Vanja Džaferović (born 19 March 1983) is a

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

n actor, TV personality and former

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 ...

Early life

Džaferović was born in

Bosanski Brod Brod ( sr-cyr, Брод, ),The official web site of the municipality
, Brod/Брод.

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 ...

, and moved with his family in his childhood to

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

due to the

Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( sh, Rat u Bosni i Hercegovini / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war is commonly seen as having started ...

Career

Football career

Džaferović began his career in the local

NK Inter Zaprešić Nogometni klub Inter Zaprešić was a Croatian professional football club based in Zaprešić, a town northwest of the capital Zagreb. The team are nicknamed ''Keramičari'' (The ceramics makers), because they were sponsored by a ceramics facto ...

. In June 2002, he transferred to

HNK Segesta HNK Segesta is a Croatian football club located in the city of Sisak. It is named after the Illyrian settlement Segesta from which modern city of Sisak developed. Segesta is one of the oldest Croatian football clubs, although there are no writ ...

from Croatian town

Sisak Sisak (; hu, Sziszek ; also known by other alternative names) is a city in central Croatia, spanning the confluence of the Kupa, Sava and Odra rivers, southeast of the Croatian capital Zagreb, and is usually considered to be where the Posavin ...

. In July 2005 he signed for

Beroe Stara Zagora Beroe ( bg, Берое) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Stara Zagora, that competes in the First League, the top division of the Bulgarian football league system. The club was founded in 1916 under the name ''Vere ...

in the

Bulgarian A PFG The First Professional Football League ( bg, Първа професионална футболна лига, Parva Profesionalna Futbolna Liga), also known as the Bulgarian First League or Parva Liga, currently known as the efbet League for spon ...

, for an undisclosed fee. On 7 August 2005, he made his league debut in a 3–1 away loss against

Vihren Sandanski OFC Vihren ( bg, ОФК Вихрен) is a Bulgarian football club from the town of Sandanski, currently playing in the Third Amateur Football League (Bulgaria), South-West Third League. Sandanski's home ground is the Sandanski Stadium in Sandan ...

. Džaferović scored his first ever goal for Beroe on 18 March 2006 against

Litex Lovech Litex ( bg, Литекс) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Lovech, which currently competes in the Second League. The club was founded in 1921 as Hisarya Sports Club. The club's home ground is the Gradski Stadion ...

; Beroe won 3–1. On 26 October 2006, Beroe manager

Ilian Iliev Ilian Dimov Iliev ( bg, Илиан Димов Илиев; born 2 July 1968) is a Bulgarian professional football manager and former player. He is the head coach at Bulgarian First League club Cherno More. He is best known for having played ...

chose Vanja as his club captain. In 2008 Džaferović signed with

Lokomotiv Sofia Lokomotiv 1929 ( bg, Локомотив 1929) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia, which currently plays in the First League, the top tier of Bulgarian football. Founded as Railway Sports Club in 1929, and refou ...

. He remained at Lokomotiv until July 2010 when he joined

Ethnikos Achna Ethnikos Achna Football Club ( el, Αθλητικός Σύλλογος Εθνικός Άχνας), commonly known as Ethnikos Achna, or simply Ethnikos, is a Cypriot football club based in the village of Achna. Founded in 1968, the club current ...

after his contract expired, but he never played for the Cyprus team. The following month, he suffered a severe injury and was ruled out for nine months. Džaferović was out of contract with Ethnikos when he was signed by the Beroe manager

on 15 December 2010. Džaferović's first appearance back at Beroe was as a substitute against Akademik Sofia on 8 May 2011. Unfortunately, he sustained another injury during his time with Beroe and eventually did not return to football. Džaferović has made 129 appearances in the

A PFG The First Professional Football League ( bg, Първа професионална футболна лига, Parva Profesionalna Futbolna Liga), also known as the Bulgarian First League or Parva Liga, currently known as the efbet League for spon ...

, being in the "top 20 club" for foreign players in the top flight of Bulgarian football.

TV career

In 2014 Džaferović won the 5th season of the Bulgarian version of the popular

reality show Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

Survivor. In 2015 he finished as runner-up in the all-star spin-off of '' Big Brother'' – Big Brother All Stars. He also joined

Your Face Sounds Familiar ''Your Face Sounds Familiar'' ( Spanish: ''Tu cara me suena'') is a Spanish interactive reality television franchise series where celebrity contestants impersonate singers. The format, similar to Dutch television series ''Soundmixshow'', was ...

in 2017 as a contender. In 2020 he got TV series debut in a main role, joining the Bulgarian TV Serias ''Strawberry Moon'', where he plays the role of Alex, a firefighter.

Personal life

Džaferović is married to Evgeniya, a TV personality and participant of '' Survivor BG: Pearl Islands''. In 2012 he completed some paperwork to allow him to stay in Bulgaria.

Career statistics

Filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dzaferovic, Vanja 1983 births Living people People from Brod, Bosnia and Herzegovina Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina Association football central defenders Croatian footballers Bosnia and Herzegovina footballers HNK Segesta players PFC Beroe Stara Zagora players FC Lokomotiv 1929 Sofia players Ethnikos Achna FC players Second Football League (Croatia) players First Football League (Croatia) players First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) players Bosnia and Herzegovina expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Croatia Bosnia and Herzegovina expatriate sportspeople in Croatia Expatriate footballers in Bulgaria Bosnia and Herzegovina expatriate sportspeople in Bulgaria Expatriate footballers in Cyprus Bosnia and Herzegovina expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Big Brother (Bulgarian TV series) contestants