Refik Šabanadžovic
Encyclopedia
Refik Šabanadžović is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
, SFR Yugoslavia) is a retired Montenegrin-born Bosnian footballer
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
.
Club career
His career began in a small Montenegrin club FK Dečić TuziFK Decic
FK Dečić is a football club from Tuzi, with Albanian Roots, Montenegro, currently competing in the First League of Montenegro. It is a part of Dečić sport society.- History :Founded in 1926....
. He was spotted there by Titograd's FK Budućnost
FK Buducnost Podgorica
FK Budućnost is a football club from Podgorica, Montenegro, currently competing in the First League of Montenegro. Its colours are blue and white. FK Buducnost is a part of the Budućnost sport society.-History:...
and moved there shortly after. Before the 1983/1984 season, he moved to FK Željezničar Sarajevo where he became one of the more notable Yugoslav
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
defenders under the guidance of Ivica Osim
Ivica Osim
Ivan "Ivica" Osim is a Bosnian former football player and manager. He was most recently head coach of Japan, before he suffered a stroke in November 2007 and left the post...
. He gave his contribution to the club's best European result, UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
semifinals in 1984/1985 season.
After four seasons playing for this Bosnian side, he left for Red Star Belgrade
Red Star Belgrade
Red Star Belgrade is a football club from Belgrade, Serbia. The club is a part of the Red Star Sports Society.Red Star Belgrade is the most successful Serbian club, with a record of 25 national championships and 23 national cups in both Serbian and ex-Yugoslav competitions...
. He won three championship titles
Yugoslav First League
The Yugoslav First League was the premier football league in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and socialist Yugoslavia...
and one national cup
Yugoslav Cup
The Yugoslav Cup, officially the Marshal Tito Cup, was one of two major football competitions in the former Yugoslavia, the other one being the Yugoslav League Championship. The Yugoslav Cup took place after the league championships when every competitive league in Yugoslavia had finished, in order...
at the club, but the most important moment of his entire career was winning the UEFA Champions' Cup
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
in 1990/1991 season
European Cup 1990-91
The 1990–91 season of the European Cup football club tournament was won for the first time by Red Star Belgrade on penalties in the final against Marseille. This was only the second time that an Eastern European side had won the competition, after Steaua Bucureşti of Romania...
.
After that, he went to Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. He played for AEK Athens
AEK Athens FC
AEK Athens F.C. , the Athletic Union of Constantinople, is a Greek association football club based in the city of Athens, Greece. Outside Greece, the club is also known as AEK Athens, however, the word Athens is not part of the club's official title.Established in Athens in 1924 by Greek refugees...
where he was brought by head coach Dušan Bajević
Dušan Bajevic
Dušan Bajević is a Bosnian football manager and former Yugoslav international.-Playing career:...
. There he won three consecutive championships in 1992, 1993. and 1994.
Šabanadžović then transferred to Olympiakos where he also played under coach Bajević and won yet another title in 1997.
In the winter of 1998, Šabanadžović moved to Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
club Kansas City Wizards
Kansas City Wizards
Sporting Kansas City is an American professional soccer club based in Kansas City, Kansas that competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States of America and Canada...
where he came on the recommendation of his friend Preki Radosavljević
Preki
Predrag Radosavljević is a former American international soccer player of Serbian extraction...
. He played there for two years before finally retiring at the end of 1999 season.
International career
Šabanadžović's appearances in the Yugoslav national team were largely sporadic. With 8 caps in total (6 starts and 2 substitute appearances) spanning four years from 1986 until 1990, all under head coach Ivica OsimIvica Osim
Ivan "Ivica" Osim is a Bosnian former football player and manager. He was most recently head coach of Japan, before he suffered a stroke in November 2007 and left the post...
, the highlight of Šabanadžović's time with the national team was his appearance at the 1990 FIFA World Cup
1990 FIFA World Cup
The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event twice. Teams representing 116 national football associations from all six populated...
in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. Though he made 4 starting appearances during the competition, with confident defensive displays, he is mostly remembered for getting sent-off in the 31st minute of the quarter-final versus Argentina.
Euro 88 qualifying
Šabanadžović made his national team debut on 29 October 1986, as a starter in defensive line in the opening Euro 88 qualifierUEFA Euro 1988 qualifying Group 4
Standings and results for Group 4 of the 1988 UEFA European Football Championship qualifying tournament.Group 4 consisted of England, Northern Ireland, Turkey and Yugoslavia...
versus Turkey in Split. National team head coach Ivica Osim (only in his 4th match overall leading the squad and his first one doing it alone as he previously shared the coaching duties with Ivan Toplak
Ivan Toplak
Ivan Toplak is a former Serbian football player and manager. He got 1 cap for Yugoslavia.-External links:*...
