mr. Sadović, Bosnia embarrassed itself against Iran, conceding three goals in the final fifteen minutes or so of the match. Not much is left but to look forward to the qualifiers against Armenia and Turkey, which are now a mere two weeks away.

Ćiro revealed the call-ups on Friday. Although he had announced on Thursday that there would be surprises, the only really unexpected name on the list was that of Mirko Hrgović. As you may recall, Hrgović – at one time a regular in the national team – has managed to royally screw up his career in the past two years or so. The former Hajduk skipper enraged the Split club’s fans by moving to arch rivals Dinamo Zagreb, only to find that his arrival wasn’t particularly welcome by Dinamo’s ultras (see picture above). The Croatian-born wing back then angered Bosnian supporters, revealing off-hand to Croatian media that he deeply regretted never having played for Croatia. After being confronted at the airport by some Bosnian fans prior to the infamou Azerbaijan friendly (I think), Hrgović vowed to never play international football again. Now that his career is once again in the dumps (he’s finally established himself in der zweite Bundesliga), we’ll see if Mirko stands by that promise.

I’m not sure what to think about Ćiro’s decision. Hrgović is certainly not liked by Bosnia’s supporters, and he has a pretty bad relationship with Senijad Ibričić, who he got into a fight with at an indoor tournament last year. One of the key strengths of this team is its chemistry, and this could be like throwing a wrench into an otherwise well-oiled machine. On the other hand, Hrgović is only one man, and on his day one of the best options we have at his position. If Ćiro does start him out at left wing back, Hrgović could allow for Sejad Salihović to finally play a more offensive role. Whatever the case, here’s the full list of call-ups by position.

Keepers: Nemanja Supić, Kenan Hasagić, Asmir Begović

Defense: Emir Spahić, Dario Damjanović, Adnan Mravac, Sanel Jahić, Damir Mirvić, Boris Pandža, Safet Nadarević, Mirko Hrgović

Midfield: Elvir Rahimić, Samir Muratović, Semir Štilić, Sejad Salihović, Miralem Pjanić, Zvjezdan Misimović, Zlatan Bajramović, Senijad Ibričić,Admir Vladavić

Forwards: Edin Džeko, Vedad Ibišević, Zlatan Muslimović

In the meanwhile, some of our players’ club performances have been very encouraging. In particular, Miralem Pjanić scored a fantastic free kick in Lyon’s Champions League tie against Anderlecht, and followed it up today with another goal in Ligue 1. Emir Spahić continues to impress, scoring another goal in the last round and doing well in today’s action as well. David James’ injury in Portsmouth’s match against Arsenal today meant that Asmir Begović got another opportunity between the sticks, which he used to at least stop Pompey’s bleeding in the last twenty minutes (they had let in five until then); assuming that James will be out for at least a week, Begović will have a fantastic opportunity to get some Premiership action and stake a claim for the starting spot in the qualifiers against Armenia and Turkey. Also, we may soon have another player in the premiership: Sanel Jahić seems to be on the verge of signing with Hull City.