Zvjezdan Misimović

Zvjezdan Misimović
Звјездан Мисимовић

With Dynamo Moscow in 2011
Personal information
Date of birth 5 June 1982 (1982-06-05) (age 29)
Place of birth Munich, West Germany
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position Attacking Midfielder
Club information
Current club FC Dynamo Moscow
Number 8
Youth career
SV Nord Lerchenau
TSV Forstenried
0000–2000 SV Gartenstadt Trudering
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2000–2004 Bayern Munich II 102 (44)
2002–2004 Bayern Munich 3 (0)
2004–2007 VfL Bochum 92 (21)
2007–2008 1. FC Nuremberg 28 (10)
2008–2010 VfL Wolfsburg 65 (17)
2010–2011 Galatasaray 9 (0)
2011– FC Dynamo Moscow 24 (3)
National team‡
2000–2001 FR Yugoslavia U-18
2002 FR Yugoslavia U-21 1 (0)
2004– Bosnia and Herzegovina 64 (20)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:05, 26 November 2011 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 09:21, 12 November 2011 (UTC)

Zvjezdan Misimović (Serbian Cyrillic: Звјездан Мисимовић) (born 5 June 1982) is a German-born Bosnian footballer who plays for FC Dynamo Moscow.[1] Misimović is the co-captain of the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team and the most capped player in the history of the team.[2]

Contents

Early life

Misimović's parents are gastarbeiters who came to West Germany from Bosanska Gradiška during the late 1960s.

Club career

Known in Germany as Zwetschge (German word for damson) due to similar pronunciation to his first name, Misimović previously played for Bayern Munich before joining Bochum at the start of the 2004–05 season and then moving on to Nuremberg in July 2007. He led the Bundesliga in assists during the 2008–09 season with 18 (23 in all competitions). He also won the league that year with Wolfsburg. Just a year after being relegated with Nuremberg.

Galatasaray

On 31 August 2010, Galatasaray announced that Misimović had joined the team on a four-year contract for a sum of €7 million.[3] On 18 November 2010, Misimović was consigned to the reserve squad, as the head coach Gheorghe Hagi 'does not need him in the squad'.

Dynamo Moscow

On 3 March 2011, he signed for Russian club Dynamo Moscow in a deal thought to be worth 4.5 million euro. The deal will keep him at the club until 2014.[4] Before leaving Galatasaray, Misimović called coach Georghe Hagi a liar, but added that he wished his former club all the best.[5] On 19 March 2011, Misimović scored his first goal from a penalty against Rostov.

International career

Youth level

Misimović played for the FR Yugoslavia under-18 national squad, appearing for them at the 2001 UEFA European Under-18 Football Championship held in Finland. In that team, he played alongside Nemanja Vidić and Danko Lazović.[6]

Misimović later progressed to the FR Yugoslavia under-21 national team, but appeared in only one match as the 85th minute substitute against France in November 2002. Head coach of the under-21s at the time Vladimir Petrović Pižon soon dropped Misimović, telling him he was overweight and slow.[7][8]

Senior

By late 2003 and early 2004, 21-year-old Misimović was still not attached to any senior national team. He was approached in the club's gym by then teammate at Bayern Munich, Hasan Salihamidžić, about a possibility of playing for Bosnia.[9] Misimović immediately accepted and debuted for the national team of Bosnia and Herzegovina under head coach Blaž Slišković on 18 February 2004 in a friendly versus Macedonia.

2006 World Cup qualifying

Misimović was used sparingly by Slišković during 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign. He played the full 90 minutes in the opening home draws against Spain and Serbia-Montenegro, followed by a substitute appearance in the away loss to Belgium. Misimović then enjoyed a spell as a consistent starter before being substituted 10–20 minutes into the second half, in the 1–1 home draw with Lithuania (scored the opening goal), the away win at San Marino, and finally the 1–1 draw against Spain in Valencia (again scored the opening goal before Spain tied deep into injury-time in the 96th minute). For the deciding four qualifiers (home win versus Belgium, the away win at Lithuania, home victory over San Marino, and the away defeat to Serbia-Montenegro), Slišković dropped Misimović to the bench, bringing him into action only in the final 15–20 minutes of each tie.

