Hasan Salihamidzic

Hasan Salihamidžić (born January 1, 1977 in Jablanica, Bosnia and Herzegovina), is a association football midfielder. He currently plays for the Italian club Juventus F.C..

Salihamidžić is well known for his versatility because he can play in almost every position. His career started flourishing while he was playing as a striker, then as both a right winger and right back in Bayern, while he is considered a left winger in his national team.

In 2006, Salihamidžić retired from the Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team national team, claiming problems with injuries. There have been unverified speculations that the real reasons for this action are undisclosed rifts between him and the Bosnian FA.

Life and Early Career

Salihamidžić was born to a Bosniaks family. His father Ahmed and mother Šefika gave him the nickname "Braco" meaning "little brother" in Bosnian language since Hasan has an older sister. He finished high school and played in the local club. Then, Salihamidžić moved to Velež Mostar where he stayed until 1992. During that period young Salihamidžić represented ex-Yugoslavia on U16 level since at that time Bosnia & Herzegovina was still a part of Yugoslavia. The generation of young players in FK Velež Mostar that Salihamidžić was part of was one of the best ever, but the Bosnian war stopped him from making a single senior appearance for his club.

Since he wanted to move to Germany to get away from the war, he worked as a waiter in a local restaurant for six months to earn enough money for a ticket. In November 1992, Salihamidžić came to Hamburg and with the help of his cousin Ahmet Halilhodžić he joined the youth team of the German Bundesliga (football) team Hamburger SV.

He would stay at Hamburg until 1998 before moving to FC Bayern München.

Juventus

On January 15, 2007, he signed a 4-year deal with Juventus and joined them in the following summer. He had a fantastic season with the bianconeri, playing over twenty league games, scoring a total of four goals, two of which aganst fierce rivals AC Milan. He has become one of the fan favorites since joining i bianconeri. He has been impressive during the 2008-2009 pre-season as well, taking part in most of the friendly competitions.

International Career

Salihamidžić and the national team of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in its brief history, have never qualified for a big tournament, but in the qualifying campaign for 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, only one goal in the last game against Denmark national football team separated them from the big tournament in Portugal.

Personal Life

Salihamidžić has three children, Selina, Nick and Lara June, with his Spain wife Esther Copado. Francisco Copado is his brother-in-law.