Sergej Barbarez

Summary

Sergej Barbarez (Serbian Cyrillic: Сергеј Барбарез; born 17 September 1971) is a Bosnian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He played for several clubs in the German Bundesliga and for the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team.

Sergej Barbarez
Barbarez in 2014
Personal information
Date of birth (1971-09-17) 17 September 1971 (age 52)
Place of birth Mostar, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, Yugoslavia
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Forward
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)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Barbarez is considered one of the all-time greatest players of Hamburger SV where he scored 65 goals in 174 Bundesliga games. Mainly used as a second striker, he also played as an attacking midfielder or left winger. In the 2000–01 Bundesliga season while playing for Hamburger SV, Barbarez was joint top scorer with 22 goals with Ebbe Sand of Schalke 04 at the end of the season.

Early life edit

Barbarez was born in Mostar, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SFR Yugoslavia, present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina to a Bosnian Serb father and a half-Croat and half-Bosniak mother.[1]

As a young child, he was actually not very interested in football but in basketball and athletics. However, at the age of eleven, Barbarez started playing football though mostly for fun with friends after school.

Club career edit

 
Barbarez with Bayer Leverkusen in 2007.

In 1984, Barbarez took a step further and started playing football for the youth team of Velež in his native city of Mostar.

Some six years later, he signed with the first team of Velež at the age of 19. However, briefly after, Barbarez served in the Yugoslav People's Army in Zagreb in 1991 before returning to Mostar to continue his career.[2] In 1991, he returned to Velež and soon after everyone realized that Barbarez was a true talent.

The same year, he visited his uncle who was living in Germany. Some time later, Barbarez was preparing to return to Mostar but his uncle surprised him by extending his stay in Germany for two weeks. The uncle had arranged for him a two weeks try-out practise with Hannover 96. The coach of Hannover 96 was so impressed by Barbarez that he signed him for the club. During those same two weeks the political situation throughout former Yugoslavia was deteriorating by the minute and fighting was even occurring in some places. So Barbarez came to an agreement with his father to stay with his uncle in Germany for the near future.

In April 1992, the Bosnian War escalated in the city of Mostar. A month prior of the actual war, the father and sister of Barbarez fled with his high school sweetheart Ana to the city of Hanover in Germany. His mother Zlata stayed in Mostar throughout the whole war.

Barbarez played for Hannover 96 during the second half of the 1991–92 and the whole 1992–93 season. Between 1993 and 1996, he played for Union Berlin at the third level[3] before signing with Hansa Rostock. Barbarez played there between 1996 and 1998.

In 1998, he signed with Borussia Dortmund and played there until joining Hamburger SV in July 2000.

During the first season with Hamburger SV, Barbarez became the top scorer for his club with 22 goals and joint top scorer of the Bundesliga with Ebbe Sand. Though, he could not help Hamburg's elimination from the 2000–01 UEFA Champions League at the group stages despite his two goals, when the club qualified for that competition for the first time, after a third place in the previous domestic Bundesliga season.

On 17 May 2006, Barbarez signed a two-year deal with Bayer Leverkusen. He finished his career at Bayer after his contract with the club expired in June 2008.

International career edit

 
Bosnia and Herzegovina squad during UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying.

On 14 May 1998, Barbarez made his debut for the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team against Argentina in a friendly match.

Barbarez scored two goals against Liechtenstein in a World Cup qualification match on 28 March 2001.[4] He was denied a hat-trick as his second-half penalty was saved by Lichtenstein goalkeeper Peter Jehle.[4]

Before he retired from international football on 13 October 2005, Barbarez was the captain and leader of the Bosnian national team.

On 2 December 2005, he announced his comeback to the national team and played in the UEFA Euro 2008 qualifiers. He became captain of the team once again.

On 12 October 2006, Barbarez officially stepped down from playing for the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team and retired permanently from professional football in June 2008. His final international was an October 2006 European Championship qualification match against Moldova.[5]

Coaching career edit

Barbarez announced on 14 December 2009 that he wanted to be the head coach of the Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team in the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifiers.[6] However, the Football Association of Republika Srpska blocked his entry[7] and later on, Safet Sušić was selected as the new head coach of the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team.

On 5 January 2011, Barbarez received his UEFA Pro Licence in the Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina's educational facility in Jablanica.[8]

Personal life edit

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

Career statistics edit

Club edit

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Hannover 96 1992–93 2. Bundesliga 18 2 1 0 0 0 19 2
Union Berlin 1993–94 NOFV-Oberliga 29 15 0 0 0 0 29 15
1994–95 Regionalliga 29 14 1 0 0 0 30 14
1995–96 30 17 0 0 0 0 30 17
Total 88 46 1 0 0 0 89 46
Hansa Rostock 1996–97 Bundesliga 27 2 2 1 0 0 29 3
1997–98 32 11 1 0 0 0 33 11
Total 59 13 3 1 0 0 62 14
Borussia Dortmund 1998–99 Bundesliga 22 4 2 0 0 0 24 4
1999–2000 14 2 1 0 5 1 20 3
Total 36 6 3 0 5 1 44 7
Hamburger SV 2000–01 Bundesliga 31 22 1 0 8 1 40 23
2001–02 24 7 1 0 0 0 25 7
2002–03 24 6 1 0 0 0 25 6
2003–04 32 10 3 0 2 0 37 10
2004–05 30 11 1 0 0 0 31 11
2005–06 33 9 3 3 9 2 45 14
Total 174 65 10 3 19 3 203 71
Bayer Leverkusen 2006–07 Bundesliga 32 7 2 0 12 3 46 10
2007–08 29 4 0 0 10 3 39 7
Total 61 11 2 0 22 6 75 17
Career total 436 143 20 4 46 10 483 157

International goals edit

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

Honours edit

Player edit

Hamburger SV

Individual edit

Awards

References edit

  1. ^ "Impulsiver Gefühlsmensch" (in German). welt.de. 21 September 2001. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
  2. ^ "Barbarez: "Iz Fudbalskog saveza BiH mi nisu dali karte za Belgiju"". 24sata.info. 14 March 2009. Archived from the original on 28 July 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
  3. ^ Matthias Arnhold (21 April 2011). "Sergej Barbarez – Matches and Goals in Bundesliga". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
  4. ^ a b Connelly 2002, 142
  5. ^ "Player Database". eu-football.info. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  6. ^ "Barbarez Wants To Be National Team Coach". bihfoot.com. 14 December 2010. Retrieved 4 April 2010.[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ "Barbarez bez podrške FS RS". nezavisne.com. 25 December 2009. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  8. ^ "Profesionalne licence Barbarezu, Piplici i kolegama" (in Bosnian). sarajevo-x.com. 5 January 2011. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
  • Connelly, Charlie (2002) Stamping Grounds: Exploring Liechtenstein and Its World Cup Dreams. Abacus.

External links edit

  • Sergej Barbarez at National-Football-Teams.com  
  • Sergej Barbarez at Soccerway