Euro 2008 qualifying

Euro 2008 qualifying began in fall 2006 with Slišković still team manager and 24-year-old Misimović an established starter and goalscorer. The opening match dismantling of Malta was followed by the shocking 1–3 defeat to Hungary at home that prompted Slišković's resignation, which he retracted a couple of weeks later and stayed on. Still more disappointment was to follow with the 2–2 draw at lowly Moldova, as Misimović sparked a comeback that ultimately fell short by scoring a goal at 2–0 down. Four days later Bosnia were heavily defeated 0–4 by Greece at home, forcing Slišković to resign for the second time in three months – this time the resignation was final.

As the winter break in qualifying commenced, the Bosnian team was in crisis mode with relations inside the organisation strained to the maximum. This led 13 Bosnian national team players (Misimović, Berberović, Grujić, Bartolović, Hrgović, Bajramović, Papac, Spahić, Milenković, Grlić, Bešlija, Hasagić, and Tolja) to release a statement published in Dnevni Avaz daily, announcing they would boycott all national team matches until four FA officials – Milan Jelić, Iljo Dominković, Sulejman Čolaković, and Ahmet Pašalić – resigned.[10] Some two months later in late December 2006, new head coach Fuad Muzurović was announced. In relation to the boycott statement, Misimović soon did a complete turnaround, denying that he ever signed any such paper and stating that his relations with the FA had always been amicable.[11]

Under new head coach Muzurović, Misimović truly came into his own, earning the captaincy of the national team.

Six months under Meho Kodro

After Meho Kodro replaced Muzurović as head coach in early January 2008, one of the changes he introduced was stripping Misimović of the captain's armband and awarding it to 27-year-old defender Emir Spahić who had just returned to the national team after boycotting it since fall 2006. On 8 April 2008, Misimović (then still only 25 years old) announced his retirement from the national team, citing stating health concerns as he no longer felt able to keep up the physical rigors of playing for both club and country.[12] However, many speculated that health had little to do with Misimović's sudden announcement. These suspicions were seemingly confirmed two days later by Bosnian national team general manager Elvir Bolić who hinted that Misimović might have softened his original stance and revealed that head coach Meho Kodro would travel to Germany to visit the player personally and discuss the "real reasons" for his decision.[13] On 12 April 2008, after speaking to Kodro, Misimović changed his mind and the Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina (NSBiH) announced that he had decided to continue his international career.[14][15]

2010 World Cup qualifying

Under the next head coach Ćiro Blažević during 2010 World Cup qualification process, Misimović asserted himself as the team's undisputed leader on the pitch, displaying great playmaking abilities and leadership qualities. His fine performances culminated with a hat-trick in a 7–0 victory over Estonia. Bosnia finished the group in second place thus qualifying for the playoffs against Portugal in November 2009.

However, the qualifying campaign ended on a sour note both for Misimović personally and for the team. Misimović had a poor outing in the first leg away in Lisbon and was widely criticized for his sub-par performance even by the head coach Blažević himself, who publicly blasted him for lack of contribution. Two days later (and two days before the 18 November return leg), Misimović was ruled out by medical staff due to an apparent knee injury he picked up during the first leg.[16]

The controversy arose three days after that on 21 November when he played the full 90 minutes for VfL Wolfsburg in Bundesliga leading to veiled accusations in the Bosnian media that he faked the injury to get back at Blažević.[17] Head coach Blažević went further, directly accusing Misimović of sabotaging him.[18] Blažević even went as far as alluding to Misimović's Serbian ethnicity; suggesting a conspiracy on instructions from Republika Srpska Prime Minister Milorad Dodik and the Serbian lobby because "Republika Srpska would lose everything if Bosnia qualified for the World Cup".[19] When informed of Blažević's comments, stunned Misimović responded he would not play for Bosnia as long as Blažević is the head coach,[20] and further accused Blažević of scapegoating him in order to deflect attention from the fact that the team was thoroughly outplayed by Portugal in both matches.[21] Even though he stated his intention to leave even before Misimović's latest words,[18] Blažević's response was a claim that he will leave the post because "Misimović is more important to this team than I am".[22] Blažević then suddenly announced that he and Misimović had supposedly resolved their differences after Blažević apparently called Misimović to congratulate the birth of his son,[23] but this reconciliation was later denied by Misimović.[24]

