Haris Seferović
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Haris Seferovic ( bs, Seferović, ; born 22 February 1992) is a Swiss 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 plays as a
striker Striker or The Strikers may refer to: People *A participant in a strike action *A participant in a hunger strike *Blacksmith's striker, a type of blacksmith's assistant *Striker's Independent Society, the oldest mystic krewe in America People wi ...
for Süper Lig club Galatasaray, on loan from Portuguese club Benfica, and the Switzerland national team. Seferovic made his professional debut at
Grasshopper Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are among what is possibly the most ancient living group of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. Grasshopp ...
in April 2009. Shortly after, in January 2010, he was signed by Italian club Fiorentina. Much of his time at the latter club was spent out on loan, with a successful spell at Novara in Serie B, followed by a transfer to
Real Sociedad Real Sociedad de Fútbol, S.A.D., more commonly referred to as Real Sociedad (; ''Royal Society''), La Real in Spanish, Erreala in Basque, is a Spanish professional sports club in the city of San Sebastián, Basque Country, founded on 7 Septem ...
of Spain in 2013. A year later, he joined German club
Eintracht Frankfurt Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. () is a professional sports club based in Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany. It is best known for its football club, which was founded on 8 March 1899. The team is currently playing in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the Germa ...
, with whom he spent three seasons before a transfer to Benfica in Portugal. He made over 180 appearances and scored over 70 goals for the club, winning the Bola de Prata for top scorer as the team won the
Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal, ...
in 2018–19. A full international since 2013, Seferovic represented Switzerland at the FIFA World Cup in
2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
,
2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
and
2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...
, and the UEFA European Championship in
2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
and
2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...
, earning over 90 caps.


Club career


Early career

Seferovic began his career in 1999 on FC Sursee's youth team and after five years signed in the summer of 2004 for
Luzern , neighboring_municipalities= Adligenswil, Ebikon, Emmen, Horw, Kriens, Malters, Meggen, Neuenkirch Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a ...
. After three years in their youth teams, he was scouted by
Grasshopper Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are among what is possibly the most ancient living group of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. Grasshopp ...
, and on 26 April 2009, he made his debut in the
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 ...
against
Neuchâtel Xamax , neighboring_municipalities= Auvernier, Boudry, Chabrey (VD), Colombier, Cressier, Cudrefin (VD), Delley-Portalban (FR), Enges, Fenin-Vilars-Saules, Hauterive, Saint-Blaise, Savagnier , twintowns = Aarau (Switzerland), Besançon (France ...
. In January 2010, he was named as the Youth Player of the Year in the canton Lucerne.


Fiorentina

On 29 January 2010, Italian Serie A club Fiorentina signed Seferovic from Grasshopper for a €2.1 million transfer fee. One day later, ''La Viola'' announced the deal was completed. The youngster was assigned to Fiorentina's ''primavera'' team. On 4 August 2011, Seferovic was loaned to Swiss Super League club Neuchâtel Xamax. On 27 January 2012, Seferovic was loaned to Serie A club
Lecce Lecce ( ); el, label=Griko, Luppìu, script=Latn; la, Lupiae; grc, Λουπίαι, translit=Loupíai), group=pron is a historic city of 95,766 inhabitants (2015) in southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Lecce, the province ...
during the January transfer window. He spent the second half of the 2012–13 season with Novara of Serie B, scoring 10 goals in 18 matches, all as a starter. He scored a hat-trick in a 3–1 win over
Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...
on 17 April as Novara eventually finished in the play-offs.


Real Sociedad

On 11 July 2013, Seferovic completed a move to Spanish La Liga club
Real Sociedad Real Sociedad de Fútbol, S.A.D., more commonly referred to as Real Sociedad (; ''Royal Society''), La Real in Spanish, Erreala in Basque, is a Spanish professional sports club in the city of San Sebastián, Basque Country, founded on 7 Septem ...
on a four-year contract for a €2 million transfer fee. He made his La Liga debut on 16 August 2013, and scored with a chip against Getafe, securing a 2–0 home victory. Four days later, he scored a volley as Real Sociedad beat Lyon 2–0 away from home in the play-off qualification round for the
2013–14 UEFA Champions League The 2013–14 UEFA Champions League was the 59th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 22nd season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. The final was ...
. He played in 24 league matches in his first season, only nine as a starter, and scored his only other league goal as a substitute for Carlos Vela, wrapping up a 5–0 win over
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 ...
on 2 November. On 18 December, he scored Sociedad's third goal as the club defeated third-tier Algeciras 4–0 in the Copa del Rey's round of 32. Seferovic was signed to partner Vela and Antoine Griezmann in Real Sociedad's attacking line. He had a difficult relationship with the fans, for posing with a whisky bottle after a draw with FC Barcelona in September, and for celebrating a goal by telling his team's fans to be quiet in November 2013. He spent the night of his 22nd birthday in February 2014 in a police cell after a late-night argument with his girlfriend, with both being released without charges. He arrived with comparisons to Darko Kovačević, a league runner-up with Real Sociedad in 2003, but did not capitalise on his early goals to cement a spot in the team.


