Ismar "Izzy" Tandir (born 19 August 1995), is a professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who last played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

for

Mohammedan ''Mohammedan'' (also spelled ''Muhammadan'', ''Mahommedan'', ''Mahomedan'' or ''Mahometan'') is a term for a follower of Muhammad, the Islamic prophet. It is used as both a noun and an adjective, meaning belonging or relating to, either Muham ...

in the

I-League The I-League (known as Hero I-League for sponsorship ties with Hero MotoCorp) is the second-tier men's professional football competition of the Indian football league system. It is currently contested by 12 clubs across the country with the w ...

. Born in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, Tandir represented

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

internationally.

Club career

Born in

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

, Germany, Tandir moved to the United States as a child.Ismar Tandir profile
at Sacramento Republic FC official website, Retrieved 16 July 2016 Tandir initially played in the

New York Red Bulls Academy The New York Red Bulls Academy is the multi-layered youth system of the New York Red Bulls. It is the first cost-free program in Major League Soccer that provides a professional soccer training environment for youth players in the New York Tri-Sta ...

where he won two national championships, first with the U16 and then with U18 teams. He was the top scorer in the New York Red Bulls Academy in the last two seasons before moving to

FC Sochaux FC may refer to: Businesses, organisations, and schools * Fergusson College, a science and arts college in Pune, India * Finncomm Airlines (IATA code) * FranklinCovey company, NYSE stock symbol FC * Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force in Pakis ...

in December 2012.U.S. striker signs with Ligue 1 side
by J. R. Eslilson, at topdrawersoccer.com, 2 January 2013, Retrieved 16 July 2016 At Sochaux, he scored 11 goals in 19 appearances for their B team.Sacramento Republic FC Add Agustin Cazarez and Ismar Tandir Ahead of USL PRO Roster Freeze
at Sacramento Republic FC official website, 19 June 2014, Retrieved 16 July 2016 Tandir signed his first professional contract with

USL Pro The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...

club

Sacramento Republic Sacramento Republic FC is an American professional soccer team based in Sacramento, California, that plays in the Western Conference of the USL Championship, the second level in US soccer. Co-founded by Warren Smith and Joe Wagoner in 2012, th ...

on 19 August 2014. He made one appearance for Sacramento. Next, he moved again to Europe, this time moving to Iceland and signing with Breiðablik on 12 March 2015.Ismar Tandir profile
at Soccerway He made two appearances with Breiðablik in the

2015 Úrvalsdeild The 2015 Úrvalsdeild karla, also known as ''Pepsi-deild karla'' for sponsorship reasons, was the 104th season of top-flight Icelandic football. Twelve teams contested the league; the defending champions were Stjarnan, who had won their first ...

. In December 2015 Tandir signed with Spanish side

Deportivo Aragón Real Zaragoza Deportivo Aragón is the reserve team of Real Zaragoza, a Spanish football club based in Zaragoza, in the autonomous community of Aragon. Founded in 1958, currently plays in Segunda Federación – Group 3, holding home matches at ...

, the reserve team of

Real Zaragoza Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. (), commonly referred to as Zaragoza, is a football club based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, that currently competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league system. Zaragoza holds its home games at La ...

. On 15 July 2016, he signed a 3-year contract with Serbian top-league side Javor Ivanjica.

MFK Ružomberok

On 11 July 2018, Tandir signed a three-year deal with Slovak Super League side

MFK Ružomberok MFK Ružomberok () is a Slovak football club, playing in the city of Ružomberok. History Established in 1906, the club's colours have been traditionally white, yellow and red, which are also featured on the town's flag. However, the sponsor ...

. He made his first ever debut in the Fortuna Liga for MFK Ružomberok against Sered that summer on 21 July 2018. He played from the start as a center forward and completed 90 minutes of the match. Tandir had appeared 21 times for Ružomberok, nineteen times coming from the league and two times from Slovnaft cup. He scored 8 goals in 14 games for the first part of the season making him the silver boot behind Andraz Sporar.

Sigma Olomouc

On 17 July 2019, Tandir signed a two-year deal with

Czech First League The Czech First League, known as the Fortuna liga for sponsorship reasons, is a Czech professional league for football clubs. At the top of the Czech football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Seasons typically r ...

side

Sigma Olomouc SK Sigma Olomouc is a Czech football club from the city of Olomouc. The club currently plays in the Czech First League, the first tier of Czech football. The club played in the first tier league for 30 years between 1984 and 2014, winning the Czec ...

