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The Bosnian football team, or the “Dragons”, were criticized by their fans as they failed to qualify for the Euro 2012 co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine, the reason being they had players with good pedigree who failed to perform in national team colours. Two years later, the team’s answer was nothing short of euphoric as they qualified for their first ever FIFA World Cup tournament with a comprehensive qualifying campaign.
The biggest contributing factor to the rise of Bosnia from perennial “minnows” status to serious contenders for the 2nd round in the World Cup has to be the crop of players who are plying their trade abroad. If you’ve done your homework then you’ll notice that several of the Bosnian players appear for top clubs in top European leagues.
Their manager Safet Susic was assigned with the task of making the players perform, and after initial struggles, the Yugoslavian football legend finally managed to bring out the best in his players.
Road to World Cup
Bosnia had a relatively easy group with Greece and Slovakia being their prime competitors for a World Cup place. They started their campaign with all guns blazing and thumped Liechtenstein 1-8 away from home. The 3rd game against Greece was an all-important game and the Bosnians held on for a 0-0 draw away from home. They managed to win their games against all other teams except Slovakia who beat them 1-0. However, the Slovakians flattered to deceive in their other fixtures and never really challenged Greece and Bosnia for the top 2 spots.
After managing to get a point out of their away fixture against Greece, Bosnia made their home advantage count in the reverse fixture and beat Greece 3-1. In the end, the win proved vital as both Bosnia and Greece ended up with 25 points and Bosnia edged ahead due to their vastly superior goal difference of +24.
| Team | Games played | Win | Draw | Loss | Goal difference | Points |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | +24 | 25 |
| Greece | 10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | +8 | 25 |
| Slovakia | 10 | 3 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 13 |
| Lithuania | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | -2 | 11 |
| Latvia | 10 | 2 | 2 | 6 | -10 | 8 |
| Liechtenstein | 10 | 0 | 2 | 8 | -21 | 2 |
Most Goals in qualifying: Edin Dzeko (10), Vedad Ibisevic (7), Zvjedan Misimovic (5), Miralem Pjanic (3)
Most Assists in qualifying: Edin Dzeko, Zvjedan Misimovic, Miralem Pjanic (4)
Squad
Manager Safet Susic announced his 24-man provisional squad on 6th May 2014, and except Genk defender Ervin Zukanovic, everyone else has made the 23-man final squad. The most unique attribute about Susic’s squad is the versatility of the players he has at his disposal. Players like Senad Lulic, Sejad Salihovic and Edin Visca can play at a variety of positions which is major plus point in a tournament like this where the games come thick and fast.
Bosnia’s squad has some established names in every section of the pitch; Captain Emir Spahic is a seasoned campaigner and has valuable experience in top European competitions. Midfielder Miralem Pjanic set the Serie A alight with his trickery and passing skills and is very crucial to their hopes of progressing beyond the group stages. The same can be said about Senad Lulic and Sejad Salihovic, the latter being a set-piece and penalty specialist.
In attack, Bosnia have Edin Dzeko and Vedad Ibisevic as the main strikers, with Edin Visca adding the necessary depth to the squad.
Goalkeepers: Asmir Begovic (Stoke), Jasmin Fejzic (Aalen), Asmir Avdukic (Toronto Raptors).
Defenders: Emir Spahic (Bayer Leverkusen), Toni Sunjic (Zorya Luhansk), Sead Kolasinac (Schalke), Ognjen Vranjes (Elazigspor), Ermin Bicakcic (Eintracht Braunschweig), Muhamed Besic (Ferencvaros), Mensur Mujdza (Freiburg).
Midfielders: Miralem Pjanic (Roma), Izet Hajrovic (Galatasaray), Haris Medunjanin (Gaziantepspor), Senad Lulic (Lazio), Anel Hadzic (Sturm Graz), Tino-Sven Susic (Hajduk Split), Sejad Salihovic (Hoffenheim), Zvjezdan Misimovic (Guizhou Renhe), Senijad Ibricic (Erciyespor), Avdija Vrsajevic (Hajduk Split).
Forwards: Vedad Ibisevic (Stuttgart), Edin Dzeko (Manchester City), Edin Visca (Istanbul Buyuksehir).
Coach
Safet Susic is a legendary figure in Yugoslavian and Bosnian football and was an attacking midfielder by trade during his playing days. Susic was good enough to torment the stout defences of Italy and Argentina in the late 1970’s. He was named Bosnia and Herzegovina’s golden player in 2004.
Safet Susic was named as the Bosnian coach on 28 December 2009, and his task was clear – to bring the best out of a team that always had potential but never had the right amount of caressing. He has a no-nonsense approach towards the game with simple and efficient football and it showed when the team recorded a nine-game unbeaten streak from August 2012 to August 2013 and achieved their highest FIFA ranking of 13.
Formations and tactics
Safet Susic usually sticks to the 4-1-2-1-2 “diamond” formation with Misimovic operating at the tip just behind strikers Edin Dzeko and Vedad Ibisevic. Senad Lulic and Miralem Pjanic provide the natural width, however, the wide midfielders have a tendency to drift inside rather than cover the wide areas, especially Pjanic.
Alternatively, Susic can shift Pjanic to the tip and introduce Hajrovic, who is a natural wide player, if he wants to stretch the play.
Most of the width is provided by the attacking full-backs Sead Kolasinac and Mensur Mujdza. In their absence, the defensive midfielder usually covers their position depending on which full-back is attacking. It is likely that Susic will go with Salihovic to protect the back four rather than Medunjanin as the former has the added qualities of taking set-pieces and penalties. Strikers Edin Dzeko and Vedad Ibisevic have good movement and with a quality play-maker like Pjanic behind them they are bound to get chances.
The defence is marshalled by Captain Emir Spahic along with Ermin Bicakcic. Stoke City goalkeeper Asmir Begovic will guard the goal. The Bosnian defence let in just 6 goals in 10 matches during the qualifying stage and their fans will hope the same will be repeated.
Threats
Captain Emir Spahic is 33 years old and is not the quickest, a possible area that other teams, especially Nigeria as they are Bosnia’s prime opponents for the second place in the group, will want to exploit. The other possible area of weakness is the left-back position where Kolasinac will play. The Schalke man is still only 20 and he might be nervy in a big tournament like the World Cup.
Both Salihovic and Medunjanin are more attack minded rather than defensive, this might degrade Pjanic’s performance as he’ll have to play more conservatively.
How far can they go?
Every World Cup has a surprise team, and there is every chance that Bosnia can be the upcoming World Cup’s surprise package. They play Argentina in their 1st match and that is a game where they have nothing to lose. Their second game will be crucial as the play Nigeria who will have already played Iran and hence Bosnia will at least have to get a draw and then beat Iran in their final group game by a margin that would take them above Nigeria, assuming of course that Argentina beat Nigeria.
Another fact that might help the Bosnian team is that this is their 1st ever appearance in the World Cup, so expectations will be low. If they reach the 2nd round, every game will be a bonus.
To see other Team Previews : 2014 FIFA World Cup Team Previews
