Zlatan Muslimović


Zlatan Muslimović is a retired Bosnian footballer who played as a forward.

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 2000.
Muslimović was also a goalkeeper for the Brandstorps IF floorball club's team for boys' born in 1981 during the 1994–95 season.

Club career

Italy

Muslimović signed his first professional contract with Udinese. 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. In June 2007, he signed for Serie A side Atalanta but suffered from lack of playing time under head coach Luigi Delneri.

PAOK

On 22 July 2008, Muslimović signed with Greek club PAOK on a three-year deal. He instantly became a fan favourite and largely contributed to PAOK's successful run in the 2008–09 season. He scored his first goal for PAOK in a friendly against Udinese and his first league goal in a home game against AEK Athens. He received the nickname "Alani" by the Gate 4 fans.
During the 2009–10 season, however, 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 2010–11 UEFA Europa League play-offs, when he netted a 101st minute 1–1 equalizer against Fenerbahçe, sending PAOK through to the group stages. After another disappointing season, however, it was decided that his contract would not be renewed; his last official game for PAOK was against Olympiakos Volou on 25 May 2011, where he also scored.

Guizhou Renhe

On 20 February 2012, after being without a club for nine months, Muslimović signed with Chinese Super League side Guizhou Renhe. On 8 April, scored his first goal for the senior Guizhou Renhe side. He is called by fans, and signed at club website as "Musi Li", a nickname derived from his surname.

International career

Muslimović has made 28 appearances for the Bosnia and Herzegovina national 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 UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying matches against Malta, Hungary, Norway and Turkey. Against Croatia, he scored a hat-trick.
One of Muslimović's most memorable current games was the encounter with Norway in Oslo. He and midfielder Zvjezdan Misimović scored early goals in the first half giving Bosnia a night to remember on 24 March 2007 with a 2–1 victory. He turned in another solid performance in the match against Turkey by slotting home a pass from Misimović past Rüştü Reçber to level the score at 1–1. Bosnia went on to win the game 3–2 with 89th-minute substitute Adnan Čustović heading in from a corner.
Muslimović is one of only six national players to ever score a hat-trick for Bosnia, doing so during a friendly against Croatia.
In the qualifying rounds for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa in November 2009, Bosnia was eliminated by Portugal; Muslimović's shot hit the goalpost during the match in Lisbon.

International goals

GoalDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.2 September 2006Ta' Qali Stadium, Ta' Qali4–15–2UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
2.24 March 2007Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo2–02–1UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
3.2 June 2007Asim Ferhatović Hase Stadium, Sarajevo1–13–2UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
4.6 June 2007Asim Ferhatović Hase Stadium, Sarajevo1–01–0UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
5.22 August 2007Asim Ferhatović Hase Stadium, Sarajevo1–23–5Friendly match
6.22 August 2007Asim Ferhatović Hase Stadium, Sarajevo2–23–5Friendly match
7.22 August 2007Asim Ferhatović Hase Stadium, Sarajevo3–43–5Friendly match
8.10 September 2008Bilino Polje, Zenica4–07–02010 FIFA World Cup qualification
9.15 October 2008Bilino Polje, Zenica3–04–12010 FIFA World Cup qualification
10.15 October 2008Bilino Polje, Zenica4–14–12010 FIFA World Cup qualification
11.5 September 2009Hanrapetakan Stadium, Yerevan2–02–02010 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

;Guizhou Renhe