Eintracht Frankfurt

On 1 August 2014, Seferovic completed a move to German Bundesliga club
Eintracht Frankfurt Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. () is a professional sports club based in Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany. It is best known for its football club, which was founded on 8 March 1899. The team is currently playing in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the Germa ...
, signing a three-year contract. The club said, "We intentionally chose a young player who already has a relatively high degree of experience, but who still has plenty of room for improvement." He made his debut on 16 August, scoring the opening goal in the ninth minute as Frankfurt defeated fourth-tier
Viktoria Berlin Fußball-Club Viktoria 1889 Berlin Lichterfelde-Tempelhof e.V., commonly known as FC Viktoria 1889 Berlin or Viktoria Berlin, is a German association football club based in the locality of Lichterfelde of the borough of Steglitz-Zehlendorf in Ber ...
2–0 away in the first round of the DFB-Pokal. One week later, he made his first Bundesliga debut and scored the only goal from Frankfurt's first attack of the game to defeat SC Freiburg at the Waldstadion. In Frankfurt's 4–5 home defeat to VfB Stuttgart on 25 October, Seferovic was sent off for a second yellow card. In the
2015–16 Bundesliga The 2015–16 Bundesliga was the 53rd season of the Bundesliga, Germany's premier football competition. The season started on 14 August 2015 and ended on 14 May 2016. Bayern Munich were the defending champions, after winning their 24th Bundesliga ...
, Seferovic scored only three times in 29 games as Frankfurt came 16th and were confined to a play-off against
1. FC Nürnberg 1. Fußball-Club Nürnberg Verein für Leibesübungen e. V., often called 1. FC Nürnberg (, en, 1. Football Club Nuremberg) or simply Nürnberg, is a German association football club in Nuremberg, Bavaria, who currently compete in the 2. Bund ...
to maintain their spot in the top flight. After a 1–1 draw in the first leg at home, he scored the only goal in the second to maintain his club's place. Seferovic received a three-match ban in February 2017 for striking
Hertha BSC Hertha, Berliner Sport-Club e. V., commonly known as Hertha BSC (), and sometimes referred to as Hertha Berlin, Hertha BSC Berlin, or simply Hertha, is a German professional football club based in the locality of Westend of the borough of Charl ...
's
Niklas Stark Niklas Stark (born 14 April 1995) is a German professional footballer who plays as a centre-back or defensive midfielder for Bundesliga club Werder Bremen and the Germany national team. Club career 1. FC Nürnberg Stark made his Bundesliga d ...
during a 2–0 loss in Berlin. It was Frankfurt's sixth dismissal of the season and he was also fined an undisclosed amount which was donated to charity. He played four matches in the team's runner-up DFB-Pokal campaign, and scored the winning goal at
Hannover 96 Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96 (), Hannover, HSV or simply 96, is a German professional football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony. They played in the Bundesliga for a total of 30 years betwe ...
in the round of 16.


