Zlatan Muslimović

Zlatan Muslimović

Personal information
Height	1.89 m (6 ft 2+1⁄2 in)
Position(s)	Striker
Team information
Current team	PAOK
Number	11
Youth career
	Habo IF
	Husqvarna FF
	IFK Göteborg
	Udinese
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2000–2007	Udinese	2	(0)
2001	→ Perugia (loan)	0	(0)
2002	→ Pistoiese (loan)	8	(1)
2002–2003	→ Ascoli (loan)	11	(0)
2003–2004	→ Padova (loan)	30	(6)
2004–2005	→ Rimini (loan)	32	(15)
2005–2006	→ Messina (loan)	25	(4)
2006–2007	→ Parma (loan)	27	(3)
2007–2008	Atalanta	10	(2)
2008-2011	→ PAOK	57	(20)
International career‡
2006–	Bosnia and Herzegovina	22	(12)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 24 February 2010 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 16 October 2008

Zlatan Muslimović, (born March 6, 1981 in Banja Luka, SFR Yugoslavia) is a Bosnian international football player. He holds both Bosnian and Swedish citizenships.

Early career

As a teenager, Muslimović played for the Swedish teams Habo IF and Husqvarna FF. He went on to play for the Swedish team IFK Göteborg youth team in 1998 and 1999, before coming to Italy in the year 2000.

Club career

Italy

Muslimović signed his first professional contract with Udinese Calcio. During the 2004–05 season, he was the top scorer of Serie C1/A side Rimini, with 15 goals in 32 matches, helping his team in winning the league and being promoted to Serie B. In 2006–07 he was loaned to Parma F.C.. In the summer of 2007 he signed for Serie A side Atalanta but suffered from lack of playing time under head coach Luigi Delneri.

PAOK Thessaloniki

On 22 July 2008, Muslimović signed with the Greek team PAOK FC, on a 3 year deal. He instantly became a fan favourite and largely contributed to PAOK's successful run in the 2008-2009 season . He scored his first goal for PAOK in a friendly against Udinese Calcio and his first league goal in a home game against AEK Athens.

Yet during the 2009–10 season, he began facing many injury problems, and managed to score only four times while his playing time kept diminishing. His most memorable goal was in the 2010 Europa League Play-offs, when he netted a 101 minute 1–1 equalizer against Fenerbahce, sending PAOK through to the group stages. Yet after another disappointing season it was decided that his contract would not be renewed - his last game for PAOK was against Olympiakos Volou in May 25 2011, where he also scored.

International career

Muslimović has made 20 appearances for the Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team since making his debut in 2006 in a friendly match against France as a second half substitute. He also played for the team in their Euro 2008 qualifying matches against Malta (x2), Hungary, Norway and Turkey. Against Croatia, he scored a hat-trick.

One of Muslimović's most memorable current games was the encounter with the Norwegian national football team in Oslo. He along with middle fielder Zvjezdan Misimović scored two early goals in the first half giving Bosnia-Herzegovina a night to remember on the 24th of March 2007 with a 2–1 victory. He turned in another solid performance in the match against Turkey by calmly slotting a cheeky ball from Zvjezdan Misimović past Rüştü Reçber to level the score at 1–1. Bosnia went on to win the game 3–2 via a header off a corner in the 89th minute from substitute Adnan Čustović.

Another great feat from Muslimović was a hat-trick during the friendly match with Croatia. Muslimović is currently the only player with Elvir Bolić, Elvir Baljić and Zvjezdan Misimović to ever score a hat-trick for the Bosnian national team.

External links

• Zlatan Muslimović at National-Football-Teams.com