Veroljub "Vero" Salatić ( sr-Cyrl, Верољуб Веро Салатић; born 14 November 1985) is a

Bosnia 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 He ...

n-born

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

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 ...

coach and a former player who played as a central midfielder.

Career

A Bosnian Serb, Salatić moved to

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

as a child and started training with local team

SC Zug Zug 94 is a Swiss association football, football team based in Zug, in the Canton of Zug which competes in the 1. Liga Classic, 1. Liga. It was formed in 1994 after a merger between SC Zug and FC Zug. During the summer of 1983, Ottmar Hitzfeld ...

in 1992, aged 7. In 2000, he moved on to

Grasshopper Club Zürich Grasshopper Club Zürich, commonly referred to as simply GC, GCZ, or Grasshoppers, is a multisports club based in Zürich, Switzerland. The oldest and best known department of the club is its football team. With 27 titles, Grasshopper holds the ...

. In the 2003–04 season he broke into the first team. He is used mostly as a holding midfielder or as a central defender.

AC Omonia

In July 2011, he signed a contract with Cypriot side AC Omonia.

Ufa

On 31 August 2017, Salatić signed for Russian Premier League side FC Ufa. He left Ufa on 3 June 2019 upon the expiration of his contract.

Return to Grasshoppers

On 17 June 2019, he returned to Grasshoppers for the second time, signing a 2-year contract. The contract was terminated by the club on 11 August 2020, and he retired from playing.

International career

Salatić has represented

at various levels including at the U-19 European Championship in 2004 in

. In 2005, he starred at the FIFA U-20 World Cup. The side were managed by

Pierre-André Schürmann Pierre-André Schürmann (born 5 July 1960 in Port-Valais, Switzerland) is a Swiss football manager and former footballer. Career Playing During his playing career, Schürmann played for FC Sion, FC Monthey, FC Chiasso, Vevey-Sports, Lausanne ...

. Salatić starred alongside a Swiss team including

Blerim Džemaili Blerim Džemaili ( sq, Blerim Xhemaili, ; mk, Блерим Џемаили; born 12 April 1986) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays for Super League club Zürich as a midfielder. He began his career at FC Zürich, where he won the Swi ...

Tranquillo Barnetta Tranquillo Barnetta (; born 22 May 1985) is a Swiss former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He was usually deployed out wide as a left winger but could also play in the centre as an attacking midfielder, or even in a more wit ...

and Valon Behrami. His success has not gone unnoticed by the

Football Association of Serbia The Football Association of Serbia ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски савез Србије, ФСС / ) is the governing body of football in Serbia, based in Belgrade. It organizes Serbian football leagues, namely the Serbian Superliga, the Serbia n ...

who have twice attempted to call him up, both times he refused saying he wished to play for Switzerland. He played his last match for the U21 side against England in 2006 and since then neither Köbi Kuhn or Ottmar Hitzfeld have shown any interest in calling him up. As an ethnic Serb from Bosnia, he first expressed his desire to play for Serbia but he was never called, so he later stated that he would like to play for national team of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Honours

Club

;Grasshopper Zurich *

Swiss Cup The Swiss Cup (; ; ; ) is a football cup tournament that has been organised annually since 1925–26 by the Swiss Football Association. Since 1999 the winner earns the chance to qualify for the UEFA Europa League or the UEFA Europa Conference L ...

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 ...

;AC Omonia * Cypriot Cup: 2011-12 ;FC Sion *

: 2014-15 *

Swiss Super League The Swiss Super League (known as the Credit Suisse Super League for sponsorship reasons) is a Swiss professional league in the top tier of the Swiss football league system and has been played in its current format since the 2003–04 season ...

Team of the Year: 2013–14

Career statistics

Club

Notes

References

External links

Profile at GCZ.CH

Vero Salatic at soccerbase.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Salatic, Vero Living people 1985 births Bosnia and Herzegovina emigrants to Switzerland Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Swiss people of Serbian descent Sportspeople from Zvornik Swiss men's footballers Swiss expatriate men's footballers Switzerland men's under-21 international footballers Switzerland men's youth international footballers Swiss Super League players Grasshopper Club Zurich players Cypriot First Division players Russian Premier League players AC Omonia players FC Sion players FC Ufa players Men's association football midfielders Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus Expatriate men's footballers in Russia Swiss expatriate sportspeople in Russia Swiss football managers