Emir Spahić (; born 18 August 1980) is a Bosnian former 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 ...

who played as a

centre back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either ...

. During his club career, he represented teams in his homeland, Croatia, Russia, France, Spain and Germany. He earned a total of 94 international caps, scoring 6 goals, and was the captain of the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team from 2008 until the end of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Club career

Over the course of his career, Spahić played for

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...

, Shinnik Yaroslavl,

Lokomotiv Moscow FC Lokomotiv Moscow (''FC Lokomotiv Moskva'', russian: link=no, Футбольный клуб "Локомотив" Москва, ) is a Russian professional football club based in Moscow. Lokomotiv have won the Russian Premier League on three oc ...

and

Anzhi Makhachkala Football Club Anzhi Makhachkala (russian: link=no, Футбо́льный клуб «Анжи́» Махачкала́, ), known simply as FC Anji, was a Russian professional football club based in the Dagestani capital of Makhachkala. Founded ...

. He played for Zagreb and Leverkusen in the Champions League and with Montpellier, Sevilla and Lokomotiv in the

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

Montpellier

On 24 June 2009, Spahić announced that he would join newly promoted Montpellier for the

2009–10 Ligue 1 The 2009–10 Ligue 1 season was the 72nd since its establishment. Bordeaux were the defending champions. The fixtures were announced on 5 June 2009, and play commenced on 8 August and ended on 15 May 2010. There were three promoted teams from L ...

season. On his league debut against

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As Fr ...

, he scored a header in the 94th minute for a 1–1 draw, earning his side a point.

Sevilla

On 4 July 2011, Spahić agreed a transfer with Spanish side

Sevilla Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

for €2 million until July 2014. His national teammate

Miroslav Stevanović Miroslav Stevanović (; born 29 July 1990) is a Bosnian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Swiss Super League club Servette and the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team. Stevanović started his professional career at Vojvodina, ...

also transferred to Sevilla in January 2013 and upon his arrival at San Pablo International Airport, he was received by Spahić. Spahić scored his first goal for Sevilla on 5 January 2013 in a 1–0 victory against

Osasuna Club Atlético Osasuna (, ''Osasuna Athletic Club''), or simply Osasuna, is a Spanish professional football club in Pamplona, Navarre. Founded on 24 October 1920, the club currently plays in La Liga, holding home games at the 23,576-capacity El ...

Anzhi Makhachkala

On 26 February 2013, Spahić left Sevilla on loan to

of the

Russian Premier League The Russian Premier League (RPL; russian: Российская премьер-лига; РПЛ), also written as Russian Premier Liga, is the top division professional association football league in Russia. It was established at the end of 2001 ...

. He scored his first goal for the club on 14 April 2013 against Volga Nizhny Novgorod.

Bayer Leverkusen

On 28 June 2013, Spahić was signed by

Bayer Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH, also known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen (), Bayer Leverkusen, or simply Leverkusen, is a professional football club based in Leverkusen in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The club competes in the Bundesliga, t ...

of the German

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

on a two-year contract. He conceded a penalty and was later sent off in a Champions League last-16 first-leg game on 18 February 2014, as

beat Leverkusen 4–0. On 20 April, he scored his first two goals for the club in a 4–1 league victory against 1. FC Nürnberg. On 30 August 2014, 34-year-old Spahić headed in a goal from a free kick to level the score at 2–2 in a game that finished 4–2 for Leverkusen against Hertha BSC, thus ensuring his team's unbeaten start to the season. Spahić was sent off for two yellow cards in a 4–5 home defeat against

VfL Wolfsburg Verein für Leibesübungen Wolfsburg e. V., commonly known as VfL Wolfsburg () or Wolfsburg, is a German professional sports club based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony. The club grew out of a multi-sports club for Volkswagen workers in the city of W ...

on 14 February 2015; having been 1–4 down, the score was level at his time of dismissal. On 30 March 2015, Spahić was named the best defender in Europe (in front of

Martín Demichelis Martín Gastón Demichelis (; born 20 December 1980) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played usually as a centre-back, although he could also operate as a defensive midfielder. He is the current head coach of River Plate. Dem ...

of Manchester City, Mats Hummels of

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional fo ...

Chris Smalling Christopher Lloyd Smalling (born 22 November 1989) is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Serie A club Roma. Smalling represented the England national team from 2011 to 2017. During his youth, Smalling played f ...

of Manchester United and

Thiago Silva Thiago Emiliano da Silva (born 22 September 1984) is a Brazilian professional Association Football, footballer who plays as a centre-back for club Chelsea F.C., Chelsea and captains the Brazil national football team, Brazil national team. Con ...

of PSG) by International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES). Spahić had his contract terminated on 12 April for headbutting a member of club's security personnel reportedly after they refused to allow his friends entry inside the dressing room area.

Hamburger SV

On 5 July 2015, fellow Bundesliga team

Hamburger SV Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its football section. Though the current HSV was founded in June 1919 from a merger of three ...

confirmed Spahić as the team's newest player, signing a one-year contract lasting until June 2016. He credited the move to his compatriot, former Hamburg player

Sergej Barbarez Sergej Barbarez (born 17 September 1971) is a Bosnian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Barbarez played for several clubs in the German Bundesliga and the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team. He is considered one of the a ...

, and expressed gratefulness at being given a second chance after his expulsion from Leverkusen. He was released by the club on 3 January 2017.

