Zvjezdan Misimović

Zvjezdan Misimović

Misimović with Dynamo Moscow in 2011
Personal information
Date of birth	(1982-06-05) 5 June 1982
Place of birth	Munich, West Germany
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position	Attacking midfielder
Club information
Current club	Guizhou Renhe
Number	10
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 Nürnberg	28	(10)
2008–2010	VfL Wolfsburg	65	(17)
2010–2011	Galatasaray	9	(0)
2011–2012	Dynamo Moscow	44	(8)
2013–	Guizhou Renhe	24	(5)
National team‡
2000–2001	FR Yugoslavia U18
2002	FR Yugoslavia U21	1	(0)
2004–	Bosnia and Herzegovina	79	(25)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 2 December 2013. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 20 November 2013

Zvjezdan Misimović (born 5 June 1982) is a German-born Bosnian footballer who plays for Guizhou Renhe in China.^[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]

Prior to joining Dynamo Moscow he has made a name for himself while playing for Wolfsburg with whom he won the Bundesliga in the 2008–09 season. In the same season, he accomplished 20 assists which was the most in a season.

Early life

Misimović was born to a family of Bosnian Serb^[3] gastarbeiters who came to West Germany from Bosanska Gradiška during the late 1960s.

Early 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 Nürnberg in July 2007.

Wolfsburg

He won the Bundesliga with Wolfsburg in the 2008–09 Bundesliga season as well as achieving 20 assists for the club which was the most in that season.

Galatasaray

On 31 August 2010, Galatasaray announced that Misimović had joined the team on a four-year contract for a sum of €7 million.^[4] 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 euros.^[5] The deal will keep him at the club until 2014.^[6] Before leaving Galatasaray, Misimović called coach Georghe Hagi a liar, but added that he wished his former club all the best.^[7] On 19 March 2011, Misimović scored his first goal from a penalty against Rostov.

He has gone on to score a handful of goals more since then, none more important than a goal for Dynamo Moscow in the Quarterfinals and a goal in the Semifinals of Russian Cup in 2011–12 season. Both goals came in the same manner – from penalty kicks in the 73rd minute.^[8]

Guizhou Renhe

On 4 January 2013, Misimović signed a contract for three years with his new club. Between 22 March and 3 April 2013, Misimović played three games on three continents.^[9][10][11]

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.^[12]

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.^[13][14]

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.^[15] 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.^[16] 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.^[17]

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.^[18] 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.^[19] 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.^[20][21]

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 began with a hat-trick in a 7–0 victory over Estonia on 10 September 2008. 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 head coach Blažević himself, who publicly blasted him for lack of contribution. Two days later (and two days before 18 November return leg), Misimović was ruled out by medical staff due to an apparent knee injury he picked up during the first leg.^[22]

Controversy arose three days later on 21 November when he played the full 90 minutes for VfL Wolfsburg in the German Bundesliga leading to veiled accusations in the Bosnian media that he faked the injury to get back at Blažević.^[23] Head coach Blažević went further, directly accusing Misimović of sabotaging him.^[24] Blažević even went as far as alluding to Misimović's Serb 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".^[25] When informed of Blažević's comments, a stunned Misimović responded that he would not play for Bosnia and Herzegovina as long as Blažević remained as the head coach,^[26] 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.^[27] Even though he stated his intention to leave even before Misimović's latest words,^[24] Blažević's response was a claim that he will leave the post because "Misimović is more important to this team than I am".^[28] 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,^[29] but this reconciliation was later denied by Misimović.^[30]

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 as the head coach of Bosnia, revealing that he took an offer from China, and in his parting shot once again he singled out Misimović as the reason why Bosnia did not qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.^[31]

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.^[32] 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] Bosnia failed to qualify for Euro 2012 after losing a two-legged playoffs against Portugal. Misimović scored a goal from a penalty kick in Lisbon.

2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying

Misimović made two assists for Edin Džeko in a victory over Greece in Zenica. Local media compared this situation to the way they played together in Wolfsburg. His penalty kick against Greece was saved by goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis but teammate Vedad Ibišević managed to convert the rebound for a score of 3–0 (final score was 3–1 in stoppage time). Bosnia went on to qualify for the first finals tournament as an independent nation after topping their group on goal difference, and head-to-head.

