Sergej Barbarez (born 17 September 1971) 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 forward. Barbarez played for several clubs in 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 ...

and the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team. He is considered one of the all-time great players of

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 ...

where he scored 65 goals in 174

games. Mainly used as a

second striker Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

, he also played as an

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

left winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. In the

2000–01 Bundesliga The 2000–01 Bundesliga was the 38th season of the Bundesliga, Germany's premier football league. It began on 11 August 2000 and ended on 19 May 2001. FC Bayern Munich successfully defended their title after a last-minute Patrik Andersson goal ...

season while playing for

, Barbarez was joint top scorer with 22 goals with

Ebbe Sand Ebbe Sand (; born 19 July 1972) is a former professional footballer from Denmark who played as a forward for Brøndby IF in Denmark and FC Schalke 04 in Germany. He was the Bundesliga top scorer in 2001, and won the DFB-Pokal in 2001 and 2002 w ...

Schalke 04 Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as FC Schalke 04 (), Schalke 04 (), or abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional German football and multi-sports club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine ...

at the end of the season.

Early life

Barbarez was born in

Mostar , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = Mostar (collage image).jpg , image_caption = From top, left to right: A panoramic view of the heritage town site and the Neretva river from Lučki Bridge, Koski Mehmed Pasha ...

SR Bosnia and Herzegovina The Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Bosna i Hercegovina, Социјалистичка Pепублика Босна и Херцеговина), commonly referred to as Socia ...

, SFR Yugoslavia, present-day

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 ...

to a

Bosnian Serb The Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sr-Cyrl, Срби у Босни и Херцеговини, Srbi u Bosni i Hercegovini) are one of the three constitutive nations (state-forming nations) of the country, predominantly residing in the politi ...

father and a half-

Croat The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, Ge ...

and half- Bosniak mother. As a young child, he was actually not very interested in football but in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

and

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

. However, at the age of eleven, Barbarez started playing football though mostly for fun with friends after school.

Club career

In 1984, Barbarez took a step further and started playing football for the youth team of Velež in his native city of Mostar. Some six years later, he signed with the first team of Velež at the age of 19. However, briefly after, Barbarez served in the

Yugoslav People's Army The Yugoslav People's Army (abbreviated as JNA/; Macedonian and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian and bs, Jugoslavenska narodna armija; sl, Jugoslovanska ljudska ar ...

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 ...

in 1991 before returning to Mostar to continue his career. In 1991, he returned to Velež and soon after everyone realized that Barbarez was a true talent. The same year, he visited his uncle who was living in Germany. Some time later, Barbarez was preparing to return to Mostar but his uncle surprised him by extending his stay in Germany for two weeks. The uncle had arranged for him a two weeks try-out practise with Hannover 96. The coach of Hannover 96 was so impressed by Barbarez that he signed him for the club. During those same two weeks the political situation throughout

former 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 Yu ...

was deteriorating by the minute and fighting was even occurring in some places. So Barbarez came to an agreement with his father to stay with his uncle in Germany for the near future. In April 1992, the Bosnian War escalated in the city of Mostar. A month prior of the actual war, the father and sister of Barbarez fled with his high school sweetheart Ana to the city of

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

in Germany. His mother Zlata stayed in Mostar throughout the whole war. Barbarez played for Hannover 96 during the second half of the 1991–92 and the whole

1992–93 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...

season. Between 1993 and 1996, he played for Union Berlin at the third level before signing with

Hansa Rostock FC Hansa Rostock () is a German association football club based in the city of Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The club is also called as "the cog" because of its club crest. They have emerged as one of the most successful clubs from the forme ...