Blažević even announced his intent to travel to Wolfsburg for the Champions League group stage match between VfL Wolfsburg and Manchester United in order to visit Misimović personally, but ended up not doing so. Within days Blažević resigned his post with Bosnia, revealing that he took an offer from China, and in his parting shot once again singled out Misimović as the reason why Bosnia is not going to the World Cup.[25]

Euro 2012 qualifying

Misimović played his 51st match for the national team against Luxembourg in September 2010, thus equaling Elvir Bolić's record for most caps for Bosnia and Herzegovina.[26] Misimović surpassed Bolić in a match against France in Sarajevo on 7 September making him the most capped player in the history of the national team with 52 matches played.[2]

Career statistics

As of 19 March 2011[27][28]

Club

Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Germany League DFB-Pokal Premiere Ligapokal Europe Total
2000–01 Bayern Munich II Regionalliga Süd 12 1 — — — 12 1
2001–02 31 14 — — — 31 14
2002–03 28 8 1 0 — — 29 8
2002–03 Bayern Munich Bundesliga 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
2003–04 Bayern Munich II Regionalliga Süd 31 21 — — — 31 21
2003–04 Bayern Munich Bundesliga 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
2004–05 VfL Bochum 31 3 2 1 1 0 2 0 36 4
2005–06 2. Bundesliga 31 11 2 1 — — 33 12
2006–07 Bundesliga 30 7 2 1 — — 32 8
2007–08 1. FC Nuremberg 28 10 2 3 1 0 6 1 37 14
2008–09 VfL Wolfsburg 33 7 4 0 — 8 4 45 11
2009–10 31 10 2 2 — 6 1 39 13
2010–11 1 0 1 0 — — 2 0
Turkey League Türkiye Kupası League Cup Europe Total
2010–11 Galatasaray Süper Lig 9 0 0 0 — 0 0 9 0
Russia League Russian Cup League Cup Europe Total
2011–12 Dynamo Moscow Russian Premier League 24 3 1 0 — 0 0 25 3
Total Germany 290 92 17 8 2 0 22 6 331 106
Turkey 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 0
Russia 24 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 25 3
Career total 323 95 17 8 2 0 22 6 364 109

International goals

As of 15 November 2011.

Note: Misimović has NOW scored 20 goals. On the Bosnian and Herzegovinian football association page it says 21 goals[29] but that information is incorrect. For the game Bosnia vs Turkey during qualifiers for UEFA EURO 2008, the website shows that Misimović scored a goal, but in fact it was his team mate Muslimovic who scored, as Misimović was not a scorer in that game.[30] He has also played one extra game due to a duplication error on the website of the same match. As at 15 November 2011, the correct information is 64 games played, 20 goals scored.[29]

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 21 March 2004 Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg  Luxembourg 1–0 2–1 Friendly
2. 28 April 2004 Bilino Polje, Zenica  Finland 1–0 1–0 Friendly
3. 30 March 2005 Asim Ferhatović Hase Stadium, Sarajevo  Lithuania 1–1 1–1 2006 World Cup qualifier
4. 8 June 2005 Estadio Mestalla, Valencia  Spain 1–0 1–1 2006 World Cup qualifier
5. 28 February 2006 Westfalenstadion, Dortmund  Japan 1–1 2–2 Friendly
6. 31 May 2006 Azadi Stadium‚ Tehran  Iran 1–0 2–5 Friendly
7. 6 September 2006 Bilino Polje, Zenica  Hungary 1–3 1–3 Euro 2008 qualifier
8. 7 October 2006 Zimbru Stadium, Chişinău  Moldova 1–2 2–2 Euro 2008 qualifier
9. 24 March 2007 Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo  Norway 1–0 2–1 Euro 2008 qualifier
10. 19 November 2008 Ljudski vrt Stadium, Maribor  Slovenia 2–1 4–3 Friendly
11. 10 September 2008 Bilino Polje, Zenica  Estonia 1–0 7–0 2010 World Cup qualifier
12. 2–0
13. 3–0
14. 28 March 2009 Cristal Arena, Genk  Belgium 4–1 4–2 2010 World Cup qualifier
15. 14 October 2009 Bilino Polje, Zenica  Spain 2–5 2–5 2010 World Cup qualifier
16. 10 December 2010 Mardan Sports Complex, Antalya  Poland 2–2 2–2 Friendly
17. 6 September 2011 Bilino Polje, Zenica  Belgium 1–0 1–0 Euro 2012 qualifier
18. 7 October 2011 Bilino Polje, Zenica  Luxembourg 2–0 5–0 Euro 2012 qualifier
19. 3–0
20. 15 November 2011 Estádio da Luz, Lisbon  Portugal 1–2 2–6 Euro 2012 qualifier