) knew the 21-year-old Željezničar defender well from their time together at Grbavica, and decided to include him in the team as a result of the injury incurred by defensive mainstay Faruk Hadžibegić, thereby causing a bit of a surprise by having a debutante in the starting lineup of a competitive match. In fact Šabanadžović was one of three players to get a start on their debut that day - the other two being yet another Željo youngster Radmilo Mihajlović
Radmilo Mihajlovic
Radmilo Mihajlović is a former Bosnian Serb footballer who played for the Yugoslavia national football team.-Career:He started playing football at Sutjeska Foča and was spotted there as a talented forward.-FK Željezničar:...
(about to turn 22 year old) and Rijeka
NK Rijeka
HNK Rijeka is a Croatian football club, from Rijeka on the Croatian coast.-History:The club was founded as NK Kvarner in 1946, after Rijeka passed from Italy to Yugoslavia following the end of World War II. During its early period in Yugoslavia, the club had moderate success in various Yugoslav...
goalkeeper Mauro Ravnić
Mauro Ravnic
Mauro Ravnić is a retired Croatian footballer who played as a goalkeeper.-Club career:...
(almost 27 years of age). Yugoslavia recorded a comfortable 4-0 win, with Šabanadžović putting in a decent performance. Two weeks later Yugoslavia traveled to Wembley for a pivotal qualifier versus Bobby Robson
Bobby Robson
Sir Robert William "Bobby" Robson, CBE was an English footballer and manager, who coached seven European clubs and the England national team during his career....
's England. Šabanadžović again got the start in defence, but unfortunatelly this time had a match to forget much like the rest of the Yugoslav team as they lost easily 0-2. He didn't feature again for the rest of the qualifying cycle as Hadžibegić recovered from injury.
1990 World Cup qualifying
It was almost two years before Šabanadžović saw national team action again. In mid October 1988, Yugoslavia played its opening 1990 World Cup1990 FIFA World Cup
The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event twice. Teams representing 116 national football associations from all six populated...
qualifier
1990 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 5
The 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification UEFA Group 5 was a UEFA qualifying group for the 1990 FIFA World Cup. The group comprised Cyprus, France, Norway, Scotland and Yugoslavia.The group was won by Yugoslavia, who qualified for the 1990 FIFA World Cup...
in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
versus Scotland. With the score tied at 1-1, looking to protect the draw, Osim brought the defender on for attacking midfielder Bora Cvetković in the 89th minute. Those few minutes were Šabanadžović's only action of the entire qualifying cycle as he got called up a few more times, but remained an unused sub. Yugoslavia finished the group on top thus qualifying to the final tournament in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
1990 World Cup
The April 1990 inclusion of 24-year-old Šabanadžović in Osim's final squad for the World Cup came as a surprise considering he only played several minutes in qualifiers and had only one substitute appearance in the pre-World Cup friendlies - the match versus Spain in Ljubljana.For the group stage
1990 FIFA World Cup Group D
Play in Group D of the 1990 FIFA World Cup completed on 19 June 1990. West Germany won the group, and advanced to the second round, along with Yugoslavia and Colombia...
opener versus Germany at San Siro
San Siro
The Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, originally and commonly referred to as the San Siro because of its location, officially given its current name on 3 March 1980, is a football stadium located in the San Siro district in Milan, Italy. It is the home of both A.C. Milan and F.C. Internazionale Milano...
, Šabanadžović was on the bench and didn't get a single minute of action. Due to the heavy opening loss, for the next group match against Colombia in Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
Osim decided to reshuffle the defensive line, benching Zoran Vulić
Zoran Vulic
Zoran Vulić is a retired Croatian footballer, who is currently working as a football manager.-Playing career:For hometown HNK Hajduk Split Vulić, a central defender with a powerful shot, played eight seasons, amassing 167 league games, with 25 goals.He then had successful abroad stints with RCD...
and Mirsad Baljić
Mirsad Baljic
Mirsad "Žvaka" Baljić is a former Yugoslav and Bosnian football player who played as an offensive full-backHe got his nickname Žvaka for his constant use of chewing gum during the game....
while giving Šabanadžović and Vujadin Stanojković
Vujadin Stanojkovic
Vujadin Stanojković is a former Yugoslav/Macedonian football coach and former player. He is of Serbian ethnic origin....
a start. Šabanadžović played the full ninety as Yugoslavia recorded a hard-fought 1-0 win. In the final group match versus minnows United Arab Emirates, he again got the start before getting subbed off towards the end for club teammate Robert Prosinečki
Robert Prosinecki
Robert Prosinečki is a Croatian football manager and former football midfielder. Prosinečki is regarded by many as the player with best technique that ever played in and for Croatia. Former national squad teammate Zvonimir Boban, humbly, also agreed with this. His dribbling is considered...
as Yugoslavia managed an easy 4-1 win.
