Muhamed Konjić (; born 14 May 1970) is a Bosnian retired 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 ...
, most notably for
Monaco
Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...
,
Coventry City
Coventry City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Coventry, West Midlands. The club plays in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club is nicknamed The Sky Blues after the sky blue colou ...
and the
Bosnia and Herzegovina national team who he also
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 ...
ed.
Club career
A solid
defender, he played for many clubs around Europe including
FC Zürich
Fussballclub Zürich, commonly abbreviated to FC Zürich or simply FCZ, is a professional football club based in Zurich, Switzerland. The club was founded in 1896 and has won the Swiss Super League thirteen times and the Swiss Cup ten times. ...
,
AS Monaco
Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club, commonly referred to as AS Monaco (), is a professional football club based in Fontvieille, Monaco. Although not in France, they are a member of the French Football Federation (FFF) and currently ...
,
Coventry City
Coventry City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Coventry, West Midlands. The club plays in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club is nicknamed The Sky Blues after the sky blue colou ...
and
Derby County
Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system.
One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...
.
Konjić played in
Jean Tigana
Amadou Jean Tigana (born 23 June 1955) is a French former football player and manager. A central midfielder, he was renowned as one of the best midfielders in the world during the 1980s. He spent his entire playing career in France, and made 5 ...
's talented Monaco side which famously put
Manchester United
Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
out of the
Champions League in 1998 on away goals after a 1–1 draw at
Old Trafford
Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...
.
Early in 1999, Konjić was recruited by
Gordon Strachan
Gordon David Strachan ( born 9 February 1957) is a Scottish former football coach and player who is currently Technical Director of Dundee. He played for Dundee, Aberdeen, Manchester United, Leeds United and Coventry City, as well as the Sc ...
, manager of English Premiership side
Coventry City
Coventry City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Coventry, West Midlands. The club plays in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club is nicknamed The Sky Blues after the sky blue colou ...
for a fee of around £2 million. He became the first Bosnian to play in England’s top tier. Injuries prevented fans from getting a real glimpse of the player though, as he made just 19 appearances before the club's relegation at the end of the 2000–01 season.
In the next three seasons, all of which were spent in the
Championship
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this sys ...
. 'Big Mo' (as he was nicknamed by Sky Blues fans) made 138 appearances, and scored four goals. During this period, Konjić had
captained the club and became a fan favourite. He was renowned both for his fully committed style of play and also his willingness to bring the ball forward if the midfield and attack were not having any impact.
He was sold at the end of the 2003–04 season to
Derby County
Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system.
One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...
by then Sky Blues manager
Peter Reid
Peter Reid (born 20 June 1956) is an English football manager, pundit and former player.
A defensive midfielder in his playing days, Reid enjoyed a long and successful career. He built his reputation as one of England's brightest midfield tale ...
. In the 2004–05 season, he made 18 appearances in George Burley's Derby side which reached the Football League Championship play-offs. Injuries have continued to hamper his progress, and he made just one appearance for Derby in the 2005–06 season as a result. He was released at the end of the season and subsequently retired from playing.
International career

Konjić was an influential player in the
Bosnian-Herzegovinian squad, for whom he was capped 39 times and scoring 3 goals. He was the captain in the first match played by Bosnia and Herzegovina on 30 November 1995. This match, a 2–0 defeat to
Albania
Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...
, famously came just nine days after the
Dayton Peace Agreement
The General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, also known as the Dayton Agreement or the Dayton Accords ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Dejtonski mirovni sporazum, Дејтонски мировни споразум), and colloquially kn ...
brought an end to the Bosnian conflict.
His final international was an August 2006
friendly match
An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...
against
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
.
Personal life
Konjić spent the first eight months of the
Bosnian War
The Bosnian War ( / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. Following several earlier violent incid ...
in his country's army. After his military discharge he trained in the streets, often during artillery raids when everybody else was covering in bomb shelters or cellars.
The Sunday Herald
Career statistics
:''Scores and results list Bosnia and Herzegovina's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Konjić goal.''
Honours
Individual
* Coventry City F.C.#Seasons, awards and honours, Coventry City F.C. Player of the Year: 2003
2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater.
In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War.
Demographic ...
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Konjic, Muhamed
1970 births
Living people
Footballers from Tuzla
Bosniaks of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Men's association football sweepers
Yugoslav men's footballers
Bosnia and Herzegovina men's footballers
Bosnia and Herzegovina men's international footballers
FK Famos Hrasnica players
FK Sloboda Tuzla players
NK Belišće players
FK Sarajevo players
NK Zagreb players
FC Zürich players
AS Monaco FC players
Coventry City F.C. players
Derby County F.C. players
Yugoslav First League players
Croatian Football League players
Swiss Super League players
Ligue 1 players
Premier League players
English Football League players
Bosnia and Herzegovina expatriate men's footballers
Expatriate men's footballers in Croatia
Bosnia and Herzegovina expatriate sportspeople in Croatia
Expatriate men's footballers in Switzerland
Bosnia and Herzegovina expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland
Expatriate men's footballers in Monaco
Bosnia and Herzegovina expatriate sportspeople in Monaco
Expatriate men's footballers in England
Bosnia and Herzegovina expatriate sportspeople in England