Personal

His wife, Stefanija, is from Strumica, Macedonia and they have two sons together; Luka, born in 2004, and Niko, born in 2009.[31]

Honours

References

  1. ^ "Zvjezdan Misimović potpisao za moskovski Dinamo" (in Bosnian). sarajevo-x.com. http://www.sarajevo-x.com/sport/nogomet/clanak/110303131. Retrieved 3 March 2011. 
  2. ^ a b "Misimović: Nismo se uspjeli nametnuti". scsport.ba. 8 September 2010. http://www.scsport.ba/bs/tekst.php?ID=7565. Retrieved 8 September 2010. 
  3. ^ "Misimović Joins Galatasaray". Galatasaray.org. 31 August 2010. http://www.galatasaray.org/en/futbol/futbol_as/haber/1081.php. Retrieved 31 August 2010. 
  4. ^ "Misimović potpisao za Moskovski Dinamo" (in Bosnian). sportsport.ba. 28 February 2011. http://www.sportsport.ba/ino_fudbal/misimovic-potpisao-za-moskovski-dinamo/52608. Retrieved 4 March 2011. 
  5. ^ "Misimović: Hagi je lažov" (in Bosnian). sportsport.ba. 2 March 2011. http://www.sportsport.ba/ino_fudbal/misimovic-hagi-je-lazov/52735. Retrieved 4 March 2011. 
  6. ^ "Mešano "meso"" (in Serbian). Kurir. 7 October 2004. http://arhiva.kurir-info.rs/Arhiva/2004/oktobar/07/SP-08-07102004.shtml. Retrieved 31 August 2010. 
  7. ^ "Oteran iz Srbije, u Bundesligi postao zvezda" (in Serbian). novine.ca. 25 April 2008. http://www.novine.ca/arhiva/2008/1150/sport.asp. Retrieved 31 August 2010. 
  8. ^ "Wolfsburg and Bosnia's dynamic duo get chance to make history of their own". Jonathan Wilson's blog @ guardian.co.uk. 29 September 2009. http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2009/sep/29/wolfsburg-manchester-united-champions-league. Retrieved 31 August 2010. 
  9. ^ "Zvjezdan Misimović – mozak Ćirine ekspedicije". sarajevo-x.com. 11 July 2009. http://www.sarajevo-x.com/clanak/090710128. Retrieved 31 August 2010. 
  10. ^ "Reprezentativci BiH neće igrati dok ne odu Jelić, Dominković, Čolaković i Pašalić". sarajevo-x.com. 31 October 2006. http://www.sarajevo-x.com/sport/clanak/061031019. Retrieved 31 August 2010. 
  11. ^ "Misimović od ljeta četiri godine u Nirnbergu". Nezavisne novine. 29 January 2007. http://www.nezavisne.com/sport/ostali/5148/Misimovic-od-ljeta-cetiri-godine-u-Nirnbergu.html. Retrieved 31 August 2010. 
  12. ^ "Zvjezdan Misimović napušta reprezentaciju BiH". BHRT. 8 April 2008. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15Q7X86SoNc. Retrieved 31 August 2010. 
  13. ^ "Bolić: Misimović malo smekšao stav". sportsport.ba. 10 April 2008. http://sportsport.ba/bh_fudbalp-977.htm. Retrieved 31 August 2010. 
  14. ^ "Misimović se predomislio i igraće za BiH!". sportsport.ba. 12 April 2008. http://sportsport.ba/bh_fudbalp-1054.htm. Retrieved 31 August 2010. 
  15. ^ "Zvjezdan Misimović ipak ostaje u reprezentaciji". BHRT. 12 April 2008. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jomeJpTkO7g&NR=1. Retrieved 31 August 2010. 
