Refik Šabanadžović
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Refik Šabanadžović | ||
Date of birth | 2 August 1965 | ||
Place of birth | Tuzi, SR Montenegro, Yugoslavia | ||
Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
Position(s) | Midfielder, defender | ||
Youth career | |||
Dečić | |||
Budućnost Titograd | |||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1982–1983 | OFK Titograd | 23 | (1) |
1983–1987 | Željezničar | 82 | (0) |
1987–1991 | Red Star Belgrade | 62 | (2) |
1991–1996 | AEK Athens | 143 | (5) |
1996–1998 | Olympiacos | 25 | (0) |
1998–1999 |
Kansas City Wizards | 27 | (0) |
Total | 362 | (8) | |
International career | |||
1986–1990 | Yugoslavia | 8 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Refik Šabanadžović (born 2 August 1965) is a former Yugoslav professional footballer who played as a midfielder and defender.
Born in
Club career
Šabanadžović began his career with a Montenegrin club FK Dečić. He was spotted there by Titograd's Budućnost and moved there shortly after. Before the 1983–84 season, following his senior debut with OFK Titograd, he moved to Sarajevo's Željezničar where he became one of the more notable Yugoslav defenders under the guidance of Ivica Osim. He gave his contribution to the club's best European result, UEFA Cup semi-finals in the 1984–85 season.
After four seasons playing for this Bosnian side, he left for Red Star Belgrade. He won three championship titles and one national cup at the club, but the most important moment of his entire career was winning the European Cup in the 1991 against Marseille.[1]
After that, Šabanadžović went to Greece to sign for AEK Athens, where he was brought by the then coach Dušan Bajević. He established himself immediately in front of the defensive line, as modern defensive midfielder, who played box to box. Alongside Savevski they formed one of the greatest midfield duos in the history of the club.[2] In his first three seasons he won as many championships, along with a Greek Cup and a Greek Super Cup, with Šabanadžović being one of the protagonists. His last year at AEK was accompanied by stunning football, with the addition of Tsiartas and Ketsbaia in the midfield, with the club winning the Cup[3] and finishing second in the league.[4]
In the summer of 1996, his contract was expired and Šabanadžović, followed his coach, Bajević to Olympiacos, as they offered them a greater deal. In Piraeus, he added two more league titles to his portfolio, but he never reached the standards of his previous career making only 25 appearances in two seasons.[5]
In the winter of 1998, Šabanadžović moved to
International career
Šabanadžović's appearances in the Yugoslavia national team were largely sporadic. With 8 caps in total (6 starts and 2 substitute appearances) spanning four years from 1986 until 1990, all under head coach Ivica Osim, the highlight of Šabanadžović's time with the national team was his appearance at the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy. Though he made 4 starting appearances during the competition, with confident defensive displays, he is mostly remembered for getting sent-off in the 31st minute of the quarter-final versus Argentina.
Euro 1988 qualifying
Šabanadžović made his national team debut on 29 October 1986, as a starter in defensive line in the opening
Simultaneously, while not getting a chance in the national team full squad, young Šabanadžović fared better in the under-23 (Olympic) team, getting included in the squad taken to Seoul for the 1988 Olympics where he started each of the three Yugoslavia matches as the team failed to progress out of the first round group stage. Also selected and coached by the national team full squad coach Osim, the inclusion of Šabanadžović in the Olympic team came as a bit of surprise considering the twenty-three-year-old was still recovering from the horrific head injury he had endured in a Yugoslav league match some 10 months earlier that saw him in coma for 3 days and out of footballing action for 6 months.
1990 World Cup qualifying
It would be almost two years before Šabanadžović saw national team full squad action again. In mid October 1988, Yugoslavia played its opening
1990 World Cup
The April 1990 inclusion of twenty-four-year-old Šabanadžović in Osim's final squad for the World Cup came as a surprise considering he only played several minutes in qualifiers and had only one substitute appearance in the pre-World Cup friendlies – the match versus Spain in Ljubljana.
For the group stage opener versus West Germany at San Siro, Šabanadžović stayed on the bench without a single minute of action. Due to the heavy opening loss, Osim decided to reshuffle the defensive line for the next group match against Colombia in Bologna, benching Zoran Vulić and Mirsad Baljić while giving Šabanadžović and Vujadin Stanojković a start. Šabanadžović played the full ninety as Yugoslavia recorded a hard-fought 1–0 win. Five days later, he again got the start in the final group match versus minnows United Arab Emirates before getting subbed off towards the end for club teammate Robert Prosinečki as Yugoslavia managed an easy 4–1 win.
