Edin Cocalić (; born 5 December 1987) 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 lea ...

who played as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

. Cocalić began his professional career at Željezničar, before joining Panionios in 2010. Two years later, he moved to Maccabi Haifa. In 2015, he was transferred to

Mechelen Mechelen (; ; historically known as ''Mechlin'' in EnglishMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical context. T ...

. Four years later, Cocalić signed with Akhisarspor. Following Akhisarspor, he played for Altay and

Panetolikos Panetolikos Football Club (), or with its full name officially romanized as Panaitolikós Gymnastikós Filekpaideftikós Sýllogos (''; Pan- Aetolian Gymnastic and Educational Club''), is a Greek professional football club. It is based in Agrini ...

. In 2022, he returned to Željezničar, retiring in 2024. A former youth international for

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

, Cocalić made his senior international debut in 2015, earning 10

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

until 2017.

Club career

Early career

Cocalić came through Željezničar's youth academy, which he joined in 1999. He made his professional debut in 2006 at the age of 18. In January 2010, Cocalić signed with Greek club Panionios. In January 2012, he moved to Israeli outfit Maccabi Haifa.

Mechelen

On 31 January 2015, Cocalić signed a three-and-a-half-year deal with Belgian side

. A week later, he made his official debut for the club against

Charleroi Charleroi (, , ; ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It is the largest city in both Hainaut and Wallonia. The city is situated in the valley of the Sambre, in the south-west of Belgium, not ...

. Two months later, he scored his first goal for Mechelen against Waasland-Beveren. In January 2017, Cocalić agreed to a new contract expiring in June 2020. On 23 January 2018, he played his 100th game for the team against St. Truiden. In spite of Mechelen's relegation to the

Belgian First Division B The Challenger Pro League, previously known as 1B Pro League is the second-highest division in the Football in Belgium, Belgian football Belgian football league system, league system, one level below the Belgian Pro League. It was created by the ...

in March 2018, Cocalić decided to stay at the club, and even extended his contract for additional season.

Akhisarspor

On 21 January 2019, Cocalić was transferred to Turkish team Akhisarspor for an undisclosed fee. A week later, on his competitive debut for the club, he scored a goal and saw a straight red card. Even though Akhisarspor got relegated to the 1. Lig at the end of season, Cocalić chose to stay with the team.

Later career

After leaving Akhisarspor, Cocalić signed with 1. Lig club Altay in September 2020. On 17 January 2021, he joined Greek club

. In November 2021, Cocalić terminated his contract with Panetolikos and left the club.

Return to Željezničar

On 24 January 2022, Cocalić returned to his former club Željezničar, over a decade after he had left the club. On 25 February 2022, he made his second debut for Željezničar, in a 2–0 league loss against Velež Mostar. On 16 July 2022, he scored his first goal in the 2022–23 season against Leotar, his first

Bosnian Premier League The Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina (; ; sr-Cyrl, Премијер лига Босне и Херцеговине), officially known as the Wwin League of Bosnia and Herzegovina for sponsorship purposes, is the top tier football leagu ...

goal since October 2009. On 14 April 2024, Cocalić was sent off after a straight red card in the city derby against

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

. He left Željezničar after the end of the 2023–24 season and announced his retirement from professional football.

International career

Cocalić represented

on all youth levels. He also served as

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

of the under-17 team. In March 2015, he received his first senior call-up, for games against

Andorra Andorra, officially the Principality of Andorra, is a Sovereignty, sovereign landlocked country on the Iberian Peninsula, in the eastern Pyrenees in Southwestern Europe, Andorra–France border, bordered by France to the north and Spain to A ...

and

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. Cocalić debuted in a convincing triumph over the former on 28 March.

Personal life

Cocalić married his long-time girlfriend Merima in March 2010. Together they have two children, a girl and a boy.

Career statistics

Club

International

References

External links