Amar Osim (born 18 July 1967) is a Bosnian professional football manager and former

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who is ...

. He is regarded as one of the most successful Bosnian football managers. Osim was a talented player during his teens. However, he did not transfer his talent after getting called up to the Željezničar first team. Apart from Željezničar, Osim also played in France for Saint-Dié and

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

. He ended his career while at Željezničar in 1997. Osim decided to stay in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

, becoming a manager. He is the most successful manager in Željezničar's history, winning five

Bosnian Premier League The m:tel Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( bs, m:tel Premijer liga Bosne i Hercegovine / м:тел Премијер лига Босне и Херцеговине), also known as Liga 12, is the top tier football league in Bosnia and He ...

titles, four Bosnian cups and one, now defunct,

Bosnian Supercup The Supercup of Bosnia and Hezegovina is a discontinued football competition. It was contested between the league champion and the cup winner of the previous season. It was first contested in the 1996–97 season and has not been held since the ...

in his three stints with the club. Osim also won one J.League Cup with Japanese club

JEF United Chiba , full name and also known as , is a Japanese professional football club that plays in the J2 League. On 1 February 2005, the club changed its name from ''JEF United Ichihara'' to the current name after Chiba city had joined Ichihara, Chiba as ...

in 2006. He managed Qatari club Al Kharaitiyat as well, with mediocre results. In 2022, Osim was appointed at Velež Mostar.

Playing career

Born and raised in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...

, Osim started playing football in hometown club Željezničar. After playing for the youth team, he entered the senior squad in 1986. In 1991, he left for France where he played for lower division clubs Saint-Dié and

. In 1996, he returned to his home country. Osim played one more season for Željezničar before retiring. Although a talented player, with good technical skills, Amar never managed to match the success or renown of his father,

Ivica Osim Ivan Osim (6 May 1941 – 1 May 2022), best known as Ivica Osim, was a Bosnian professional footballer and football manager. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest Bosnian football managers of all time and as one of the most influential foo ...

's playing career.

Managerial career

Željezničar

Osim's managerial career started in Željezničar's youth squad which he guided to success in domestic competitions. After

Dino Đurbuzović Hajrudin "Dino" Đurbuzović (born 14 August 1956) is a Bosnian professional football manager and former player. Playing career Born in Sarajevo, SFR Yugoslavia, present day Bosnia and Herzegovina on 14 August 1956, Đurbuzović started playing ...

was sacked in the spring of 2001, club officials promoted him to the place of first team manager. He immediately led the club to two

titles in 2001 and in 2002, being runner-up in 2003. In August 2002, Osim led Željezničar to the 2002–03 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round, where the club lost 5–0 on aggregate to English

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

club

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

. That is, so far, the club's best

post-war In Western usage, the phrase post-war era (or postwar era) usually refers to the time since the end of World War II. More broadly, a post-war period (or postwar period) is the interval immediately following the end of a war. A post-war period c ...

European competition result. He also claimed two

national cup The English National Cup is an annual basketball knock-out competition held between professional, semi-professional and amateur teams from the various divisions of the National Basketball League. For most of the competition's history, the draw has ...

titles in 2001 and 2003, being runner-up in 2002. Osim claimed the

in 2001 as well, after winning the

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...

that year. In 2002, he got the award for Bosnia and Herzegovina Manager of the Year. Osim was sacked at the beginning of the 2003–04 season due to poor results.

JEF United Chiba

Amar's father

invited him to Japan to be his assistant at

. After Ivica was named the head coach of the Japan national team, Amar got promoted. He guided JEF United to win the J.League Cup in

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

. But after a poor finish to the

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

season, in which JEF United finished in 13th place in the

J1 League The , known as the for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the system. Founded in 1992, it is one of the most successful leagues in Asian club football. Contested by 18 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the J ...

, Osim got sacked.

Return to Željezničar

After his time in Japan, Osim returned to his hometown and in June 2009, returned to Željezničar for his second spell as the club's manager. In his first season as manager, Osim immediately guided the club to win the league title and finished as national cup runners-up. In the following season he won the national cup, losing the league title just one round before the end of the season and ending third. In 2012, he claimed the league title once again, with three rounds left to play, breaking many records on the way and also defended the national cup, bringing the double back to Željezničar after eleven years. Osim left the managerial position of the club in September 2013, becoming its new

sporting director A sporting director, or director of sport, is an executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many types of sports. The sport ...

