Haris Medunjanin
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Haris Medunjanin | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Valladolid | ||
| Number | 5 | ||
| ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 18 November 2009 | |||
Haris Medunjanin (born 8 March 1985) is a Bosnian footballer who plays for Real Valladolid in Spain.
Mainly a left midfielder, he can also appear as an attacking midfielder. He has dual citizenship, Bosnian and Dutch.
Early years
Medunjanin was born in Sarajevo. Due to the Bosnian War in 1992, he moved to the Netherlands at the age of seven, with his mother and sister; his father was unable to leave, and was later killed during the Siege of Sarajevo.[1][2]
Club career
Medunjanin made his Eredivisie debut on February 20, 2005, with AZ Alkmaar, but opportunities were scarce during his three-year spell at the club. In 2006–07, he was loaned to Sparta Rotterdam, being essential as the modest outfit finished 13th in the season, with seven league goals.
After another unassuming season with AZ, Medunjanin was snapped by Spain's Real Valladolid in August 2008, being relatively used in his debut season (mainly from the bench).
International career
Medunjanin was part of the Dutch U-21 team that won the 2006 European Championship. In 2007, he was called up by coach Foppe de Haan to be part of his squad for the 2007 edition, held in the Netherlands.
The Dutch went on to retain their 2006 title by beating Serbia 4–1 in the final, and in the process qualify for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
In a 2009 interview, Medunjanin expressed strong desire to play for his native Bosnia, as new FIFA rules would allow.[3] In August of the same year, his paperwork for change of footballing citizenship was submitted to FIFA. On October 31, 2009, national coach Miroslav Blažević invited Medunjanin for the 2010 World Cup playoff games against Portugal.[1] He made his debut - as a starter - in the decisive second leg, a 0–1 loss in Zenica (0–2 aggregate).
References
- ^ a b Ostvareni san Harisa Medunjanina; Sarajevo-X.com, 1 November 2009 Template:Bs icon Cite error: The named reference "HARIS" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ Bosnia wait on FIFA approval for Haris Medunjanin; ESPN, 4 November 2009 Template:En icon
- ^ Haris Medunjanin – intervju (Haris Medunjanin - Interview) Template:Bs icon
External links
- 1985 births
- Living people
- People from Sarajevo
- Bosnia and Herzegovina footballers
- Dutch footballers
- Association football midfielders
- Eredivisie players
- AZ Alkmaar players
- Sparta Rotterdam players
- La Liga footballers
- Real Valladolid footballers
- Dutch expatriate footballers
- Bosnia and Herzegovina international footballers
- Bosnia and Herzegovina expatriate footballers
- Expatriate footballers in Spain