For the knockout stage
1990 FIFA World Cup knockout stage
In the 1990 FIFA World Cup, the knockout stage was the second and final stage of the World Cup, following the group stage. The top two teams from each group and four best third-placed teams advance to the knockout stage to compete in a single-elimination style tournament...
versus Spain, Šabanadžović again got the start and repaid the coach's trust with a confident display as Yugoslavia progressed with a 2-1 extra-time win. By now, Šabanadžović's stock in Osim's eyes was sufficiently high that the coach gave him the uneviable task of guarding Diego Maradona
Diego Maradona
Diego Armando Maradona is a retired Argentine football player and widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time. Over the course of his professional club career Maradona played for Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Napoli, Sevilla and Newell's Old Boys, setting...
in the quarter-final versus Argentina
Argentina national football team
The Argentina national football team represents Argentina in association football and is controlled by the Argentine Football Association , the governing body for football in Argentina. Argentina's home stadium is Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti and their head coach is Alejandro...
in Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
. Unfortunatelly, the matchup ended very early for Šabanadžović as he collected two yellow cards in the span of only seven minutes during first half: the first for what the Swiss referee Kurt Röthlisberger
Kurt Röthlisberger
Kurt Röthlisberger is a retired football referee from Switzerland. He is mostly known for supervising five matches in the FIFA World Cup...
ajudged to be improper behaviour during the setting up of the Yugoslav wall before Argentinian free-kick and the second one in the 31st minute for a foul on Maradona. Until the end, the 10-man Yugoslavia fought bravely, creating several excellent goal-scoring opportunites, but eventually lost on penalties in heart-breaking fashion.
Šabanadžović never played for the national team again. In total, he collected 8 caps
Cap (sport)
In sports, a cap is a metaphorical term for a player's appearance on a select team, such as a national team. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of association football...
for the Yugoslav national team.
Bosnia-Herzegovina
In March 1993, while the Bosnian WarBosnian War
The Bosnian War or the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between April 1992 and December 1995. The war involved several sides...
was raging, 27-year-old Šabanadžović took part in two friendly matches as part of "Bosnia-Herzegovina Humanitarian Stars" versus K.R.C. Genk
K.R.C. Genk
Koninklijke Racing Club Genk , usually referred to as Racing Genk or simply Genk, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Genk in Belgian Limburg. Racing Genk plays in the Belgian Pro League and they have won 3 Belgian champion titles in 1998–99, in 2001–02 and in 2010–11 as...
and 1. FC Kaiserslautern
1. FC Kaiserslautern
1. Fußball-Club Kaiserslautern, also known as 1. FCK, FCK or simply Kaiserslautern, is a German association football club based in Kaiserslautern, Rhineland-Palatinate. On 2 June 1900, Germania 1896 and FG Kaiserslautern merged to create FC 1900...
in Genk
Genk
Genk is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg near Hasselt. The municipality only comprises the city of Genk itself...
and Koblenz
Koblenz
Koblenz is a German city situated on both banks of the Rhine at its confluence with the Moselle, where the Deutsches Eck and its monument are situated.As Koblenz was one of the military posts established by Drusus about 8 BC, the...
, respectively. The hastily arranged team also featured many Bosnia-born players who previously played for the Yugoslav national team such as Faruk Hadžibegić, Safet Sušić
Safet Sušic
Safet "Pape" Sušić is a Bosnian former footballer and current manager of the Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team. In his playing days, he operated as playmaking attacking midfielder...
, Mehmed Baždarević
Mehmed Baždarevic
Mehmed Baždarević is a Bosnian football manager and former football midfielder. He is the current manager of the French Ligue 1 club Sochaux-Montbéliard. Baždarević played for Bosnian side Željezničar Sarajevo and Sochaux-Montbéliard, among others...
, Mirsad Baljić
Mirsad Baljic
Mirsad "Žvaka" Baljić is a former Yugoslav and Bosnian football player who played as an offensive full-backHe got his nickname Žvaka for his constant use of chewing gum during the game....
