Vedad Ibišević facts for kids
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Ibišević with Hertha BSC in 2019
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Vedad Ibišević | ||
| Date of birth | 6 August 1984 | ||
| Place of birth | Vlasenica, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, Yugoslavia | ||
| Height | 1.88 m | ||
| Playing position | Forward | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | New York Red Bulls (assistant) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1992–1999 | FK Zmaj od Bosne | ||
| 2000–2001 | FC Baden | ||
| 2001–2002 | Roosevelt High School | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2003–2004 | St. Louis Strikers | 10 | (9) |
| 2004 | Chicago Fire Premier | 3 | (3) |
| 2004–2006 | Paris Saint-Germain | 4 | (0) |
| 2005–2006 | → Dijon (loan) | 33 | (10) |
| 2006–2007 | Alemannia Aachen | 24 | (6) |
| 2007–2012 | 1899 Hoffenheim | 123 | (48) |
| 2012–2016 | VfB Stuttgart | 86 | (33) |
| 2015–2016 | → Hertha BSC (loan) | 26 | (10) |
| 2016–2020 | Hertha BSC | 112 | (35) |
| 2020 | Schalke 04 | 4 | (0) |
| Total | 425 | (154) | |
| National team | |||
| 2004–2006 | Bosnia and Herzegovina U21 | 5 | (1) |
| 2007–2018 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 83 | (28) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2022–2023 | Hertha BSC (assistant) | ||
| 2024– | New York Red Bulls (assistant) | ||
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Vedad Ibišević (born August 6, 1984) is a former professional footballer from Bosnia. He played as a forward, which means he was a goal scorer. Today, he is an assistant coach for the New York Red Bulls football team.
Vedad Ibišević started his professional football journey at Paris Saint-Germain in France. He also played for Dijon on loan. Later, he moved to Germany, where he became well-known. He played for clubs like Alemannia Aachen, 1899 Hoffenheim, VfB Stuttgart, Hertha BSC, and Schalke 04. In 2008, he was named the Bosnian Footballer of the Year.
Ibišević also played for the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team. He played 83 games and scored 28 goals for his country. He scored a very important goal that helped Bosnia and Herzegovina qualify for their first-ever major tournament, the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He also scored their first goal in that tournament!
Vedad Ibišević's Football Journey
Starting His Career
Vedad Ibišević was born in Vlasenica, a town in Bosnia and Herzegovina. When he was young, his family moved to Switzerland, and then to St. Louis, Missouri, in the United States. In St. Louis, Vedad became a very promising football player. He played high school football at Roosevelt High School.
He then played college soccer at Saint Louis University. He was excellent in his first year, scoring 18 goals in 22 games. He was even named the NCAA Freshman of the Year. During his college years, he also played for local teams like the St. Louis Strikers and Chicago Fire Premier.
While training, he was noticed by Paris Saint-Germain's coach, who signed him. However, Vedad didn't play much there at first. So, he was loaned to Dijon, a club in the French second division.
Playing for 1899 Hoffenheim
In 2006, Ibišević joined Alemannia Aachen in Germany. Then, in 2007, he moved to 1899 Hoffenheim. At that time, Hoffenheim was in the second division of German football, called 2. Bundesliga. In Vedad's first season, his team was promoted to the top league, the Bundesliga, for the first time in their history!
Ibišević had an amazing start to the 2008–09 season. He scored two goals in Hoffenheim's first-ever Bundesliga game, which they won 3–0. He kept scoring, getting 18 goals and 7 assists in just 17 games before he got injured. This made him the top scorer in the league at that time. He was even named the Bundesliga Player of the Month in October 2008.
Sadly, in January 2009, Vedad got a serious knee injury during a training match. This meant he couldn't play for the rest of that season.
He returned for the 2009–10 season. In one game against Hertha BSC, he scored three goals very quickly, which is called a hat-trick. One of his goals was scored just 44 seconds into the game, making it the fastest goal that season! He signed a new contract to stay with the club until 2013.
