Sergej Barbarez facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Sergej Barbarez

Barbarez in 2024
Personal information
Date of birth	(1971-09-17) 17 September 1971 (age 53)
Place of birth	Mostar, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SFR Yugoslavia
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	Bosnia and Herzegovina (manager)
Youth career
1984–1989	Velež Mostar
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1989–1991	Velež Mostar
1992–1993	Hannover 96	18	(2)
1993–1996	Union Berlin	88	(46)
1996–1998	Hansa Rostock	59	(13)
1998–2000	Borussia Dortmund	36	(6)
2000–2006	Hamburger SV	174	(65)
2006–2008	Bayer Leverkusen	61	(11)
Total		436	(143)
International career
1998–2006	Bosnia and Herzegovina	47	(17)
Managerial career
2024–	Bosnia and Herzegovina
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Sergej Barbarez (born on September 17, 1971) is a famous Bosnian football manager and a former player. He is currently the manager of the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team.

As a player, Barbarez was a forward. He played for many clubs in the German Bundesliga, which is Germany's top football league. Many people consider him one of the best players ever for Hamburger SV. He scored 65 goals in 174 Bundesliga games for them.

Barbarez often played as a second striker, but he could also play as an attacking midfielder or a left winger. In the 2000–01 season, while playing for Hamburger SV, he was the top scorer in the Bundesliga with 22 goals. He shared this title with Ebbe Sand from Schalke 04.

Barbarez first played for the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team in 1998. He played 47 games and scored 17 goals before he stopped playing in 2006. He was also the captain of the national team from 2004 to 2006.

Early Life and Family

Sergej Barbarez was born in Mostar, which is now part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. His father was a Bosnian Serb, and his mother was half-Croat and half-Bosniak.

In 1984, when he was 13, Barbarez started playing football for the youth team of Velež in his hometown.

Club Football Journey

Starting in Mostar

At 19, Barbarez signed with the main team of Velež. Soon after, he served in the army in Zagreb in 1991. He then returned to Velež, and everyone quickly saw how talented he was.

Later that year, he visited his uncle in Germany. His uncle surprised him by arranging a two-week try-out with Hannover 96. The coach was very impressed and signed him. At the same time, the political situation in former Yugoslavia was getting worse. Because of this, Barbarez decided to stay in Germany with his uncle.

In April 1992, the war in Mostar began. A month before the war started, Barbarez's father, sister, and high school girlfriend, Ana, moved to Hanover, Germany. His mother, Zlata, stayed in Mostar during the war.

Playing in Germany

Barbarez played for Hannover 96 during the 1991–92 and 1992–93 seasons. From 1993 to 1996, he played for Union Berlin. After that, he joined Hansa Rostock and played there from 1996 to 1998.

In 1998, he signed with Borussia Dortmund. He played there until July 2000, when he moved to Hamburger SV.

Success at Hamburger SV

In his first season with Hamburger SV, Barbarez became the top scorer for his club with 22 goals. He was also the joint top scorer in the entire Bundesliga league. Even though he scored two goals, Hamburg was knocked out of the 2000–01 UEFA Champions League in the group stages. This was the first time the club had qualified for that competition.

On May 17, 2006, Barbarez signed a two-year contract with Bayer Leverkusen. He finished his playing career at Bayer Leverkusen when his contract ended in June 2008.

International Football Career

Barbarez playing for Bosnia and Herzegovina against Iran in 2006

Sergej Barbarez played his first game for the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team on May 14, 1998. This was a friendly match against Argentina.

He scored two goals against Liechtenstein in a World Cup qualification match on March 28, 2001. He almost scored a third goal, but the Liechtenstein goalkeeper saved his penalty kick.

Barbarez was the captain of the Bosnian national team before he stopped playing international football in October 2005.

On December 2, 2005, he announced that he would return to the national team. He played in the UEFA Euro 2008 qualifiers and became captain again.

On October 12, 2006, Barbarez officially stopped playing for the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team. He retired completely from professional football in June 2008. His last international game was a European Championship qualification match against Moldova in October 2006.

Managerial Career

On December 14, 2009, Barbarez announced that he wanted to be the head coach of the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team for the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifiers. However, another person, Safet Sušić, was chosen for the job instead.

On January 5, 2011, Barbarez earned his UEFA Pro Licence. This is a special coaching license that allows him to manage top-level football teams.

On April 19, 2024, Barbarez was named the new head coach of the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team. He signed a four-year contract. His first game as manager was a friendly match against England on June 3, 2024, which his team lost 3–0. He won his first 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Romania on March 21, 2025.

Personal Life

Sergej Barbarez is married to his high-school sweetheart, Ana, who is also from Mostar. They have two sons together: Filip-André, born in 1994, and Sergio-Luis, born in 1999. Barbarez was also a member of the board of directors for Hamburger SV from January 25, 2009, to May 28, 2010.

Career Statistics

Club Appearances and Goals

International Appearances and Goals

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

List of international goals scored by Sergej Barbarez

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	5 September 1999	Asim Ferhatović Hase, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina	Estonia	1–1	1–1	UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
2	28 February 2001	Bilino Polje, Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina	Hungary	1–1	1–1	Friendly
3	24 March 2001	Asim Ferhatović Hase, Sarajevo	Austria	1–1	1–1	2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
4	28 March 2001	Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz, Liechtenstein	Liechtenstein	1–0	3–0	2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
5				2–0
6	27 March 2002	Grbavica Stadium, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina	Macedonia	2–0	4–4	Friendly
7				3–0
8	13 February 2003	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales	Wales	2–1	2–2	Friendly
9	29 March 2003	Bilino Polje, Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina	Luxembourg	2–0	2–0	UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying
10	2 April 2003	Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark	Denmark	1–0	2–0	UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying
11	10 September 2003	Stade Josy Barthel, Route d'Arlon, Luxembourg	Luxembourg	1–0	1–0	UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying
12	4 June 2005	Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle, San Marino	San Marino	3–1	3–1	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
13	3 September 2005	Bilino Polje, Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina	Belgium	1–0	1–0	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
14	7 September 2005	LFF Stadium, Vilnius, Lithuania	Lithuania	1–0	1–0	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
15	31 May 2006	Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran	Iran	2–0	2–5	Friendly
16	16 August 2006	Asim Ferhatović Hase, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina	France	1–0	1–2	Friendly
17	2 September 2006	Ta' Qali National Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta	Malta	1–0	5–2	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying

Managerial Statistics

Awards and Achievements

Player Honours

Hamburger SV

• DFB-Ligapokal: 2003
• UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2005

Individual Awards

• Bosnian Footballer of the Year: 2001, 2002, 2003
• Bundesliga top goalscorer: 2000–01 (shared)

See also

In Spanish: Sergej Barbarez para niños