Meho Kodro


Mehmed "Meho" Kodro is a Bosnian retired footballer who played as a striker, and a manager.
He spent most of his 16-year senior career in Spain, mostly with Real Sociedad and Tenerife, amassing La Liga totals of 263 matches and 105 goals. He possessed good technical skills, and was equally adept in the air.
After retiring, Kodro started a managerial career.

Playing career

Club

Born in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Kodro's professional debut occurred in 1985 at the age of 18 with hometown club Velež Mostar. He appeared in only 14 Yugoslav First League games in his first two years but eventually became a starter, scoring a combined 31 goals in his last two full seasons and helping his team win the 1986 edition of the Yugoslav Cup – he did not play in the final against NK Dinamo Zagreb however – and three consecutive top-three finishes.
When the Yugoslav Wars began, Kodro migrated to Spain – after scoring five goals in only five matches in the last edition of the Yugoslavian championship – where he spent the vast majority of his remaining career. He first played with Real Sociedad of San Sebastián, always netting in double digits for the Basques, including 23 in 1993–94 and a career-best 25 in the following year and finishing second in the Pichichi Trophy race to Real Madrid's Iván Zamorano.
In the 1995 off-season, Kodro was purchased by FC Barcelona, starting throughout most of the campaign but only managing nine La Liga goals for the Catalans, including two in El Clásico against Real Madrid. After Barça came out empty in silverware, manager Johan Cruyff – who insisted in his signing – was sacked and the player also left Camp Nou, joining CD Tenerife where he played three seasons, notably contributing with two goals from six appearances in the Canary Islands side's semi-final run in the UEFA Cup; in 1998–99, for the only time in his career, he failed to find the net and his team suffered top flight relegation.
32-year-old Kodro returned to the Basque region in the summer of 1999, joining Deportivo Alavés on loan for the 1999–2000 campaign. He retired from football the following year after one year in Israel with Maccabi Tel Aviv FC.

International

Kodro earned two caps for Yugoslavia, his debut coming on 4 September 1991 in a 3–4 friendly loss in Sweden. In the late 90s and early 2000s he played for Bosnia and Herzegovina, appearing in six 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification games and scoring in a 2–1 away win against Slovenia.

International goals

#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.10 November 1996Bežigrad, Ljubljana, Slovenia2–02–11998 World Cup qualification
2.10 March 1999Üllői úti, Budapest, Hungary1–01–1Friendly
3.5 June 1999Koševo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina1–02–0Euro 2000 qualifying

Managerial career

Club

Kodro started working as a manager in 2006, being assistant to José Mari Bakero at former club Real Sociedad. In the summer of 2008 he was appointed manager of the youth sides, and remained in the post for two years when he was promoted to B-team duties, as they competed in Segunda División B.
In the following years, Kodro was in charge of FK Sarajevo in the Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Swiss Super League's Servette FC.

International

On 5 January 2008, Kodro was appointed head coach of Bosnia and Herzegovina, accepting the job after the Bosnian Football Federation met his conditions, which were to allow him to continue living in San Sebastián and to guarantee him full independence in football matters. Things quickly went sour, however: he led the side in two friendlies before refusing to take charge of the team for a game against Iran scheduled for 26 May in Tehran, arranged by the federation without his knowledge; as a result, he was fired on 17 May.

Personal life

Kodro's son, Kenan, is also a footballer and a forward. He was coached by his father at Real Sociedad B for two years.

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Velež Mostar
Barcelona
Maccabi Tel Aviv
Awards