A great coach, who has proved himself many times over. A club structure that has shown it can cope with the demands of the Bundesliga. And some exciting players.
Before the season started, comment on Bundesliga newcomers Hoffenheim focused on coach Ralf Rangnick and on players like Carlos Eduardo, Demba Ba und Chinedu Obasi. But nobody was talking about Vedad Ibisevic. Last season's five goals in 31 games in the second division did not exactly make the headlines.
That's all changed. Ibisevic, only 24 years old, is the Bundesliga's latest “shooting star”. His 10 goals put him top of the current goal scorers' list. Torjägerliste. He's as surprised as anyone, he tells bundesliga.de.
“Like a new signing”
Right now, the young Bosnian is an automatic choice. Says Hoffenheim coach Ralf Rangnick: “It's amazing how easy he makes scoring look.” It was Rangnick who brought Ibisevic to Hoffenheim at the start of the 2007/08 season. But his breakthrough has only come playing in the Bundesliga itself. “It's as if I had signed up a new player”, says Rangnick.
Team mates are just as complementary. “'I'm pleased that he's scoring. He's earned it. He's made great strides, because it was tough for him at first,” says fellow Bosnian international Sejad Salihovic. Like Ibisevic, he was part of the team that got promoted at the end of last season.
The Hoffenheim striker has a cv that's hard to match. He's experienced more at the age of 24 than some footballers experience in a whole career. bundesliga.de has put together some of the most interesting facts about Vedad “the wanderer” Ibisevic.
Tough times
Week-in and week-out, Vedad Ibisevic impresses fans with his commitment and skill. But fate hasn't always been kind to him. As a sixteen-year old, the civil war in Bosnia turned Vedad and his family into refugees. From his home in Vlasenica they went first to Tuzla and from there to Switzerland, where Vedad turned out for FC Baden. Today, Baden play in the Swiss 3rd division, but was also once home to Bundesliga players like Mladen Petric and Diego Benaglio, as well as Vedad Ibisevic.
It's off overseas again
Vedad Ibisevic didn't stay long in Switzerland. His family followed relatives to the US where Vedad, now aged 19, immediately started playing football. At St. Louis College, Vedad broke all team records and was showered with honours. European talent scouts quickly spotted him. One of them was French footballing legend Michel Platini. France was his next destination.
Paris calling
In a training camp for under 21s, he came to the attention of Vahid Halilodzic, a Bosnian who had made a big name for himself as a player and coach in France. Halilodzic, now coahc for Paris Saint-Germain, brought Ibisevic to Paris but played him only twice in four half-seasons. When Halilodzic left, so did Ibisevic initially on loan to 2nd division Dijon. It never occurred to him to give up and 10 goals for Dijon put him back in the limelight.
From France to Germany
Those goals in Dijon were noted in Germany, too. When Alemannia Aachen won promotion to the Bundesliga, Dieter Hecking brought him to the club, but he had to wait for a real breakthrough. His talent was obvious, but too often he seemed to lose his nerve in front of goal. When Hoffenheim went up into the 2. Bundesliga, they approached Ibisevic. “They made me an offer I couldn't refuse,” he recalls.
Multilingual man
His many moves did not make for an easy life, but there were advantages, too. Everywhere he went, he learned a new language - and did so very quickly. These days he's fluent in English, French and German. In Aachen, the striker was also given the job of official translator during training for the many foreign players who madn't mastered German.
Ibisevic helps rivals
Ibisevic wasn't the only player to join Hoffenheim for the 2007/08 season. The club also signed on Chinedu Obasi and Demba Ba and sensational attacking duo were decisive in the club's promotion to the top flight of German football. But it was Ibisevic who helped make that possible - both on and off the pitch - even though they are also rival for a first team place. “He's exceptional, ” says coach Ralf Rangnick. “Vedad is really important in creating team spirit.”
Vedad likes the quiet life
Interviewers invariably ask Hoffenheim players what they do with their free time in the sleepy country town. Vedad Ibisevic dismisses the question: “Do you really think there's nowhere you can buy some rolls or go for a walk or go the cinema? There's everything you need right here or close by, ” he says. The 24-year old doesn't need the bright lights. “I'm used to it being quiet.,” he says. “I grew up on a farm.”
A visit from the States
Vedad may have passed through Paris, Dijon and Aachen on his path to Hoffenheim, but his parents have stayed in the States. Even so, his mother Mirsada and father Saban often come to visit him in Germany: “They're proud of me,” says Vedad. And when they fly back to the States, we keep in touch via the internet. Vedad is anyway an internet junkie.
Edited by Fatih Demireli
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