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Mirsad Bešlija

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Mirsad Bešlija
Personal information
Date of birth (1979-07-06) 6 July 1979 (age 45)
Place of birth Živinice, SFR Yugoslavia
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Right winger
Youth career
–1995 Slaven Živinice
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1995–1997 Slaven Živinice
1997–2000 Bosna Visoko
2000–2001 Željezničar 32 (11)
2001–2006 Genk 134 (17)
2006–2008 Heart of Midlothian 9 (0)
2007–2008 → Sint-Truidense (loan) 11 (2)
2009–2012 Željezničar 78 (9)
International career
1998–2001 Bosnia and Herzegovina U21 11 (1)
2001–2006 Bosnia and Herzegovina 37 (4)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Mirsad Bešlija (born 6 July 1979) is a Bosnian former professional footballer who played as a right winger.

He has most notably played for Željezničar, Genk, Heart of Midlothian and the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team.

Club career

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Bešlija started his career with hometown club Slaven Živinice. Although he was among the youngest players in their squad, he became an important part of the first team. He was spotted there and signed by Bosna Visoko, a first division team at that time, in 1997. He spent two seasons in Visoko, during which he won both the Bosnian Cup and Supercup. His rapid footballing ascent attracted the interest of Željezničar and he signed for them in 2000, becoming a fan favorite during his single season in the capital. He won three trophies in that period with Željezničar, one Bosnian Premier League title, one cup and one Supercup.

Bešlija joined Genk in July 2001, where he stayed for five years, and made over 130 league appearances, winning the Belgian First Division title with them in 2002. He moved to Scottish side Heart of Midlothian during January 2006 in a deal worth £850,000 (€1.22 million), a record fee paid by the Tynecastle side at the time.[1] A dispute developed about whether the overall transfer fee should include agents percentages or not, leading Hearts to suspend payment after the first installment.[1] When further dialogue brought no resolution, Genk petitioned UEFA to impose a transfer embargo upon Hearts,[2] however, an agreement was finally reached in December 2006, with Hearts paying the entire outstanding balance.[3]

Bešlija suffered serious injury problems at Hearts and he failed to win a regular first team place. He was loaned out to Belgian club Sint-Truidense for the 2007–08 season, and was released by Hearts in October 2008 after they reached a severance agreement.[4]

In 2009, he re-signed with Željezničar and retired in 2012, winning four more trophies in the process, two leagues and two cups.[5]

International career

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Bosnia and Herzegovina squad during UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying.

Bešlija made his debut for Bosnia and Herzegovina in a January 2001 Sahara Millennium Cup match against Bangladesh and has earned a total of 37 caps, scoring 4 goals.[6] His final international was a September 2006 European Championship qualification match against Hungary.[7]

Honours

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Bosna Visoko

Željezničar

Genk

References

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  1. ^ a b Genk threaten Hearts over Beslija, BBC Sport, 16 June 2006.
  2. ^ Genk urge signing ban for Hearts , BBC Sport, 26 October 2006.
  3. ^ Hearts pay Belgians for Beslija, BBC Sport, 22 December 2006.
  4. ^ Johnstone, Darren. Record buy Beslija leaves Hearts after costing £122,000 a start, The Scotsman, 15 October 2008.
  5. ^ "M. Bešlija: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  6. ^ Mamrud, Roberto (16 July 2009). "Bosnia and Herzegovina – Record International Players". RSSSF. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  7. ^ "Player Database". eu-football.info. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
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