Bad news for Željezničar. Six players have been tested positive on Covid-19 and will miss Željezničar's Europa League match away to Maccabi Haifa. https://t.co/uuV8a7zvv0— Saša Ibrulj (@sasaibrulj) August 24, 2020
5 more have tested positive which brings the total to 11...game will probably be cancelled with Maccabi advancing to the next round.
I thought VAR was supposed to solve these issues. Sarajevo robbed FK Sarajevo knocked out Champions League after losing to Dynamo Brest 2-1 in Belarus. Two cheap goals conceded, FKS a better team, and they will be fuming for this situation when Ahmetović scored what was supposed to be an equaliser being called offside. Terrible call. pic.twitter.com/WezjPIdjZp— Saša Ibrulj (@sasaibrulj) August 26, 2020
On the bright side, FKS have one full month to prepare for round 3 (seeded) and to incorporate a couple of the other guys like Susic, Serbecic, and maybe Pejovic into the lineup used vs Dynamo: Ahmetovic Jukic -- Rahmanovic -- Tatar Djokanovic -- Oremus Salcin -- Milicevic -- Dupovac -- Hodzic Kovacevic
Sarajevo are on the verge of separating themselves from the rest of our league imo. 2 titles in a row and they are, in my eyes, the favorites this year. They played great football against Dynamo Brest and Radnik. They have a strong squad and very deep by BiHPL standard. If they buy a striker and right back, they’ll be in top shape for EL, but even without those additions they can easily win the league. Their academy is a huge advantage. By far the best in the country (it’s pretty much the only real “academy”) and a vast majority of the top Bosnian talents are going to Sarajevo. Currently key players like Djokanović, Salčin and Kovačević contribute, are young/cheap and can be sold for good money soon. They’ve produced some other players who have gone to decent leagues like Mujakić, Čataković and Mustafić. It was established in 2014, I believe, so they’ve just begun reaping the true benefits. They got squad continuity which is really rare for BiHPL. I think Sarajevo are 1-2 titles away and maybe an EL Group Stage appearance from dominating the league, similar to Dinamo Zagreb and Crvena Zvezda.
Sarajevo probably has their best chance ever for EL qualification this season. They’ll play Budućnost in the 3rd round after they upset Astana 1-0 today. They’ll be favorites in that match, especially since they’re at home. If they get a good draw for the Play-offs they’d have a historic opportunity at EL group stage.
Agreed, stars could not have aligned better. Really hoping they can put away a Montenegro League team and then get a team like Brest in the playoff. The former Jug did well today and is well represented in the Europa League. Partizan/Zrinjski/Buducnost/Hajduk joining Sarajevo/Dinamo/Zvezda in the next rounds. Backa Topola also battling vs Steau, Borac unfortunately conceded in the 90th minute against the team from Portugal. Osijek doesn't look they'll be able to overcome Basel.
Borac loses to Portuguese club Rio Ave after two late goals; 90 and 96 minute. Out of Europa league contention Zrinjski best Olimpija Ljubljana 3-2
The real question is did Buducnost win because they were good or because Astana was bad. Either way, it will be depressing if FKS don't make the playoffs. Riga would obviously be preferred, should they pull off a miracle. But Celtic can be defeated. And we cannot wait for a God-sent draw to rally the team for the group-stages. Tatar is in excellent form with 6 goals and 1 assist in 7 regular season games and 2 goals in 2 Champions League games. Combined it's 8 goals and 1 assist in 9 games. This guy belongs on the NT.
He can play on either wing, right? We could use all the help we can for that position. Has always been one of our weakest positions.
Man this Sarajevo vs Budućnost game is hard to watch. Sarajevo the better team but 80% of the match is pack ball, just a bunch of players chasing after the ball not really stringing anything together. 1-1 now and the Budućnost players responded like they won the game when they scored the equalizer. We should be putting this team away...
Sarajevo through! Less comfortably then I would’ve liked but on to the playoffs vs Celtic. Zrinjski in Cyprus 2-2 in extra time vs APOEL. We could get two teams to the playoffs where anything can happen.
Zrinjski out on penalties becomes like the 8 team from the former jug to go out in extra time or penalty shootouts. If there was a champions league for mental midgets we’d win on the regular.
I’m sorry but Benjamin Tatar over Hotic or any other other RW is dreadful. I’d even prefer Miroslav Stevanovic
Huge win for Sarajevo. Only the third time a BiH team is in the Play-offs of EL, all three appearances coming from Sarajevo. Tough match ahead vs. Celtic but anything can happen in one game. Btw, we’ve had a great season in Europe. BiHPL has moved up from 40th to 36th in UEFA Rankings. If Sarajevo wins it’ll obviously continue rising.
It's impossible to find the full game anywhere, just these highlights. Bosnian FA cancelling the Monday Sarajevo derby is a huge plus. With Rahmanovic out, we might end up playing the defensively solid 4-5-1, with Susic, Djokanovic, and Pejovic in the middle. Hopefully, Ahmetovic would not feel too isolated at the top. Celtic staff and players understand what a disaster it would be for them not to qualify for the Europa League, especially because they are already deeply disappointed at not qualifying for the Champions League. Even the transfers they plan on making, including selling a player for tens of millions of euros, would be at risk. Our players and coach also understand what a big opportunity this is to advance their careers and to finally get to that big club they always wanted to go to (or take a giant step towards it), just by performing in this one key game. But even beyond that, this is a massively important game for Bosnian football, for us to finally get over the hurdle that our neighbors have gotten over a very long time ago. In fact, they are at a stage where they are consistently qualifying for these competitions for many years. While massive amounts of money was being pumped into these clubs/leagues (qualifications + transfers) over that period of time, our league was left in the dark ages. A win vs Celtic will start to make us look like a 'legitimate' league.
I’ve read the Celtic forum a bit to see where their club is at right now. A lot of them are frustrated and say they’ve been playing poorly. Frustrated with the manager. Their results haven’t been too impressive in Europe this season either. Lost at home to Ferencvaros 2-1 and beat Riga away 1-0 in 90’. Of course, Celtic are still big favorites. But several things are positive factors for Sarajevo: • home advantage • one leg only • Sarajevo lost 5-2 to Celtic on aggregate last year but have a much better team now, whereas Celtic are experiencing a bit of a dip in form atm Overall, I’d say it’s 75-25 chances in Celtic’s favor. I predict a 2-0 win for Celtic.
still remember the epic series and atmosphere when zeljo knocked them out a couple of years ago WE ARE IN THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE!! 🤩💚— Ferencvárosi TC (@Fradi_HU) September 29, 2020
Yes, Sarajevo starting the second half really sluggish. Tatar, Pidro, Milicevic, and Famino standing out for Sarajevo. Tatar definitely changing my mind about him being called up. Plays fearless taking players on and has the dribbling to do it.
1-0 Celtic, it was coming. Scored off a rebound right in front of goal. Not sure if Kovacevic should have been able to catch it instead of bounce it off his gloves.