, Davor Jozić
Davor Jozic
Davor Jozić is a former footballer of Bosnian Croat ethnicity.Jozić started playing at a local club FK Igman Konjic and then he moved to FK Sarajevo where he played in 450 games. After came clubs such as Cesena, Club América, and Spezia...
, Blaž Slišković
Blaž Sliškovic
Blaž "Baka" Slišković is a former Bosnian Croat football player and currently the manager of Al-Ansar....
, Haris Škoro
Haris Škoro
Haris Škoro is a former Bosnian football player who represented Yugoslavia at international level....
, Semir Tuce
Semir Tuce
Semir Tuce was considered the best player of the 1980s in football club Velež. With his deadly left foot he tortured all the goalkeepers in former Yugoslav league. He played for Velež during 1983–1989 before going to Switzerland to play for Luzern. During his active time he played 187 games for...
, Meho Kodro
Meho Kodro
Mehmed "Meho" Kodro Sejtanić , known as Kodro, is a retired Bosnian footballer who played as a striker, and a current manager....
, Predrag Jurić
Predrag Juric
Predrag Jurić is a former Yugoslav/Bosnian association footballer.-References:* http://www.lfp.es/historico/primera/plantillas/historial.asp?jug=5593* http://www.bdfutbol.com/j/j2204.html...
, and Husref Musemić
Husref Musemic
Husref Musemić is a Bosnian former football player and manager.-External links:** - National Football Teams* - FC Twente...
. Though the matches only had humanitarian character, they were played with FIFA's approval and were widely seen as the first step in the eventual formation of the Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team
Bosnia 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...
.
Once the Bosnian national team started playing official matches in late November 1995, Šabanadžović didn't make further appearances.
Šabanadžović lives in Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
, Bosnia-Herzegovina with his wife Zerina Dervišević and their four children.
Injury
On 15 October 1987, only three months after transferring to Red Star Belgrade from FK Željezničar, Šabanadžović played his first match back in Sarajevo against his old club. Early on in the said league contest at Grbavica StadiumGrbavica Stadium
Grbavica Stadium is located in Grbavica, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The football stadium has terraces close to the pitch and it is the home of FK Željezničar. The stadium has a capacity to hold 12,000 spectators, with 9,000 places that are seated...
, Šabanadžović collided with Zoran Slišković
Zoran Slišković
Zoran Slišković is a retired Croatian footballer, who played as a forward. He is most notable for his spells at Željezničar Sarajevo, AEK Athens and Dinamo Zagreb .-Club career:Slišković began playing football with FK Željezničar Sarajevo in the...
going up for a header. The impact was so powerful that Šabanadžović ended up in coma for 3 days. He was immediately airlifted by helicopter to Belgrade and hospitalized for a month.
Luckily, he recovered completely and returned to competitive action about six months later to great success. Couple of months after returning to football, he was named to the Olympic squad taken to Seoul during summer 1988.
Honours
Red Star
- European CupUEFA Champions LeagueThe UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
: 1991 - Yugoslav ChampionshipYugoslav First LeagueThe Yugoslav First League was the premier football league in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and socialist Yugoslavia...
: 1990, 1991 - Yugoslav CupYugoslav CupThe Yugoslav Cup, officially the Marshal Tito Cup, was one of two major football competitions in the former Yugoslavia, the other one being the Yugoslav League Championship. The Yugoslav Cup took place after the league championships when every competitive league in Yugoslavia had finished, in order...
: 1990
AEKAEK Athens FC
AEK Athens F.C. , the Athletic Union of Constantinople, is a Greek association football club based in the city of Athens, Greece. Outside Greece, the club is also known as AEK Athens, however, the word Athens is not part of the club's official title.Established in Athens in 1924 by Greek refugees...
- Greek ChampionshipSuper League GreeceThe Superleague Greece is the highest professional football league in Greece. It was formed on July 16, 2006 and replaced Alpha Ethniki at the top of the Greek football league system. The league consists of 16 teams and runs from August to May, with teams playing 30 games each...
: 1992, 1993, 1994 - Greek CupGreek football CupThe Greek Football Cup , commonly known as the Greek Cup or for sponsorship reasons the Football Cup OPAP, is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation....
: 1996
Olympiakos
- Greek ChampionshipSuper League GreeceThe Superleague Greece is the highest professional football league in Greece. It was formed on July 16, 2006 and replaced Alpha Ethniki at the top of the Greek football league system. The league consists of 16 teams and runs from August to May, with teams playing 30 games each...
: 1997, 1998