Zlatan Ibrahimovic is working as a commentator for FOX Sports at the World Cup (Image: FOX Sports)
Soccer legend Zlatan Ibrahimovic gave an emotional verdict after watching Bosnia and Herzegovina make World Cup history this week.
The former Sweden international and Manchester United striker became visibly emotional while working as a pundit for FOX after Bosnia and Herzegovina’s 3-1 win over Qatar to book their place in the World Cup finals for the first time. Typically calm and collected, he found himself personally invested in Bosnia’s victory thanks to his father’s heritage.
Bosnia and Herzegovina will brace themselves for next week’s round of 32 match against the United States.
“The essence of football is to bring people together, especially in Bosnia. It’s very emotional to see how much this country has suffered and to see this happiness,” Ibrahimovic said on FOX Sports. “It gives me goosebumps because that’s my father’s roots.”
More than 100,000 people died in the Bosnian war in the 1990s. Before independence, Bosnian players represented Yugoslavia, but after forming their own national team, Bosnia qualified for its first World Cup in 2014.
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The conflict also forced many people to leave their homes, including Ibrahimovic’s Bosnian father and Croat mother, who moved to Sweden before Yugoslavia broke up. Bosnia did not receive FIFA recognition until 1996.
After moving to Sweden, Ibrahimovic began his career as Sweden’s all-time leading scorer. Despite scoring 62 goals in 122 international games, 19 of which came during World Cup qualifying, Ibrahimovic ended his career with Sweden without scoring a single World Cup goal.
Bosnia and Herzegovina qualify for the World Cup finals for the first time (Image: Getty)
“Just to see 70,000 people singing, the Bosnian fans have probably already won the World Cup, so I’m very proud of them and very happy to see them make it out of the group stage,” Ibrahimovic continued.
“But the special moments are when the fans are singing. This is the moment that touches me. I can’t even express my feelings right now, but it’s a very emotional moment. I’m just happy, just happy.”
Ibrahimovic’s father Sefik was born in Bijelina, Bosnia and Herzegovina and moved to Sweden in 1977, where Zlatan grew up. He was popularly known as “Kinko”, a folk singer who started his career in his hometown in 1985.
Although Zlatan chose to represent Sweden, he frequently speaks of the importance of his Bosnian heritage. Bosnia showed improvement after a 3-1 win over Qatar, a 1-1 draw with Canada, and a 4-1 loss to Switzerland.
Under coach Sergey Barbares and captain Edin Dzeko, the team secured third place in Group B and advanced to the round of 32, surpassing their 2014 group stage elimination record. Bosnia will begin their campaign in the knockout stages on July 1 against the United States at Levi’s Stadium.