Benfica

On 2 June 2017, Seferovic signed a five-year contract with Portuguese champions Benfica. He debuted on 5 August in the
2017 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira The 2017 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira was the 39th edition of the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira. It took place on 5 August 2017 and featured the winners of the 2016–17 Primeira Liga and 2016–17 Taça de Portugal, Benfica, and the runner ...
, starting alongside Jonas and scoring the second goal in a 3–1 win over Vitória de Guimarães. Four days later, he made his
Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal, ...
debut in a 3–1 home win over Braga. In October that year, he was praised by former Benfica footballer Nuno Gomes as a valuable player for the team. In his first season with Benfica, Seferovic scored six times across all competitions, with every goal being scored in the first half of the season, after which he lost his role of supporting Jonas to Raúl Jiménez. Despite starting the 2018–19 season as the fourth attacking option of manager
Rui Vitória Rui Carlos Pinho da Vitória (; born 16 April 1970) is a Portuguese football manager and a former player who played as a midfielder. He is the manager of the Egypt national football team. He most notably spent three and a half years with Benf ...
, Seferovic became the team's top scorer on 11 January 2019, under the guidance of
Bruno Lage Bruno Miguel Silva do Nascimento (born 12 May 1976), known as Bruno Lage (), is a Portuguese football manager who most recently was the head coach of Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers. During his short tenure as coach of Benfica in P ...
. Most notably, in the league season, Seferovic scored the winning goal in a 1–0 home victory over Porto, netted the winner against Vitória de Guimarães away (0–1), scored the first goal in a 4–2 away win over Sporting CP, and netted a brace in a 10–0 thrashing of
Nacional Nacional, the Portuguese and Spanish word for "national", may refer to: Airlines * Nacional Transportes Aéreos, a Brazilian airline defunct in 2002 * Transportes Aéreos Nacional, a Brazilian airline defunct in 1961 Bank * Banco Nacional, a ...
. Internationally, he scored yet another winner, this time in a 2–1 win over Galatasaray in the UEFA Europa League round of 32 on 14 February, helping Benfica seal their first victory in Turkey. With this goal, his 17th overall that season, he temporarily became the top scorer across all leagues in the world in 2019, with a 10-goal tally. His 23 league goals earned him the Bola de Prata, making him the second Swiss player (after
Alexander Frei Alexander Frei or Alex Frei (born 15 July 1979) is a Swiss professional football coach and a former player who played as a forward. He is currently the manager of Basel. He began his career at Basel, going on to various other clubs in Switzerla ...
) to be the top goalscorer in a foreign league. After his title-wininng season, Seferovic signed a new contract lasting until 2024, and increasing his
release clause A buyout clause or release clause refers to a clause in a contract that imposes an obligation on another organisation wishing to acquire the services of the employee under contract to pay the (usually substantial) fee of the clause to the organisati ...
to €60 million. In 2019–20, his starts and goals decreased due to the dominance of the Brazilian Carlos Vinícius. The following year, with the Brazilian loaned to Tottenham Hotspur, Seferovic returned to the forefront and scored 22 goals, one fewer than top scorer
Pedro Gonçalves Pedro António Pereira Gonçalves (; born 28 June 1998), known as Pedro Gonçalves or Pote, is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for Primeira Liga club Sporting CP and the Portugal national tea ...
of Sporting. In 2021–22, Seferovic was limited by persistent muscular injuries throughout the season, including an absence of 13 games between January and March.


Loan to Galatasaray

On 19 June 2022, Seferovic joined Galatasaray on a season-long loan for €1 million, with an option to make the move permanent for €2.5 million. He made his debut as a starter on 7 August as the Süper Lig season began with a 1–0 win at Antalyaspor. He scored his first goal on 19 October in a Turkish Cup third round 7–0 win over Kastamonuspor 1966, and added another in the next round on 8 November as the Istanbul side came from behind to beat
Ofspor Ofspor is a Turkish football club founded in 1968 and currently playing in the TFF Third League. Their club colours are claret and blue. They play home matches at the Of ilçe Stadı in the coastal town EFE MUTLU of Of in Trabzon Province Trab ...
2–1.