  16. ^ "Peh za pehom – Misimović definitivno ne igra u Zenici". sarajevo-x.com. 17 November 2009. http://www.sarajevo-x.com/sport/nogomet/clanak/091117102. Retrieved 31 August 2010. 
  17. ^ "I pored tvrdnji da je povrijeđen: Misimović odigrao cijelu utakmicu za Wolfsburg!". sarajevo-x.com. 21 November 2009. http://www.sarajevo-x.com/sport/nogomet/clanak/091121061/. Retrieved 31 August 2010. 
  18. ^ a b "net.hr". 25 November 2009. http://www.net.hr/sport/page/2009/11/25/0036006.html?pos=n1. Retrieved 31 August 2010. 
  19. ^ "Ćiro: Oprostit ću krađu i prevaru, ne i izdaju!". Jutarnji list. 23 November 2009. http://www.jutarnji.hr/ciro--oprostit-cu-kradu-i-prevaru--ne-i-izdaju-/366622/. Retrieved 31 August 2010. 
  20. ^ "Misimovic quits Bosnia". SkySports.com. 25 November 2009. http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,12010_5720064,00.html. Retrieved 31 August 2010. 
  21. ^ "Zvjezdan Misimović: Završio sam s Ćirom". Glas Srpske. 24 November 2009. http://www.glassrpske.com/vijest/13/sport/31357/lat/Zvjezdan-Misimovic-Zavrsio-sam-s-Cirom.html. Retrieved 31 August 2010. 
  22. ^ "Ćiro: Misimović je važniji od mene, odlazim!". Jutarnji list. 25 November 2009. http://www.jutarnji.hr/ciro--misimovic-je-vazniji-od-mene--odlazim-/371667/. Retrieved 31 August 2010. 
  23. ^ "SVE RIJEŠENO, ĆIRO OSTAJE, MISKE SE VRAĆA". sportsport.ba. 26 November 2009. http://sportsport.ba/bh_fudbalp-27321.htm. Retrieved 31 August 2010. 
  24. ^ "MISKE: NE MIJENJAM MIŠLJENJE SVAKIH 5 MINUTA". sportsport.ba. 8 December 2009. http://sportsport.ba/bh_fudbalp-27866.htm. Retrieved 31 August 2010. 
  25. ^ "Ćiro: Misimović je kriv što Bosna ne ide na SP!". Jutarnji list. 13 December 2009. http://www.jutarnji.hr/ciro--u-bosni-se-uvijek-nade-gavrilo-princip/403622/. Retrieved 31 August 2010. 
  26. ^ "Prve utakmice bh. reprezentacije". sarajevo-x.com. 31 May 2009. http://www.sarajevo-x.com/sport/nogomet/clanak/090531092. Retrieved 4 March 2011. 
  27. ^ "Misimović, Zvjezdan". National Football Teams. 31 August 2010. http://www.national-football-teams.com/v2/player.php?id=915. Retrieved 31 August 2010. 
  28. ^ "Zvjezdan Misimovic". Fußballdaten.de. 2 October 2010. http://www.fussballdaten.de/spieler/misimoviczvjezdan/. Retrieved 5 October 2010. 
  29. ^ a b "Zvjezdan Misimović" (in Bosnian). nfsbih.net. http://www.nfsbih.net/nas.aspx?id=23. Retrieved 22 October 2011. 
  30. ^ AlicBA (26 June 2011). "Bosnia 3 - 2 Turkey (Euro 2008 Qualifier)". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n03ZoGG4ETs. 
  31. ^ "Pomirenje Misketa i Ćire". sportin.ba. 26 November 2009. http://sportin.ba/tekst.aspx?id=22474. Retrieved 31 August 2010. 

External links

FC Dynamo Moscow – current squad
Regionalliga Süd Top Scorers