Personal life

Misimović's wife, Stefanija, is from Strumica, Macedonia. The couple have three sons together: Luka (born in 2004), Niko (born in 2009) and Noel (born in 2013).^[33] Misimović is an Orthodox Christian.^[3]

Career statistics

As of 13 May 2012^[34][35]

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		Other		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 Nürnberg		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	35	8	4	2	—		0	0	39	10
2012–13			9	0	1	0	—		4	0	14	0
China			League		CFA Cup		League Cup		Asia		Total
2013	Guizhou Renhe	CSL	24	5	6	2	—		5	0	35	7
Total	Germany		290	92	17	8	2	0	22	6	331	106
	Turkey		9	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	9	0
	Russia		44	8	5	2	0	0	4	0	53	10
	China		24	5	6	2	0	0	5	0	35	7
Career total			367	105	28	12	2	0	31	6	428	123

International goals

Misimović has scored 25 goals as of last international match day.^[36] On the Bosnian and Herzegovinian football association page it says 26 goals ^[37] which is incorrect. For the game Bosnia vs Turkey during qualifiers for UEFA EURO 2008, the website shows (see ref link^[36] at date 02.06.2007) that Misimović scored a goal, but in fact it was his team mate Muslimović who scored, as Misimović was not a scorer in that game.^[38] He has also played one extra game due to a duplication error on the website of the same match. In addition, Misimović did not score a goal versus Lithuania on 30 March 2005, rather it was his team mate Elvir Bolić with Shirt Number 7.^[39] This note should remain active until Nogometni/Fudbalski Savez Bosne i Hercegovine (Football Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina) correct their mistake.

#	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.	8 June 2005	Estadio Mestalla, Valencia	Spain	1–0	1–1	2006 World Cup qualifier
4.	28 February 2006	Westfalenstadion, Dortmund	Japan	1–1	2–2	Friendly
5.	31 May 2006	Azadi Stadium‚ Tehran	Iran	1–0	2–5	Friendly
6.	2 September 2006	Ta' Qali Stadium, Ta' Qali	Malta	5–1	5–2	Euro 2008 qualifier
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, 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	Belarus	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
21.	7 September 2012	Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz	Liechtenstein	1–0	8–1	2014 World Cup qualifier
22.				2–0
23.	11 September 2012	Bilino Polje, Zenica	Latvia	1–1	4–1	2014 World Cup qualifier
24.				3–1
25.	11 October 2013	Bilino Polje, Zenica	Liechtenstein	2–0	4–1	2014 World Cup qualifier

Honours

Bayern Munich

• Bundesliga: 2002–03
• DFB-Pokal: 2002-03

VfL Wolfsburg

• Bundesliga: 2008-09

Guizhou Renhe

• Chinese FA Cup: 2013

Individual

Bosnian Sportsman of the Year [football]: 2013

References

External links

• Zvjezdan Misimović at fussballdaten.de (German)
• Zvjezdan Misimović at Transfermarkt

v t e Guizhou Renhe F.C. – current squad 1 Xu Jiamin 3 Zhang Chenglin 4 Salley 6 Fan Yunlong 7 Mączyński 8 Li Chunyu 9 Muslimović 10 Misimović 11 Hyuri 12 Zhang Lie 13 Shi Liang 14 Yang Yihu 15 Chen Jie 17 Sun Jihai 19 Liu Tianqi 21 Yu Hai 22 Sheng Peng 23 Xavier Chen 27 Qu Bo 29 Yang Hao 30 Shen Tianfeng 31 Rao Weihui 33 Guo Sheng 35 Wan Houliang 36 Xiang Hantian 37 Yu Rui 38 Huang Gengji 39 Chen Zijie Manager: Gong Lei

v t e Regionalliga top scorers Bayern 2012–13: Neumeyer Nord 1994–95: Claaßen 1995–96: Cengiz 1996–97: Cengiz 1997–98: Erdmann 1998–99: Bärwolf 1999–2000: Bärwolf / Bester 2000–01: Teixeira 2001–02: Gerov / Teixeira 2002–03: Guščinas 2003–04: Feldhoff 2004–05: Kuru 2005–06: Reichenberger 2006–07: Cannizzaro / Reichenberger 2007–08: Sağlık 2008–09: Pollok 2009–10: Frahn 2010–11: Förster 2011–12: Frahn 2012–13: Krohne Nordost 1994–95: Adler / Markov 1995–96: Irrgang 1996–97: Weißhaupt 1997–98: Wiedemann 1998–99: Wiedemann 1999–2000: Lau 2000–2012: No competition 2012–13: Frahn Süd 1994–95: Akpoborie 1995–96: Trkulja 1996–97: Türr 1997–98: Eckstein 1998–99: Marić 1999–2000: Djappa 2000–01: Barlecaj 2001–02: Ben Neticha 2002–03: Copado 2003–04: Guerrero / Misimović 2004–05: Helmes 2005–06: Nicu / Okpala 2006–07: Jäger / Mešić 2007–08: Bauer 2008–09: Bauer 2009–10: Krasniqi / Tunjić 2010–11: Herdling 2011–12: Lappe Südwest 2012–13: Assauer West 2008–09: Mölders 2009–10: Aydogmus / Knappmann 2010–11: Mainka 2011–12: Knappmann 2012–13: Michel West/Südwest 1994–95: Beyel 1995–96: Van der Ven 1996–97: Deffke / Feinbier 1997–98: Zibert 1998–99: Graf 1999–00: Ebbers

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Persondata
Name	Misimović, Zvjezdan
Alternative names
Short description	German footballer
Date of birth	5 June 1982
Place of birth	Munich, West Germany
Date of death
Place of death