International career

With the Swiss under-17 national team, Seferovic won the
2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup The 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup was the thirteenth tournament of the FIFA U-17 World Cup held in Nigeria from 24 October to 15 November 2009. The tournament was won by Switzerland, beating the host team and holders, Nigeria. The Golden Ball to the Be ...
in Nigeria and was the top scorer of the tournament. He scored five goals at the tournament, including the winning goal in the final against hosts Nigeria. In 2013, ahead of the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team's match against Slovenia, Seferovic claimed he wanted to play for the country of his parents' birth. However, he later accepted a call-up from
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 ...
, and made his debut in a friendly against Greece on 6 February 2013, where he replaced
Mario Gavranović Mario Gavranović (; born 24 November 1989) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a forward for Süper Lig club Kayserispor and the Switzerland national team. Club career Early career Gavranović began his career with AS Vezia, before ...
for the last 20 minutes of the 0–0 away draw. On his third cap, on 8 June 2013, he replaced
Josip Drmić Josip Drmić (; born 8 August 1992) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a striker for Prva HNL club Dinamo Zagreb. Drmić began his career with Zürich and moved to 1. FC Nürnberg in 2013, where he scored 17 goals in his first Bu ...
for the last 15 minutes, and in injury time, scored the only goal of a home 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Cyprus. On 2 June 2014, Seferovic was named in Switzerland's
2014 World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting righ ...
squad by head coach Ottmar Hitzfeld. In the team's first match, on 15 June in Brasília against Ecuador, he replaced Drmić for the last 15 minutes and scored the winner in the third minute of stoppage time. In qualification for UEFA Euro 2016, Seferovic scored three goals, including two in the first half of a 4–0 win away to San Marino that was Swiss' first victory of the campaign. Manager Vladimir Petković chose him in the 23-man squad for the finals in France. Seferovic added four more goals as the Swiss qualified for the
2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national Association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awa ...
, with two in a 3–0 win over Andorra in St. Gallen on 31 August 2017. Petković named him for the squad to compete in the finals in Russia. On 18 November 2018, Seferovic scored a hat-trick as the Swiss came from 0–2 down to defeat Belgium 5–2 in the UEFA Nations League to top their group and qualify for the finals. In May 2019, he played in
2019 UEFA Nations League Finals The 2019 UEFA Nations League Finals was the final tournament of the 2018–19 edition of the UEFA Nations League, the inaugural season of the international football competition involving the men's national teams of the 55 member associations of ...
, where his team finished 4th. Seferovic played in
Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2020) or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...
. On 28 June 2021, he played in the last 16 game against France and scored two headers, as the team drew 3–3 and won on penalties. The following 12 June, he headed the only goal in 57 seconds as the team beat leaders Portugal in the Nations League. He made three brief substitute appearances at the
2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup is an international association football, football tournament contested by the men's national teams of FIFA's member associations. The 22nd FIFA World Cup is taking place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022 ...
in Qatar, where the Swiss were eliminated by the Portuguese in the last 16.


Personal life

Seferovic's family is from Sanski Most, Bosnia and Herzegovina (then in
SFR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yug ...
); his parents Hamza and Šefika Seferović immigrated to Switzerland in the late 1980s. He is of
Bosniak The Bosniaks ( bs, Bošnjaci, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia, which is today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who share a common Bosnian ancestry, cu ...
origin. In 2009, he described himself as a
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
but said that he did not practice all rules of the religion: "I have already eaten pork. But I am a believer, and that gives me strength". He fasts for
Ramadan , type = islam , longtype = Religious , image = Ramadan montage.jpg , caption=From top, left to right: A crescent moon over Sarıçam, Turkey, marking the beginning of the Islamic month of Ramadan. Ramadan Quran reading in Bandar Torkaman, Iran. ...
, but only outside of the football season.


Career statistics


Club


International

:''Scores and results list Switzerland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Seferovic goal.''


Honours

Eintracht Frankfurt * DFB-Pokal runner-up: 2016–17 Benfica *
Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal, ...
: 2018–19 * Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira:
2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
,
2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
Switzerland * FIFA U-17 World Cup:
2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
Individual *
Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal, ...
Bola de Prata: 2018–19 *Bosnian U19 Football Player of the Year: 2009 * Swiss Player of the Year: 2019 *Primeira Liga Team of the Year: 2018–19,
2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...


References


External links


Profile
at Swiss Football League * {{DEFAULTSORT:Seferovic, Haris 1992 births Living people People from Sursee District Swiss people of Bosnia and Herzegovina descent Swiss footballers Association football forwards FC Luzern players Grasshopper Club Zürich players ACF Fiorentina players Neuchâtel Xamax FCS players U.S. Lecce players Novara F.C. players Real Sociedad footballers Eintracht Frankfurt players S.L. Benfica footballers Galatasaray S.K. footballers Swiss Super League players Serie A players Serie B players La Liga players Bundesliga players Primeira Liga players Süper Lig players Switzerland youth international footballers Switzerland under-21 international footballers Switzerland international footballers 2014 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2016 players 2018 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2020 players 2022 FIFA World Cup players Swiss expatriate footballers Swiss expatriate sportspeople in Italy Swiss expatriate sportspeople in Spain Swiss expatriate sportspeople in Germany Swiss expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Swiss expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Expatriate footballers in Italy Expatriate footballers in Spain Expatriate footballers in Germany Expatriate footballers in Portugal Expatriate footballers in Turkey Sportspeople from the canton of Lucerne