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FSBIH Name Fuad Muzurovic as Next National Team Coach |
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 In a meeting of the Bosnian football federation’s top officials, 61-year old Fuad Muzurovic was named the national team coach for the second time. After considering numerous candidates, among them Zlatko Kranjcar, Slobodan Santrac, and Ciro Blazevic, the FSBIH named Fuad Muzurovic, Mehmed Bazdarevic, and Dragoslav Stepanovic as the top 3 choices. Although most sources confirmed that Bazdarevic was the favorite, Muzurovic was selected to the same post he held from 1992 to 1998.
Tough Task Ahead
Muzurovic, who lead the Bosnian national team to 4 wins, one decision, and 8 losses during his tenure, will look to resurrect a team that has fallen on hard times in the last year. With their poor start to the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign and the players’ dissatisfaction with the football federation, Muzurovic faces a difficult situation. It remains to be seen whether the players will act on their vow to boycott the national team as long as the current leadership is still in place. Muzurovic signed a contract that will run to the end of the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign, with the possibility of an extension up to the beginning of the World Cup 2010 qualifiers. The new coach will have 3 full months to prepare his squad for the Euro 2008 qualifier with Norway on March 24 in Oslo.
Career Highlights
Born in Bijelo Polje, Montenegro, Muzurovic began his playing career with his hometown club, FK Jedinstvo Bijelo Polje. He moved on to FK Sarajevo where he helped the club win their first Yugoslav title in the 1966/67 season as the starting fullback. He then coached Sarajevo on 3 different occasions, most recently in 2001/02 when he lead them to BIH Cup title. Among his numerous positions, he coached Adanspor and Adana Demirspor in Turkey, Al Masry of Egypt and FK Pristina. He was named the first coach of the national team in 1992 and led them unsuccessfully during the 1996 Euro qualifiers and 1998 World Cup qualifiers. Most recently, he coached Cerezo Osaka of Japan but he was fired after only two games.
Although this a case of a familiar face at a familiar place, the circumstances facing Muzurovic are much different this time around. In his first stint as national team coach, Muzurovic faced the inevitable task of leading an independent Bosnia that was just beginning to rebuild. Some would agree he may have an even tougher task now with all the turmoil surrounding the national team. With every passing day, it seems that the current presidency has no intention of obliging the wishes of the players and some sort of reconcilement must happen. However, if the players intend to stand by their claims, Muzurovic might have to build a national team from scratch with uncapped players. Only time will tell, but the clock is ticking fast.
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