Sergej Barbarez has been all over the Bosnian media for the past 40 days. Newspapers, magazines, TV shows, podcasts – he doesn’t decline any interviews. Nor does he avoid any questions. He is excited, constantly smiling, and is not hiding that he regards this as the first and perhaps the most important part of his job as the new manager of Bosnia and Herzegovina: to make the national team relevant again.
On Monday the former Bosnia forward’s side play England at St James’ Park in his first game and his position is clear. “Of course, the results are important,” he says. “But at this point, we want to use the upcoming games, like the one against England, and the whole year ahead of us, to change the perspective of the national team. We want this team to be successful and respected again, but more than that, we want it to be loved again. The national team lost its importance and appeal for players and for the fans. Playing for the national team has lost its cult status. We want players to feel proud and excited again for playing for their country. That is the first step.”
Bosnia and Herzegovina, labelled as the next big thing when they qualified for their first World Cup in 2014, have been in decline for 10 years. From 13th in the Fifa rankings in August 2013, they have slipped to 74th, failing to qualify for a major tournament since Brazil. Poor performances have gone alongside even worse decisions in the corridors of power. In 2021, Vico Zeljkovic, then a 33-year-old environmental health and safety manager, took over as the football association’s president. In his reign, there have been five national team managers.
Faruk Hadzibegic, who started the Euro 2024 qualifying campaign, lasted four games. The national team legend Meho Kodro was sacked after two, losing one in stoppage time. The former Aston Villa striker Savo Milosevic got his marching orders after a defeat by Ukraine in the playoffs, in his fifth match. Ivaylo Petev had secured a playoff place after his team won their Nations League group in 2022 but that achievement did not bring the Bulgarian a new contract.
All this, allied to unhappiness over Zeljkovic’s leadership style and the terrible state of domestic competition, where there is often talk of corruption that has never been prosecuted or proven, created a toxic atmosphere around Bosnian football, especially the national team.
Bosnia as a country is in a fragile state, its society deeply divided along ethnic lines and grappling with economic challenges. Politicians, including Zeljkovic’s uncle Milorad Dodik, a Bosnian Serb leader, exacerbate tensions with divisive rhetoric, denying genocide in Srebrenica and threatening secession by Republika Srpska. Critics of the Bosnian FA, its president and the way it is run have been many and loud, and one of the loudest was a legendary captain and hero – Barbarez. The shock when Zeljkovic announced Barbarez as the manager in April was immense.
All the more so because Barbarez had never worked as a coach, despite getting his coaching badges in 2010, two years after finishing his playing career in Germany, where his clubs included Borussia Dortmund, Hamburg and Bayer Leverkusen. It was no secret that his goal was to coach the national side but Zeljkovic had said in 2021 that Barbarez “would not work with the team as long as I am president”.
Barbarez begins in difficult circumstances and amid doubts in some quarters over his appointment. His squad includes nine players with no caps and four with one or two. His options have been diluted by injuries, which contributed to nine players, including Atalanta’s Sead Kolasinac and Red Bull Salzburg’s Amar Dedic, being unavailable and by the retirement of veterans including Miralem Pjanic.
The 38-year-old Edin Dzeko, who scored 25 goals for Fenerbahce this season, has stayed to be the captain while Barbarez works to build a team around younger players. Sheffield United’s Anel Ahmedhodzic (25) and Dedic (21) will be crucial parts of this process and Barbarez hopes Benjamin Tahirovic (Ajax, 21) and Denis Huseinbasic (Cologne, 22) will play an important role. The Bosnian league has provided only one squad member, the third-choice keeper Osman Hadzikic, and will hardly produce key players, so his focus is on bringing in talent from the vast diaspora.
Barbarez has poached Sweden’s Under-21 captain Armin Gigovic, a midfielder in line to make his debut in Newcastle, and the former Rangers defender Nikola Katic, who switched nationality from Croatia. The newest acquisition is Dzenis Burnic, who played for Germany’s youth teams. Ahmedhodzic, Tahirovic and Huseinbasic switched nationality earlier, as did Dennis Hadzikadunic and Haris Tabakovic. Two-thirds of this squad have never played for a club in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Barbarez wants to use national pride as the foundation for the future. He and his 10-person coaching staff have a combined 307 caps for the country and his assistants include another former captain, Emir Spahic, the Karlsruhe assistant coach Zlatan Bajramovic and the former Rangers player Sasa Papac.
After facing England, the team play Italy in Empoli in another friendly and in September they start their Nations League campaign in a group with the Netherlands, Germany and Hungary. Qualifying for the 2026 World Cup is an ambition but, regardless, the goal is to be at the Euros in four years.
“We have a plan, we have an idea, and my team and I believe in it,” says Barbarez. “The fact that we are playing teams like England, Italy, Germany, or the Netherlands, the best teams in Europe, is not a problem, but it is a perfect challenge for us, for the team, for these young players. The leaders and heroes are born in the most difficult battles.”