. His first appearance for Sigma Olomouc came on 20 July 2019 against FC Fastav Zlin at

Andrův stadion Andrův stadion is a football stadium in Olomouc, Czech Republic. It is the home ground of SK Sigma Olomouc and occasionally hosts matches of the Czech Republic national team. The stadium holds 12,474 people. It was built in 1940 and is named af ...

. He came on in the 76th minute. Tandir appeared six times for Sigma Olomouc with four of them coming in the League, the other two from MOL Cup. He scored in both fixtures in the MOL cup securing victory. After half a season in Sigma Olomouc Tandir was loaned out to Slovak Super League side FK Pohronie until 30 May 2020.

FK Pohronie

On 10 January 2020, it was announced that Tandir would return to Slovak

Slovak Super Liga The Slovak Super Liga is the top level football league in Slovakia, currently known as the Fortuna Liga due to a sponsorship arrangement. It was formed in 1993 following the dissolution of Czechoslovakia. The record for most titles is eleven, he ...

for a half-season loan at the season's novice club

FK Pohronie FK Pohronie is a Slovak football team, based in the town of Žiar nad Hronom. The club currently competes in 2. Liga. The 2019/20 season was the first time in the club's history that the team played in Fortuna Liga, the highest level of the ...

, based in the town of

Žiar nad Hronom Žiar nad Hronom (slang: Žiar, german: link=no, Heiligenkreuz, hu, Garamszentkereszt; until 1920 ''Svätý Kríž'' and until 1955 ''Svätý Kríž nad Hronom'') is a city in Banská Bystrica Region, Slovakia. Name development The name of the ...

. This was to be his second try in the league, following a spell at

Ružomberok Ružomberok (; german: Rosenberg; hu, Rózsahegy; pl, Rużomberk) is a town in northern Slovakia, in the historical Liptov region. It has a population of around 27,000 inhabitants (45,000 with nearby villages). Etymology The name of the initia ...

. During the winter friendlies, Tandir scored four goals. Tandir made his league debut for Pohronie on 15 February 2020 against

Nitra Nitra (; also known by other alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia, situated at the foot of Zobor Mountain in the valley of the river Nitra. It is located 95 km east of Bratislava. With a population of about 78,353, it is the fifth la ...

at pod Zoborom. The match concluded in a goal-less tie, with both teams being in a direct threat of relegation. He played from the start as a

center forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring Goal (sport)#Association footbal ...

along with Roland Gerebenits. He completed 90 minutes of the match.

MFK Zemplin Michalovce

On 5 October 2020, Tandir signed a deal with Slovak Super League side MFK Zemplin Michalovce until the end of the 2020–21 season, making it Tandir's third time coming back to the Slovak league. Tandir's first appearance for MFK Zemplin Michalovce came against FC DAC 1904 Dunajská Streda at Mestsky Zempli on 17 October 2020. He started and played the full 90 minutes in a 4–2 loss. He recorded an assist. Tandir appeared 19 times for MFK Zemplin Michalovce in the league recording three goals and four assists.

Mohamedan Sporting

On 22 December 2021, Tandir signed with

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

based club Mohamedan Sporting ahead of the team's

2021–22 I-League The 2021–22 I-League (also known as Hero I-League for sponsorship reasons) is the 15th season of I-League, last as the top tier of Indian football league system, since its establishment in 2007. All the matches are hosted in a bio-secure bubb ...

season.Done deal: Mohammedan Sporting roped in Ismar Tandir, their fifth foreigner
. ''facebook.com''. Mohamedan Sporting Club official. Retrieved 22 December 2021.

International career

Despite being born in Germany, Tandir has U.S. citizenship as well as Bosnian-Herzegovinian citizenship via his family roots. Bosnia called him into a U19 national team camp in 2012 for his first international experience. His performance in that camp, and others since then, had made him receive regular calls for Bosnia and Herzegovina youth teams.

Honors

NY Red Bulls Academy *

U.S. Soccer Development Academy The U.S. Soccer Development Academy (DA) was an American soccer league. Formed in 2007, the league features youth academies and youth clubs from various organizations, including Major League Soccer and the United Soccer League. The DA's mission ...

U16: 2011–12 *

U18: 2012–13 Breiðablik *

Icelandic League Cup The Icelandic Men's Football League Cup (Icelandic: Deildarbikar karla), also known as the Lengjubikar karla for sponsorship reasons, is a pre-season professional football competition in Iceland. It is considered the third most important competit ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

References

External links