. In December 2014, he resigned as sporting director and left Željezničar. While at the club, Osim won many individual managerial awards after his success with Željezničar. In 2010, he won the Bosnian Premier League Manager of the Year award. In 2012, Osim won the 2011–12 Bosnian Premier League Manager of the Season award and the 2012 Manager of the Year award, while in 2013 he won the best in the season award for the

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

season.

Al Kharaitiyat

In December 2014, Osim was named the new manager of

Qatar Stars League The Qatar Stars League ( ar, دوري نجوم قطر), or the QSL, also called QNB Stars League for sponsorship reasons, is the top level football league in Qatar football league system. Contested by 12 teams, it operates on a system of promotio ...

club Al Kharaitiyat. In his first season, he made a club record of a seven-game unbeaten run in the league and nine games in all competitions. In that season's league, Al Kharaitiyat finished in 9th place. In March 2015, Osim was named

Manager of the Month for February 2015. In his second season as the club's manager, Osim's Al Kharaitiyat finished in 12th place, just narrowly missing relegation. In November 2016, after a poor start to the 2016–17 season, Osim was sacked after almost two years as Al Kharaitiyat's manager.

Second return to Željezničar

2018–19 season

On 31 December 2018, Osim once again came back to Željezničar and signed a three and a half year contract after monthly speculations of him becoming the manager even earlier. His first win in his third term as Željezničar's manager came on 3 March 2019, in a 2–1 home league win against Mladost Doboj Kakanj. In Osim's first

Sarajevo derby The Sarajevo derby ( Bosnian: ''Vječiti derbi, Sarajevski derbi'') is a match between rivals from Bosnia and Herzegovina's capital city FK Željezničar Sarajevo and FK Sarajevo, the two biggest and most popular clubs in the country, during which ...

after six years, Željezničar suffered a 3–0 home loss to fierce city rivals

FK Sarajevo Fudbalski klub Sarajevo (; English: Sarajevo Football Club) is a professional football club based in Sarajevo, the capital city of Bosnia and Herzegovina and is one of the most successful clubs in the country. Founded on 24 October 1946, FK Sara ...

on 6 April 2019. On 13 April, in a 1–0 away league loss against

Zrinjski Mostar Zrinjski Mostar is a sports association from the city of Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was formed in 1905. Member clubs *Football: **HŠK Zrinjski Mostar *Basketball: **HKK Zrinjski Mostar (men's) **ŽKK Zrinjski Mostar (women's) *Han ...

, Osim made his 300th appearance as Željezničar's manager and became the club's third manager with the most games. At the time, the first two were

Milan Ribar Milan Ribar (21 November 1930 – 26 May 1996) was a Bosnian professional football manager and former player. He is the only manager in Željezničar history to have won the Yugoslav First League. Playing career Ribar played for hometown club ...

with 367 games and his father

with 301 games. On 24 April, in his 302nd managerial appearance for Željezničar, in which the club drew 0–0 against

Široki Brijeg , , nickname = , motto = , image_map = BiH municipality location Široki Brijeg.svg , map_alt = , map_caption = Location o ...

on their home stadium Grbavica, Amar surpassed his father Ivica and became the second manager with the most appearances in Željezničar's history. In the last game of the season, Željezničar beat

Tuzla City Fudbalski klub Tuzla City ( en, Football Club Tuzla City), formerly known as Fudbalski klub Sloga Simin Han ( en, Football Club Sloga Simin Han), is a professional football club based in Simin Han, Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The club plays in ...

3–0 away on 25 May 2019, putting an end to a very turbulent season.

