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Bosanac
20 Nov 2008, 12:21 PM
What do you guys think are the chances of Bosnia qualifying for the first time?

Bosnia is a nation of course that played its first international in 1995 after it got independence from Former Yugoslavia. This if course after three long years of fighting which primely took place in Bosnia. The talent has always been there but this nation has been through a lot. A huge number of displaced people,(over 1mil), many dead,(over 100k) and infrastructure that was totally dismantled.

For example, one of the current stars, Vedad Ibisevic, ended up in the USA after the war. That is where people discovered his talent. He lived in St.Louis which had a huge Bosnian community.

But looking at the country, loads of talent upfront and midfield:

Ibisevic (Hoffenheim - 24yrs old)
Salihovic (Hoffenheim - 24yrs old)
Dzeko (Wolfsburg - 22 yrs old)
Misimovic (Wolfsburg - 26yrs old)
Pjanic (Lyon - 18yrs old)
Bajramovic (Eintracht Frankfurt - 29yrs old - former Shalke player who is in some injury trouble)
Rahimic (CSKA - 32 yrs old - won the Uefa Cup with them few years back)

Out of the less known:
Semir Stilic,(midfielder) who is 21, now plays in Poland, is currently being coveted by West Brom, Fulham, Rangers, and even Arsenal. Left-footed and very talented.
Said Husejinović (20, Werder Bremen)
Senijad Ibricic (midfielder), who is 23, plays in Croatia. But he too is expected to go to a pretty big club soon.

Too bad Hasan Salihamidzic (Juventus) retired from the NT. Otherwise, WOW.

The back-line is the biggest issue, Sasa Papac, who plays for Rangers, is still boycotting.

This is all from a country with a pop. of 4mil. And as you know, it is mostly the Bosnian muslim pop. that plays for the NT, as Serbs and Croats of Bosnia have another choice after the split of Yugoslavia.

Actually, in this whole list, only one player is Serb (Misimovic). But there are some lesser players that play from those communities. And you can argue, Misimovic is the best player on the team.

tomwilhelm
20 Nov 2008, 02:55 PM
I think we'll have a MUCH better idea of Bosnia's odds of advancing to a playoff (no one is going to compete with a rampant Spain right now) on March 28 when they travel to Belgium. They need to win that game and show they can take away points. THEN they just need to beat Turkey and Belgium at home and I think their in the driver's seat.

In all honesty though, I think it's going to be a pretty tight battle for 2nd, with Belgium fading late and Turkey holding off the newcomers.

Gorando
20 Nov 2008, 03:24 PM
The doubleheader with Belgium is gonna be very important for both teams. Belgium has more talent but they are very very young and have a terrible coach lol.
Both Belgium and Bosnia can upset Turkey for a 2nd place finish. But it will be a close fight between the 3 teams.This truly is the toughest group in Europe.