The emergence of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina will make their World Cup debut in Brazil

It will be the first time since the 1950 World-cup that there will be only one debutant nation taking part in the World Cup. The England team was the newbie then and in 2014 it will be Bosnia and Herzegovina. The tiny Balkan nation has taken giant strides in world football since gaining independence from the erstwhile Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1992.

Initially formed as “Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina” the country was renamed as “Bosnia and Herzegovina” in 1995 following the Dayton Agreement at the end of the Bosnian war. The joy felt by the Bosnians seeing their team qualify for their first ever major tournament might be enough to overcome the days of gloom and hopelessness which had engulfed the nation during the days of Bosnian war from 1992-1995,the repercussions and scars still existing. The war which resulted mainly due to ethnic conflicts witnessed barbaric violence comprising mass rape in rape camps and genocide, all part of the so-called ethnic cleansing.

The country seems to have limped on from its dark past with the economy still lagging behind due to the impact of the war. However, the National football team has carried the DNA of their illustrious Yugoslavian ancestors. Having been affiliated to FIFA in 1995, the Bosnians have risen swiftly from a lowly 173rd rank to 25th entering into the World Cup. They achieved their highest position of 13th in 2013 and became the highest ranked team amongst the former Yugoslav republics when the seeding for the 2014 World Cup groups took place. They got affiliated to UEFA in 1998 becoming the first ever nation to get affiliated to FIFA before being affiliated to the respective continental football association.

Their first ever performance in International qualifiers was commendable as they finished fourth behind two former Yugoslavian republics of Croatia and Slovenia in their 1998 World Cup qualifying group. Having come close to qualification for Euro 2004 and World Cup 2006 where they stayed unbeaten against Spain in the qualifiers, the Bosnians missed out on World Cup 2010 and Euro 2012 in the play-offs losing both times to Cristiano Ronaldo led Portugal. The World Cup 2014 qualification was well deserved as the team outscored Greece to top their group on goal difference bettering the Greeks’ goal difference by a margin of 16.

On the club scene they still haven’t been represented by any domestic club in Champions League or Europa League, although domestic giants FK Sarajevo and Zeljeznicar have made it to the final qualifying rounds of both the competitions.

Led by Safet Susic the Bosnians are a formidable unit. Although limited, the squad is talented. Edin Dzeko, their record goal-scorer fresh from winning the English Premier League title with Manchester City is certainly the main man and his goals will be needed for dragging Bosnia and Herzegovina to the knock-out phases. The talents of Roma’s Miralem Pjanic and Stoke City’s Asmir Begovic will be called upon to overcome the might of two time World-cup winners Argentina, Asian giants Iran and African powerhouses Nigeria.

The PSG great, Safet Susic , one of the finest attacking midfielders of his generation and also a legend for the Yugoslavian national side, has a tough task at this hands of navigating through a competitive group where the South Americans are clearly the front-runners. Going by their impressive qualification performances, the “Dragons” are more than capable of beating the plucky Nigerians and a well-drilled Iranian team led by Carlos Queiroz.

It’s time for every Bosnian to get behind their national team, forget the past and enjoy the football carnival in Brazil. The debutants have nothing to fear. Bosnia and Herzegovina are on the rise. They have come far since the days of war. Along the way they have proved the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson true: “The greatest glory lies not in never falling but in rising every time you fall”.