Scouting Bosnia

More than half of the Bosnia squad that will play in the country’s first World Cup finals were born or raised abroad as they were the children of some of the estimated one million inhabitants that escaped the country’s conflict. Bosnia have come a long way and now some 20 years on, the squad hopes to help the nation continue to rebuild with a strong display.

Qualification

Bosnia qualified in style winning eight of their ten matches and scoring 30 goals. They finished on the same points as Greece but qualified due to their superior goal difference of +24.

The Squad

Goalkeepers: Asmir Begović (Stoke City FC), Asmir Avdukić (FK Borac Banja Luka), Jasmin Fejzić (VfR Aalen),

Defenders: Emir Spahić (Bayer 04 Leverkusen), Toni Šunjić (FC Zorya Lugansk), Sead Kolašinac (FC Schalke 04), Ognjen Vranješ (Elazığspor), Ervin Zukanović (KAA Gent), Ermin Bičakčić (Eintracht Braunschweig), Muhamed Bešić (Ferencvárosi TC),

Midfielders: Miralem Pjanić (AS Roma), Izet Hajrović (Galatasaray AŞ), Mensur Mujdža (SC Freiburg), Haris Medunjanin (Gaziantepspor), Senad Lulić (SS Lazio), Tino Sven Sušić (HNK Hajduk Split), Anel Hadžić (SK Sturm Graz), Sejad Salihović (TSG 1899 Hoffenheim), Zvjezdan Misimović (Guizhou Renhe FC), Senijad Ibričić (Erciyespor), Avdija Vršajević (HNK Hajduk Split),

Forwards: Edin Džeko (Manchester City FC), Vedad Ibišević (VfB Stuttgart), Edin Višća (İstanbul BB).

Style of play

Manager Safet Susic’s tactics are pretty straightforward. For him attack is the best form of defence, and his team will be looking, first and foremost, to outscore their opponents.

Their cavalier tactics in qualifying – a 4-4-2 diamond yielded 30 goals, 18 from strike duo Edin Dzeko and Vedad Ibisevic. Their squad is overflowing with playmakers, but lacks effective ball winners to screen the defence.  Expect them to change formation against Argentina as this quote from Susic suggests.

I  think this Argentina side is better than the Maradonna-led one which I played against in the 1990 tournament, so we will need to keep it tight against them.

It seems Besic will be assigned the job of man marking Messi. When questioned on  the fact that he has only two recognised strikers in this squad he added

I don’t really need more than two strikers because we will only start with one in our opening game against Argentina.

Players to watch

Edin Dzeko – named “The Diamond” in Bosnia, he has scored 10 of Bosnia’s 30 goals in qualifying. He also had 6 assists. He will be the key man upfront in an attack-minded line up.

Miralem Pjanic –The Roma attack minded midfielder provides the flair in the Bosnian midfield. 3 Goals and 6 assist in qualifying. He is a dead ball specialist, but might be operating from deep now that veteran Misimovic is in favour as Bosnia’s number 10.

Vedad Ibisevic-The Stuttgart forward scored 8 goals in qualifying. He might be sacrificed for a more defensive approach versus Argentina.

Zvjezdan Misimovic-This midfielder leads Bosnia in respect of appearances with 80(26 goals). He scored 5 goals in qualifying and had 4 assists. He led the Bundesliga league with 20 assists when Wolfsburg won the league in 2009.

Asmir Begovic– Stoke goalkeeper, conceded only 6 goals in 10 qualifying games.

Prospects

Their group(Argentina, Iran and Nigeria) look passable, perhaps deceptively so, and the nation will be trembling with expectation. The team however looks unbalanced and slightly incoherent tactically. The question is: Can their undoubted strengths outweigh their deficiencies? I truly hope so.