Edin Džeko

Edin Džeko (Bosnian pronunciation: [ˈɛdin ˈdʒɛkɔ]) (born 17 March 1986) is a Bosnian footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Manchester City and the Bosnian national team. He was named Bosnian Footballer of the Year for 2009 and 2010. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, he is known as the "Bosnian Diamond" (Bosnian: Bosanski dijamant).

Early Career

Džeko began his career at Željezničar, playing as a midfielder between 2003 and 2005, but with little success. He was widely regarded as too tall, and with poor technical abilities. Džeko's coach at the time though, Jiří Plíšek, saw his potential and when Plišek returned home to the Czech Republic, he advised FK Teplice to buy him. Željezničar accepted a bid of just €25,000 for Džeko, prompting one of the Bosnian club's directors to say, "[we] thought we won the lottery".

He had a loan spell with Ústí nad Labem in 2005, during which he scored six goals in 15 games. Later that year, he moved back to FK Teplice, playing there until 2007. With 13 goals in 30 games, he was the top scorer of the Gambrinus liga in the 2006–07 season. Due to his performances, then manager Felix Magath of VfL Wolfsburg signed him for €4 million.

Wolfsburg

After transferring to Wolfsburg, Džeko was an immediate hit, scoring five goals and recording three assists in 11 games. He was also named by Sportal as the best striker in the first half of the 2007–08 Bundesliga season. During his first season in Germany, Wolfsburg finished in fifth place, qualifying for a UEFA Cup spot for the 2008–09 season. Džeko finished the 2007–08 season with eight goals and seven assists in 17 games started.

After Wolfsburg acquired fellow Bosnian international Zvjezdan Misimović, Džeko's performance was explosive in the second season. Despite a slow first half of the season, Wolfsburg found their form and won their first Bundesliga title. In May 2009, Džeko scored a hat-trick against TSG Hoffenheim and another hat-trick against Hannover 96 just two weeks later, contributing towards a very strong finish to the 2008–09 season. He finished with a total of 26 league goals and 10 assists in 32 league matches. His goal tally was second only to teammate Grafite, with whom he formed the most successful strike duo in Bundesliga history.

In the DFB-Pokal, he scored six goals in two matches, and in the UEFA Cup, four goals and two assists in eight matches. These performances resulted in him being given the Bundesliga Players' Footballer of the Year award. Despite attracting interest from AC Milan, Džeko decided to stay, renewing his contract until June 2013.

He scored his first UEFA Champions League goal on 30 September 2009 against Manchester United in a 2–1 defeat at Old Trafford. He was one of 30 players nominated for the 2009 Ballon d'Or. He was top scorer of the Bundesliga in the 2009–10 season with 22 goals scored.

On 28 August 2010, Džeko became the top league scorer in the club's history with 59 goals in 96 appearances, surpassing Diego Klimowicz who scored 57 goals in 149 games.

 

Manchester City

After heavy speculation, Roberto Mancini, manager of Manchester City, confirmed on 3 January 2011 that a fee of £27 million (€32 million) had been agreed with Wolfsburg for Džeko, which was City's second highest transfer figure, after Robinho's £32.5 million (€42.5 million) move from Real Madrid in 2008. The transfer fee was the sixth highest in the Premier League. Also, the sum broke the Bundesliga record departure transfer fee, Bosnian record transfer fee, as well as that of any player from ex-Yugoslavia. The previous ex-Yugoslav record stood for more than a decade – the transfer fee paid by Real Madrid to Fenerbahçe for Elvir Baljić in 1999 (€26 million).

Following his medical exam in London he travelled to Manchester on 5 January, and on 7 January, Džeko was confirmed as a Manchester City player, joining the club on a four and a half year deal.
He made his debut for the club in a 4–3 win over Wolves on 15 January in which he set up Yaya Touré for the third goal of the match. Džeko marked his FA Cup debut on 30 January 2011 with the equalising goal in Manchester City's fourth round match against Notts County which ended in a 1–1 draw. In the replay on 20 February, Džeko again scored, helping Manchester City progress to the next round in a 5–0 romp. Džeko scored twice against Aris Thessaloniki within four and a half minutes at the City of Manchester Stadium in the second leg of the last 32 of the Europa League on 24 February 2011.

On 25 April 2011, Džeko scored his first Premier League goal with a right footed finish against Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park. This was the only goal of the game in a 1–0 win for Manchester City
Although his form in the second half of the season in the Premier League has fluctuated, Džeko's three goals have all been important. His equaliser against Notts County to in the FA Cup forced a replay and City eventually went all the way to win the FA Cup.
The goal against Blackburn Rovers sealed a vital 1-0 victory which to all-but-secured a fourth spot in the league for Manchester City. His last goal was against Bolton Wanderers on the final day of the season and guaranteed City third spot over Arsenal and automatic qualification into the group stage of the UEFA Champion's League.

Džeko started his second season with City by scoring the team's second goal in a 2–3 defeat against rivals Manchester United in the FA Community Shield. Džeko started and scored in City's first game of 2011–12 Premier League season, a 4–0 win over Premier League newboys Swansea City. In his third English Premier League game of this season, Džeko scored four goals, completing a "Golden hat-trick" and the last goal was a left-footed strike from outside the box, against Tottenham Hotspur. In this game, Džeko broke another record by becoming the first Manchester City player to score four goals in one Premier League match. His tally of six league goals in three games won him the Premier League Player of the Month award for August.

Personal Life

Džeko was born in Sarajevo, SFR Yugoslavia, into a Bosniak family. His family consists of father Midhat, mother Belma and sister Merima. He stated that his family was always supportive throughout his career, especially his father, who took him to training sessions while he was at Željezničar. His father also played professionally in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Džeko is multilingual, speaking four languages fluently: Bosnian, Czech, German and English.
Džeko stated that AC Milan has always been his favourite club and Andriy Shevchenko his favourite player. In his home in Sarajevo, he still has an AC Milan jersey with the number 7 (worn by Shevchenko while at the club) on the wall in his room.