Emir Spahić

Emir Spahić

Personal information
Full name	Emir Spahić
Date of birth	18 August 1980 (1980-08-18)
Place of birth	Dubrovnik, SFR Yugoslavia
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position	Centre back
Club information
Current club	Sevilla
Number	6
Youth career
	Čelik Zenica
	FK Krajina Cazin
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1998–1999	Čelik Zenica	0	(0)
1999–2001	GOŠK Dubrovnik	22	(0)
2001–2004	NK Zagreb	38	(2)
2004–2005	Shinnik Yaroslavl	26	(6)
2005–2006	Torpedo Moscow	15	(0)
2006–2009	Lokomotiv Moscow	63	(3)
2009–2011	Montpellier	57	(3)
2011–	Sevilla	14	(0)
National team‡
2003–	Bosnia and Herzegovina	55	(3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20 November 2011. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 15 November 2011

Emir Spahić (born 18 August 1980) is a Bosnian football central defender playing for Sevilla FC in the Spanish La Liga and captains the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team. He is naturally left footed but can play with either foot very well.

Career

Over the course of his career, Spahić played for NK Čelik Zenica, Russian clubs Torpedo Moscow, Shinnik Yaroslavl and Lokomotiv Moscow as well as Croatian sides NK Zagreb and NK GOŠK Dubrovnik. On 24 June 2009, Spahić announced that he will join the newly promoted Montpellier squad for the 2009–10 Ligue 1 season. On his league debut against Paris Saint-Germain, he scored a header in the 94th minute for a 1–1 draw, which earned a point for the newly promoted club. He scored his second goal for Montpellier in a 2–2 draw against FC Lorient. In January 2010, he extended his contract to June 2014.

In August 2010, Spahić personally spoke to Arsène Wenger and agreed a transfer to Arsenal, but Montpellier demanded £25 million which Arsenal could not meet.

On 4 July 2011, Spahić agreed a transfer with Sevilla for 2 million euros. He will stay at the club until July 2014.

International

Spahić is the captain of the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team. On 7 June 2003, he made his debut as a substitute against Romania at Stadionul Ion Oblemenco in Craiova. Ever since his debut, he has been an important member of the national team.

Personal life

His parents were from various parts of Yugoslavia. His fathers family is originally from the Montenegrin part of Sandžak, but his father was born in Dubrovnik and his mother Fatima is from Gacko in Bosnia and Herzegovina. They were both working in Dubrovnik, Croatia, where they met and formed a family. Emir has two brothers: older Nermin and younger Alen. Younger brother Alen is also a football player. Spahić is a first cousin of fellow national team player Edin Džeko.

External links

• Sevilla official profile
• La Liga profile
• Emir Spahić at National-Football-Teams.com
• Transfermarkt profile
• Emir Spahić – FIFA competition record