Legendary football player Sergej Barbarez debuted for the national team of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1998, when they played against Argentina.

Since then, he had played 47 matches and scored 17 goals.

The last match that the ex-captain played for Bosnia and Herzegovina was on the 10th of July 2006 against Moldova.

Exactly 15 years ago, Head coach Meho Kodro visited Barbarez in Germany so that he could persuade him to come back to the national team. At that time, Barbarez played for Bayer Leverkusen and was 37.

Journalists that worked in “Avaz” on 25th of February 2008 reported about that.

Read what Barbarez had said for our newspaper.

Head coach Meho Kodro and his first assistant Elvir Bolić watched Sergej Barbarez play for Bayer Leverkusen against Schalke on Saturday, in a match that they won 1:0.

After the game, Kodro and Bolić met with a few players that play for Bosnia and Herzegovina. Alongside Barbarez, they met with Ivica Grlić, as well as Ninoslav Milenković and Mirsad Bešlija who came from Belgium. 

“We saw each other after the game. Milenković, Grlić and Bešlija had not had the chance to meet with Kodro. Kodro explained his plans to them. He described what he wants and doesn’t want in detail. He said things that used to happen, won’t happen anymore. Kodro had said that quality is the only measure of getting called up and that there won’t be pressure from outside so some player would play, in the national team”,  said Barbarez.

There was even a word about the return of Barbarez to the national team. Even though he was 37, Sergej played like a young player.

“We talked about everything, not only my return. I, still, am not clear about what to do. I need to think about everything, how long will I play and how will I be able to endure playing. If I continue playing, I will think about coming back” -  said Barbarez for our newspaper.