2019–20 season

Osim's first win as Željezničar's manager in the 2019–20 season came on 27 July 2019, a 2–0 away league win against Mladost Doboj Kakanj. Željezničar won their first Sarajevo derby since Osim's second return in a 5–2 home league win against Sarajevo on 31 August 2019. He made a new Bosnian Premier League record with the club on 28 September 2019, after a 2–2 away league draw against Tuzla City, in which Željezničar ended the game unbeaten and continued their 11-game unbeaten run in the league since the beginning of the season, surpassing the one of city rival Sarajevo, which was a ten league game unbeaten run since the start of the 2006–07 Bosnian Premier League season. On 6 October 2019, Osim's team lost 3–0 away in a league match against

Borac Banja Luka Fudbalski klub Borac Banja Luka (Serbian Cyrillic: Фудбалски клуб Бopaц Бања Лука, ) is a Bosnian professional association football club, based in the city of Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and is the major part of th ...

, thus ending their 11-game unbeaten run in the league. On 30 November 2019, Željezničar once again beat their rivals Sarajevo, this time in a 3–1 away league win, with Osim being praised from Željezničar fans for his tactical geniusness. In that game, he also earned a yellow card for arguing with referee Haris Kaljanac. At the end of the season however, Željezničar failed to win any trophy, with Osim's team finishing in 2nd place in the 2019–20 league season, three points short of 1st placed Sarajevo, though after the season ended abruptly due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in Bosnia and Herzegovina The COVID-19 pandemic in Bosnia and Herzegovina is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The virus was confirmed to have reached Bosnia and Herzegovina on ...

on 1 June 2020. He also guided the team to the semi-finals of the 2019–20 Bosnian Cup, but did not get the chance to win the competition as it was abandoned due to the pandemic, with no winner being proclaimed.

2020–21 season

Željezničar started off the

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

season with a win against Velež Mostar on 1 August 2020, with Osim's team scoring three goals in the first thirty minutes of the game and securing the win at home ground. That game also marked Osim's 200th win as Željezničar manager. With three more league wins after the Velež game, Željezničar suffered its first loss under Osim in the new season on 21 August 2020, an unexpected 1–0 home defeat against Mladost Doboj Kakanj. In Osim's first European game with Željezničar since his return, his team lost 3–1 against Israeli club Maccabi Haifa in the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League first qualifying round on 9 September 2020. In the middle of an eight game winless run in the

league season, which had culminated with a home draw against Mladost Doboj Kakanj, Osim was sacked by the club on 11 April 2021.

Velež Mostar

On 11 June 2022, Osim signed a one-year contract with Velež Mostar, with an option to stay at the club even longer. On 15 July 2022, he took charge for the first time as Velež manager for their

match against Posušje, which ended in a 1–1 draw. On 28 July, Velež unexpectedly got eliminated from the

2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League The 2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League is the second season of the UEFA Europa Conference League, Europe's tertiary club football tournament organised by UEFA. The final will be played at Fortuna Arena in Prague, Czech Republic. The winner ...

in the second qualifying round by Maltese club Ħamrun Spartans. On 5 August 2022, Osim won his first match as Velež manager after a 3–1 win over his former club Željezničar. Osim terminated his contract with Velež by mutual consent on 29 November 2022.

Personal life

Osim's father

Ivica Ivica is a Slavic masculine given name, a diminutive form of Ivan. The direct English equivalent of the name is Johnny, while the equivalent of its augmentative Ivan is John. It is one of the frequent male given names in Croatia, and is also pres ...

was a renowned

and manager. His mothers' name is Asima. He has two children and one grandchild. On 1 May 2022, Osim's father died in

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...

, Austria, where he had mostly lived since 1994. He was buried in

at the Bare Cemetery on 14 May, thirteen days after his death.

Managerial statistics

Honours

Manager

Željezničar *

: 2000–01, 2001–02, 2009–10, 2011–12,

Bosnian Cup The Bosnia and Herzegovina Football Cup ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kup Bosne i Hercegovine, Куп Босне и Херцеговине) is a knock-out football competition contested annually by clubs from Bosnia and Herzegovina. The winner ...

: 2000–01, 2002–03,

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, 2011–12 *

: 2001 JEF United Chiba * J.League Cup:

Individual * Bosnia and Herzegovina Manager of the Year:

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

* Bosnian Premier League Manager of the Year/Season:

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, 2011–12,

Manager of the Month: February 2015

References

External links