International career

On 7 June 2003, Spahić made his debut as a substitute against

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

at Stadionul Ion Oblemenco in Craiova. On 28 February 2006, he scored his first international goal, in a friendly game against Japan, played in Dortmund. Ever since his debut, he was an important member of the national team and served as their captain for a number of years. He headed a ball into the box and assisted

Ermin Bičakčić Ermin Bičakčić (; born 24 January 1990) is a Bosnian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Bundesliga club 1899 Hoffenheim and the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team. Bičakčić started his professional career at VfB St ...

who scored a crucial equalizer versus

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

Žilina Žilina (; hu, Zsolna, ; german: Sillein, or ; pl, Żylina , names in other languages) is a city in north-western Slovakia, around from the capital Bratislava, close to both the Czech and Polish borders. It is the fourth largest city of ...

during the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. Bosnia and Herzegovina came back from one goal down in that game to win 2–1 and stay top of their qualifying group for ahead of

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

. Spahić retired from international football on 7 August 2014. After his retirement, Bosnia lost their first game of Euro 2016 qualifiers versus

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

(ranked 121 places behind Bosnia in FIFA Ranking for August 2014) without Spahić, which resulted in manager Safet Sušić calling him back from retirement on 22 September for the games that followed against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

and

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. At the time, Bosnia's key defenders were either injured or lacked competitive matches for their clubs, which prompted in Spahić's call-up to the national side. Due to injury, he missed those two games and later returned to international stage against

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

on 16 November where he played the full game, his first since playing against

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

at the 2014 FIFA World Cup. On 29 May 2016, he scored in a 3–1 friendly loss to Spain in

St. Gallen , neighboring_municipalities = Eggersriet, Gaiserwald, Gossau, Herisau (AR), Mörschwil, Speicher (AR), Stein (AR), Teufen (AR), Untereggen, Wittenbach , twintowns = Liberec (Czech Republic) , website = ...

, Switzerland, and was sent off before half time for an altercation with

Cesc Fàbregas Francesc "Cesc" Fàbregas Soler (; ; born 4 May 1987) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Italian Serie B club Como. Fàbregas came through ''La Masia'', Barcelona's youth academy, leaving at 16 when ...

Personal life

Spahić is an ethnic Bosniak. His father is from

Sandžak Sandžak (; sh, / , ; sq, Sanxhaku; ota, سنجاق, Sancak), also known as Sanjak, is a historical geo-political region in Serbia and Montenegro. The name Sandžak derives from the Sanjak of Novi Pazar, a former Ottoman administrative dis ...

, and his mother is from

Gacko Gacko ( sr-cyrl, Гацко) is a town and municipality located in Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in the region of East Herzegovina. As of 2013, the town has a population of 5,784 inhabitants, while the m ...

. They met when they were both working in

Dubrovnik Dubrovnik (), historically known as Ragusa (; see notes on naming), is a city on the Adriatic Sea in the region of Dalmatia, in the southeastern semi-exclave of Croatia. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterran ...

. Emir has two brothers, the older being Nermin and younger one Alen, who is also a football player. Spahić is a first cousin of fellow national team player

Edin Džeko Edin Džeko (; born 17 March 1986) is a Bosnian professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Inter Milan and captains the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team. Džeko was named Bosnian Footballer of the Year for three years in a ...

. Spahić is a fan of

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

, and has followed live matches in

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, Montpellier and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. He is enrolled at the

University of Sarajevo The University of Sarajevo ( Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian: ''Univerzitet u Sarajevu'' / Sveučilište u Sarajevu / Универзитет у Сарајеву) is a public university located in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the largest ...

, majoring in sport and physical education. Aside from his native Bosnian, Spahić speaks English, Spanish, French, German and Russian to varying degrees of fluency. On 30 August 2019, Spahić was involved in a car accident, when his

SUV A sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a car classification that combines elements of road-going passenger cars with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive. There is no commonly agreed-upon definiti ...

rolled over on the road, sustaining multiple, but not life-threatening injuries.

Career statistics

International

:''Scores and results list Bosnia and Herzegovina's goal tally first.''

Honours

Zagreb * 1. HNL: 2001–02 Lokomotiv Moscow * Russian Cup: 2006–07

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Spahic, Emir 1980 births Living people People from Dubrovnik Bosnia and Herzegovina people of Montenegrin descent Croatian Muslims Association football central defenders Bosnia and Herzegovina footballers Bosnia and Herzegovina under-21 international footballers Bosnia and Herzegovina international footballers 2014 FIFA World Cup players NK Čelik Zenica players NK GOŠK Dubrovnik players NK Zagreb players FC Shinnik Yaroslavl players FC Torpedo Moscow players FC Lokomotiv Moscow players Montpellier HSC players Sevilla FC players FC Anzhi Makhachkala players Bayer 04 Leverkusen players Hamburger SV players Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina players Second Football League (Croatia) players Croatian Football League players Russian Premier League players Ligue 1 players La Liga players Bundesliga players Bosnia and Herzegovina expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Russia Bosnia and Herzegovina expatriate sportspeople in Russia Expatriate footballers in France Bosnia and Herzegovina expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate footballers in Spain Bosnia and Herzegovina expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate footballers in Germany Bosnia and Herzegovina expatriate sportspeople in Germany Violence in sports