Time at VfB Stuttgart
In January 2012, Ibišević moved to VfB Stuttgart. He scored his first goal for them on February 11, 2012, in a big 5–0 win. He continued to score important goals, helping Stuttgart get closer to playing in European competitions.
In the 2012–13 season, he scored his first hat-trick for VfB Stuttgart, scoring all three goals in a 3–1 win against Schalke 04.
On September 1, 2013, he scored another hat-trick against his former club, Hoffenheim, leading his team to a huge 6–2 victory. Later, he received a five-match ban for an incident during a game, which he apologized for. In October 2014, he broke his foot and missed several games.
Playing for Hertha BSC
Ibišević was loaned to Hertha BSC in August 2015, and then joined them permanently in July 2016. He quickly started scoring goals again. In one game, he scored two goals in just three minutes!
In August 2016, he was chosen as the team's captain. On November 27, he scored his 100th goal in the Bundesliga, becoming only the sixth foreign player to achieve this milestone. The next day, he signed a new three-year contract with Hertha.
In December 2018, he scored a goal in his 300th Bundesliga game. However, in March 2018, he accidentally scored an own goal. A week later, he received a red card in a game against Borussia Dortmund for throwing a ball that hit the opposing goalkeeper.
Short Spell at Schalke 04
On September 3, 2020, Ibišević signed a one-year contract with Schalke 04. However, just 12 weeks later, the club announced that his contract would end early, on December 31, 2020.
International Career for Bosnia and Herzegovina
Vedad Ibišević played for the Bosnia and Herzegovina under-21 team before joining the senior national team.
He made his debut for the senior Bosnia and Herzegovina team on March 24, 2007. He scored his first international goal on October 13, 2007, against Greece.
On September 7, 2012, Ibišević scored his first international hat-trick against Liechtenstein. He also helped his teammate Edin Džeko score a goal in that match.
A very important moment came on October 15, 2013. Ibišević scored the only goal in the match against Lithuania. This goal meant that Bosnia and Herzegovina would play in the 2014 FIFA World Cup for the very first time in their history!
In June 2014, he was part of Bosnia's team for the World Cup. He played in their first game and scored Bosnia's first-ever goal at a World Cup, against Argentina at the famous Maracanã Stadium.
Ibišević retired from international football after Bosnia's World Cup qualifying campaign in 2018. He, along with other important players, was honored by the Bosnian Football Association in a friendly game in May 2018. Fans gave them a standing ovation as they left the field.
Vedad Ibišević's Personal Life
Vedad Ibišević comes from a Bosniak family. As a child, his family moved from Bosnia to Switzerland, and then to St. Louis, Missouri, in the United States. He has spoken a little about his family's experiences during the Bosnian War, which caused them to leave their home. He often says, "It's OK" or "We were lucky."
Vedad Ibišević is married to Zerina (whose maiden name was Medić). They have three children: a son named Ismail (born in 2012), a daughter named Zejna (born in 2016), and another son named Idris (born in 2019).
Ibišević is a Muslim. During the 2014 World Cup, he visited a mosque in Cuiabá, Brazil, with some of his teammates.
His cousin, Elvir, is also a footballer and has played for the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team.
Career Statistics Summary
Vedad Ibišević had a long and successful career playing for many different clubs and his national team.
- Total Club Appearances: 412 games
- Total Club Goals: 142 goals
- Total National Team Appearances: 83 games
- Total National Team Goals: 28 goals
Achievements and Awards
Vedad Ibišević has received several awards during his career:
- Conference USA Men's Soccer Freshman of the Year: 2003
- Bosnian Footballer of the Year: 2008
- kicker Bundesliga Team of the Season: 2008–09
- ESM Team of the Year: 2008–09
Images for kids
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Ibišević with Hertha BSC in 2019
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Ibišević playing for 1899 Hoffenheim in 2008
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Ibišević playing for Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2015
See also
In Spanish: Vedad Ibišević para niños
