Almir Turkovic
Encyclopedia
Almir Turković is a retired Bosnian professional football forward who played for FK Sarajevo
in Bosnia and clubs in the Croatia
n Prva HNL and Japanese
J.League.
, NK Osijek
and Hajduk Split in the Croatian Prva HNL. and later played for FK Sarajevo
in the Bosnian Premier League
.
Turkovic was well known for having a notorious fear of flying. Many times this meant that he had to travel by car days in advance of away matches in European competitions. In instances when traveling by car was not possible such as Hajduk's 2004 Champions League qualifier against Ireland's Shelbourne FC, Turkovic simply refused to go. This put him at odds several times with Hajduk management. It also affected his international career as he withdrew from Bosnia's fixtures at Scotland
, Malta
and the Faroe Islands
because he couldn't travel there by car. After several of these canceled appearances for the national team, Bosnia's managers simply quit including him in the squad.
.
|2002
||Cerezo Osaka
||J. League 2
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FK Sarajevo
FK Sarajevo is a professional football club based in Sarajevo, the capital city of Bosnia-Herzegovina and is one of the most popular clubs in the country. Founded on October 24, 1946, the club was the most successful club from SR Bosnia and Herzegovina in former Yugoslavia, winning two First League...
in Bosnia and clubs in the Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
n Prva HNL and Japanese
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
J.League.
Club career
Turković played for NK ZadarNK Zadar
NK Zadar is a Croatian football club based in Zadar, a city on the Adriatic coast. The club was founded in 1945.Josip Skoblar, Đovani Roso, Dado Pršo and Luka Modrić, are among their most notable former players....
, NK Osijek
NK Osijek
NK Osijek is a Croatian football club, from Osijek in eastern Croatia.- History :NK Osijek's early roots are found in club called NK Udarnik that was formed in 1945 under FPR Yugoslavia's new communist authorities on the ashes of dissolved HŠK Slavija...
and Hajduk Split in the Croatian Prva HNL. and later played for FK Sarajevo
FK Sarajevo
FK Sarajevo is a professional football club based in Sarajevo, the capital city of Bosnia-Herzegovina and is one of the most popular clubs in the country. Founded on October 24, 1946, the club was the most successful club from SR Bosnia and Herzegovina in former Yugoslavia, winning two First League...
in the Bosnian Premier League
Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina is the top football league in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the country's most prestigious level of football competition currently contested by 16 clubs with last two teams relegated at the end of every season....
.
Turkovic was well known for having a notorious fear of flying. Many times this meant that he had to travel by car days in advance of away matches in European competitions. In instances when traveling by car was not possible such as Hajduk's 2004 Champions League qualifier against Ireland's Shelbourne FC, Turkovic simply refused to go. This put him at odds several times with Hajduk management. It also affected his international career as he withdrew from Bosnia's fixtures at Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
and the Faroe Islands
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...
because he couldn't travel there by car. After several of these canceled appearances for the national team, Bosnia's managers simply quit including him in the squad.
International career
Turković made eleven appearances for the Bosnia and Herzegovina national football teamBosnia and Herzegovina national football team
The Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team is the national football team of Bosnia and Herzegovina, governed by the Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina...
.
Club statistics
|-|2002
2002 J. League Division 2
The 2002 J. League Division 2 season is the 31st season of the second-tier club football in Japan and the 4th season since the establishment of J2 League....
||Cerezo Osaka
Cerezo Osaka
is a J. League Division 1 association football team. The team name Cerezo means cherry tree in Spanish, which is also the flower of Ōsaka city....
||J. League 2
J. League Division 2
The or is the second division of and is the second-tier professional association football league in Japan. Currently, J. League Division 2 is the second level of the Japanese association football league system. The first tier is represented by J...
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