. Barbarez played there between 1996 and 1998. In 1998, he signed with

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 ...

and played there until joining

in July 2000. During the first season with Hamburger SV, Barbarez became the top scorer for his club with 22 goals and joint top scorer of the

with

. Though, he could not help Hamburg's elimination from the

2000–01 UEFA Champions League The 2000–01 UEFA Champions League was the 46th season of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA's premier European club football tournament, and the ninth since it was rebranded from the "European Champion Clubs' Cup" or "European Cup". The competiti ...

at the group stages despite his two goals, when the club qualified for that competition for the first time, after a third place in the previous domestic Bundesliga season. On 17 May 2006, Barbarez signed a two-year deal with

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 ...

. He finished his career at Bayer after his contract with the club expired in June 2008.

International career

Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team in 2002

On 14 May 1998, Barbarez made his debut for the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team against

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

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 ...

. Barbarez scored two goals against

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarch ...

in a

World Cup qualification The FIFA World Cup qualification is a competitive match that a national association football team takes in order to qualify for one of the available berths at the final tournament of the (men's) FIFA World Cup. Qualifying tournaments are hel ...

match on 28 March 2001. He was denied a hat-trick as his second-half penalty was saved by Lichtenstein goalkeeper Peter Jehle.Connelly 2002, 142 Before he retired from international football on 13 October 2005, Barbarez was the captain and leader of the Bosnian national team. On 2 December 2005, he announced his comeback to the national team and played in the UEFA Euro 2008 qualifiers. He became captain of the team once again. On 12 October 2006, Barbarez officially stepped down from playing for the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team and retired permanently from professional football in June 2008. His final international was an October 2006 European Championship qualification match against

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised state of Transnistr ...

Coaching career

Barbarez announced on 14 December 2009 that he wanted to be the head coach of the Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team in the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifiers. However, the

Football Association of Republika Srpska The Football Association of Republika Srpska ( sr, Фудбалски савез Републике Српске, ФСРС / ''Fudbalski savez Republike Srpske'', ''FSRS'') is the official football association of the Republika Srpska entity of B ...

blocked his entry and later on, Safet Sušić was selected as the new head coach of the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team. On 5 January 2011, Barbarez received his

UEFA Pro Licence UEFA, the governing body for football in Europe, mandates several coaching licences for professional managers, each valid for coaching at a certain level. These include the UEFA Pro Licence, the UEFA A Licence, and the UEFA B Licence. They are is ...

in the Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina's educational facility in Jablanica.

Personal life

Barbarez is married to his high-school sweetheart Ana, who is also from

. They have two sons together, Filip-André (born 1994) and Sergio-Luis (1999). Barbarez was a member of the board of directors of

between 25 January 2009 and 28 May 2010.

Career statistics

Club

International goals

:''Scores and results list Bosnia and Herzegovina's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Barbarez goal.''

Honours

Player

Hamburger SV *

DFB-Ligapokal The DFL-Ligapokal (, officially Premiere Ligapokal , previously DFB-Ligapokal ) or the ''German League Cup'' was a German football competition that took place before the start of the Bundesliga season, featuring the top five teams of the previous ...

: 2003 * UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2005

Individual

Awards * Bosnian Footballer of the Year: 2001, 2002, 2003 Performance * Bundesliga Top Goalscorer: 2000–01 (22 goals)

References

* Connelly, Charlie (2002) ''Stamping Grounds: Exploring Liechtenstein and Its World Cup Dreams''. Abacus.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Barbarez, Sergej 1971 births Living people Sportspeople from Mostar Association football midfielders Association football forwards Bosnia and Herzegovina footballers Bosnia and Herzegovina international footballers FK Velež Mostar players Hannover 96 players 1. FC Union Berlin players FC Hansa Rostock players Borussia Dortmund players Hamburger SV players Bayer 04 Leverkusen players Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players Regionalliga players Bosnia and Herzegovina expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Germany Bosnia and Herzegovina expatriate sportspeople in Germany Kicker-Torjägerkanone Award winners Bosnia and Herzegovina people of Serbian descent Bosnia and Herzegovina people of Croatian descent Bosnia and Herzegovina people of Bosniak descent