Edhem "Etko" Šljivo (; born 16 March 1950 in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see names in other languages'') is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its administrative limits. The Sarajevo metropolitan area including Sarajevo ...

) is a former Bosnian

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 ...

and Yugoslav international. He started his career with FK Sarajevo, going on to become one of the best midfielders of the

Yugoslav First League The Yugoslav First Federal Football League ( Serbian: Прва савезна лига у фудбалу / ''Prva savezna liga u fudbalu'', hr, Prva savezna liga u nogometu, sl, Prva zvezna nogometna liga, mk, Прва сојузна лига, ...

Club career

Edhem Šljivo joined FK Sarajevo as a kid from elementary school, passed through all club's age categories, and made his first senior team debut at the age of 18. He played 424 games for the club in all competitions, counting friendlies. In

and

Yugoslav Cup The Yugoslav Cup ( hr, Pokal Jugoslavije; sr, Куп Југославије; sl, Pokal Jugoslavije, mk, Куп на Југославија), officially known between 1923 and 1940 as the King Alexander Cup ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Kup kralja Aleksandra, ...

( hbs, Kup Maršala Tita) he played for the club 268 games scoring 37 times. In 1978, he joined Belgian side RFC de Liège, whom he represented for three seasons. He made his debut for them 30 August 1978 against Winterslag30 ans après son accident, nous avons rencontré Edhem Sljivo: «Je viendrai voir Liège cette saison»
- Sudinfo and later made a move to the French Ligue 1 and joined OGC Nice. From Nice he moved to 1. FC Köln on personal insistence of

Rinus Michels Marinus Jacobus Hendricus Michels (; 9 February 1928 – 3 March 2005) was a Dutch football player and coach. He played his entire career for AFC Ajax, which he later managed, and played for and later managed the Netherlands national team ...

and after winning the

German cup The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considere ...

(the first Bosnian to do so) he moved back to Liège. There he concluded his career in 1987 after a traffic collision on 17 December 1986, in which he was severely injured. Šljivo barely survived a life threatening spinal injuries after 40 days of doctors' struggle to save him. His final game for Liège was on 14 December 1986 against Berchem Sport.

Career statistic & transfers

German cup

UEFA Europa League (UEFA Cup)

International career

Šljivo debuted for the Yugoslavia national team on 18 February 1976 in a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

away against

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

. He was capped in 12 official games (4 friendlies, 5 qualifiers for the 1982 FIFA World Cup, and all 3 '82 world cup games) and scored 2 goals, while also featuring in 2 unofficial exhibition-friendlies, 14 games overall. He was first-team regular at play-making midfielder position under Miljan Miljanić, and featured in the same role in 1982 World Cup in Spain.His final international was a June 1982 World Cup match against Honduras.

National team statistic

Personal life and legacy

Šljivo lives and works in Liege, Belgium, where he opened a restaurant "Taverne 8", in reference to a number he used to wear on his shirt as a midfielder. The place is a popular meeting place for

Yugoslav expatriate footballers Yugoslav or Yugoslavian may refer to: * Yugoslavia, or any of the three historic states carrying that name: ** Kingdom of Yugoslavia, a European monarchy which existed 1918–1945 (officially called "Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes" 1918–1 ...

in Belgium and surrounding countries.

Challenge Šljivo Tournament

The Indoor tournament, largest of its kind in Europe, carrying his name, "Challenge Šljivo", with seniors

Futsal Futsal is a football-based game played on a hard court smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football and indoor football. Futsal is played between two teams of five players each, one of whom is ...

competition as a main event, is organized in his honor in

Marche-en-Famenne Marche-en-Famenne (, literally ''Marche in Famenne''; wa, Måtche-el-Fåmene, ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the Belgian province of Luxembourg. The municipality consists of the following districts: Aye, Hargimont, Hum ...

, during pre- New Year Eve week for over three decades. Tournament comprises several competitions in Indoor varieties of Association football, for all categories and age. It takes place at Wallonie Expo S.A. (WEX) venue, in Marche-en-Famenne, on eight pitches. Qualifying rounds of the competitions including more than 400 teams and 5.000 football players, while games are followed up to 40.000 spectators in attendance. In final round 72 qualified teams take part. Tournament is very popular, with final game being in live broadcast in Belgium by public TV service.

Family

Edhem Šljivo's brother Mehmed was also a football player. He played for Edhem’s FK Sarajevo bitter city rivals, in the "blue side of the city", FK Željezničar Sarajevo.

References

External links

Challenge Šljivo
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Profile
- DFB {{DEFAULTSORT:Sljivo, Edhem 1950 births Living people Footballers from Sarajevo Association football midfielders Yugoslav footballers Yugoslavia international footballers UEFA Euro 1976 players 1982 FIFA World Cup players FK Sarajevo players RFC Liège players OGC Nice players 1. FC Köln players Yugoslav First League players Belgian Pro League players Ligue 1 players Bundesliga players Yugoslav expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Belgium Yugoslav expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Expatriate footballers in France Yugoslav expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate footballers in Germany Yugoslav expatriate sportspeople in Germany