Vedad Ibisevic

Vedad Ibisevic (born August 6, 1984 in Vlasenica) is a Bosnian footballer playing for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim in German Bundesliga. He has previously played his football in Switzerland, the USA and France.

Ibisevic was born in the Bosnian part of Yugoslavia prior to the breakup of the country in the Bosnian war. He and his family left Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2000, moving to Switzerland where Ibisevic was signed by FC Baden in Canton Aargau. However, his family left Switzerland after only ten months, moving to St. Louis in the United States.

In St. Louis, Ibisevic flourished as one of the region's most promising football players, and after his senior season in 2002, was named by Soccer America as one of the nation's top 25 recruits. He played his high school career at Roosevelt High School.

Vedad signed to play college soccer in his adopted hometown at one of the nation's most respected football establishments, Saint Louis University. He quickly established himself in his freshman year, registering 18 goals and 4 assists in 22 games for the Billikens, while leading a strong SLU team deep into the NCAA Tournament. For his achievements, Ibisevic was named the NCAA Freshman of the Year, as well as a first team All-American. During his college years he also played in the USL Premier Development League with both the St. Louis Strikers and Chicago Fire Premier.

During training with the team, he was spotted by Paris Saint-Germain F.C.'s Bosnian and Herzegovinian manager Vahid Halilhodzic, who quickly signed him to play for the renowned French team for the coming season. Vedad initially saw little action, and was loaned to French second division club Dijon FCO. In 2005, he signed a two year contract with Dijon.

In May 2006, he signed a 3-year deal with Alemannia Aachen and on July 12, 2007 he moved to another German club, TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.

Vedad Ibisevic kicked off the Fusball-Bundesliga 2008-09 season with fashion, scoring two goals in Hoffenheim's first ever appearance in the Fusball-Bundesliga against Energie Cottbus with the game ending 3-0 in Hoffenheim's favor. He scored another goal in his second game against Borussia Mönchengladbach. In his third game for the club in the Fusball-Bundesliga, he scored his fourth goal of the season against Bayer Leverkusen but his side lost 5-2. He scored another two goals in Hoffenheim's 4-1 win over Borussia Dortmund. Ibisevic has so far recorded eighteen goals and seven assists in sixteen games in Hoffenheim's debut season, making him the league's top scorer before he was injured. He was voted Bundesliga Player of the Month for October, 2008.

On January 14, 2009, Ibisevic was injured in a training match against Hamburger SV. The final examination has confirmed an anterior right cruciate ligament rupture, which makes him unable to play for the rest of the 2008-09 season.

Besides his native Bosnian, he is fluent in English, French and German languages. In Alemannia Aachen, the striker was also given the job of official translator during training for the many foreign players who had not mastered German.

During the offseason, Vedad was called back to Europe to play for the U-21 Bosnia and Herzegovina national team.

On the International level, Vedad Ibisevic has been active for his country Bosnia and Herzegovina. On March 24, 2007 he made his debut for the Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team for the Euro 2008 Qualifier against Norway. Unsurprisingly, Ibisevic was amongst the 11 starters for the match.

On October 13, 2007, Ibisevic was called up to play the Euro 2008 Qualifier against Greece in Athens. It was then when Ibisevic scored his first international goal, scoring the second and final goal in his side's 3-2 loss.

Ibisevic is part of the national team for FIFA World Cup 2010 qualifiers.