For the knockout stage versus Spain, Šabanadžović again got the start and repaid the coach's trust with a confident display as Yugoslavia progressed with a 2–1 extra-time win. By now, Šabanadžović's stock in Osim's eyes was raised to the point that the coach gave him the unenviable task of guarding Diego Maradona in the quarter-final versus Argentina in Florence. Unfortunately, the matchup ended very early for Šabanadžović as he collected two yellow cards in the span of only seven minutes during first half: the first for what the Swiss referee Kurt Röthlisberger adjudged to be improper behaviour during the setting up of the Yugoslav wall before Argentinian free-kick and the second one in the 31st minute for a foul on Maradona. Until the end, the 10-man Yugoslavia fought bravely, creating several excellent goal-scoring opportunities, but eventually lost on penalties in heart-breaking fashion.
Šabanadžović never played for the national team again. In total, he collected 8 caps in the Yugoslavia national team.[7]
Bosnia and Herzegovina
In March 1993, while the Bosnian War was raging, 27-year-old Šabanadžović took part in two friendly matches as part of "Bosnia-Herzegovina Humanitarian Stars" versus K.R.C. Genk and 1. FC Kaiserslautern in Genk and Koblenz, respectively.[8] The hastily arranged team also featured many Bosnian born players who previously played in the Yugoslavia national team such as Faruk Hadžibegić, Safet Sušić, Mehmed Baždarević, Mirsad Baljić, Davor Jozić, Blaž Slišković, Haris Škoro, Semir Tuce, Meho Kodro, Predrag Jurić, and Husref Musemić. Though the matches only had humanitarian character, they were played with FIFA's approval and were widely seen as the first step in the eventual formation of the Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team.
Once the Bosnian national team started playing official matches in late November 1995, Šabanadžović didn't make further appearances.
Personal life
Šabanadžović lives in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina with his wife Zerina Dervišević and their four children.[9] His son Anel is a footballer who also plays for AEK Athens.[10]
Injury
On 15 October 1987, only three months after transferring to Red Star Belgrade from FK Željezničar, Šabanadžović was injured severely during his first match back in Sarajevo against his old club. Early into the
Luckily, he recovered completely and returned to competitive action about six months later to great success. Couple of months after returning to football, he was named to the Olympic squad taken to Seoul during summer 1988.
Honours
Red Star
- 1990–91
- Yugoslav First League: 1987–88, 1989–90, 1990–91
- Yugoslav Cup: 1989–90
AEK Athens
- Alpha Ethniki: 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94
- 1995–96
- Greek Super Cup: 1996
Olympiacos
References
- ^ "1990/91: Crvena zvezda spot on". UEFA.com. 29 May 1991.
- ^ "Η χαφάρα που άφησε εποχή στο ελληνικό ποδόσφαιρο". Menshouse.gr.
- ^ "«Ενέργειες που γίνονται με κομπιούτερ»: Η ιστορική επτάρα της ΑΕΚ στον Απόλλωνα στον τελικό του '96". sport-fm.gr.
- ^ "Ρέφικ Σαμπανάτζοβιτς". kitrinomavro.gr.
- ^ "2/8/1965 Γεννήθηκε ο Ρέφικ Σαμπανάτζοβιτς". aektoday.com.
- ^ "Yugoslavia v Turkey Qualifier for 1988 UEFA Euro Champs". Sky Sports. October 1986. Archived from the original on 13 April 2022. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
- ^ "Player Database". eu-football.info. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
- ^ Sušić, Slišković, Škoro i drugi počeli stvaranje reprezentacije;sarajevo-x.com, 9 March 2010
- ^ Životna priča Refika Šabanadžovića SportIN.ba
- ^ "ΑΝΕΛ ΣΑΜΠΑΝΑΤΖΟΒΙΤΣ". aekfc.gr.
- ^ a b Delić, Emir (23 February 2013). "Šabanadžović: Na Grbavici sam gledao smrti u oči". Al Jazeera Balkans. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
External links
- Refik Šabanadžović at Reprezentacija.rs(in Serbian)
- Refik Šabanadžović at Major League Soccer
- Refik Šabanadžović at EU-Football.info
- Refik Šabanadžović at FBref.com
- Refik Šabanadžović at National-Football-Teams.com
- Refik Šabanadžović at WorldFootball.net
- Refik Šabanadžović at Olympedia
- Refik Šabanadžović: Uživam u odmoru od fudbala, Nezavisne novine, 18 June 2006 (in Serbian)
- U Zvezdi sam ostvario snove;Danas, 17 May 2008 (in Serbian)