FC Barcelona will play on Wednesday in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia and formerly that of Yugoslavia, a state which dissolved into different countries following the Balkan wars. If in other sports such as basketball and handball, FC Barcelona has benefited from excellent Balkan athletes, in football, only Ivan Rakitic has been fully successful.
Players such as Prosinecki, Kodro and Pjanic arrived at Barça with already established careers, but failed to make their mark in Blaugrana colors. The two Balkan-born coaches who managed the club also struggled to leave their mark.
Dragan Ciric joined Barça in the 1997-98 season from Partizan Belgrade. This Serbian, technical attacking midfielder, remained a sporadic replacement for Luis Figo under Van Gaal’s plans. Ciric only scored one goal during his time at the club and never showed the talent expected.
Goran Drulic, striker, joined Barça B during the 1996-97 season, but he failed to find his feet. However, the player from Negotin (Serbia) enjoyed success in Zaragoza.
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Ljubisa Brocic was the coach who replaced Helenio Herrera when the Argentine went to Inter. The former Turkey coach’s methods did not yield the expected results, and he was unable to complete the 1960-61 season.
Radomir Antic also had a brief stint as Barca coach. He managed to qualify the team for the UEFA competition in the 2002–03 season, which looked bleak upon his arrival. However, with the arrival of Joan Laporta, a decision was made not to renew his contract and choose Frank Rijkaard instead.
Robert Prosinecki illustrates the story of a former Yugoslav player who did not succeed at Barça. European champion with Red Star Belgrade, his recruitment by Real Madrid proved disastrous due to a series of injuries. With Radomir Antic, he found his level in Oviedo, which led Johan Cruyff to give him a chance. Despite some flashes of genius, Prosinecki never managed to flourish at Barça.
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Johan Cruyff also brilliantly recruited the Croatian Goran Vucevic, from Hajduk for the reserve team. The Split native showed glimpses of his talent, but only made a few notable appearances for the first team in 1993.
Another very promising Croatian player, Alan Halilovic, has also joined Barça. His dribbling skills marked him out as a midfielder with great potential, but he only accumulated 28 first-team minutes under Luis Enrique. Subsequently, with Eusebio at Barça B, he struggled to establish himself and display his talent consistently.
Luis Enrique’s big Croatian bet was Ivan Rakitic. Lucho had committed to the Sevilla midfielder, who had become indispensable in a team which won a treble. During a period focused on improving the Messi-Suárez-Neymar trident, Rakitic was crucial in maintaining balance in midfield.
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The powerful and technically gifted right-handed international completed six remarkable seasons at the Blaugrana.
Meho Kodro is another inexplicable case of a renowned Balkan player who failed to thrive at Barca. Johan Cruyff was looking for a classic ‘9’ after Romario’s departure, but the Mostrar striker was unable to adapt.
He had emerged as a prolific striker at Real Sociedad but failed to score the expected goals at Barca. The ongoing conflict in Bosnia has also affected his state of mind.
Recently, Barca signed Pjanic after a successful stint at Juventus. The Zvornik midfielder arrived at Koeman’s Barca at the age of 30 but could not maintain the level he had in Italy. He never managed to compete effectively with Sergio Busquets and was ultimately pushed aside by Xavi Hernández.
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Another Bosnian who spent time at Barça without leaving a mark is central defender Pecelj, who joined Barça B under Juande Ramos in the 96-97 season with minimal contribution.
David Babunski had all the qualities to shine on the world stage, possessing enviable physical attributes and technical skill reserved for gifted players. However, his notable performance in Barça’s youth teams did not materialize as expected when he was promoted to Barça B.
The Macedonian showed sparks of immense talent but lacked the intensity and pace needed to get a chance in the top flight. Despite three seasons in the Blaugrana reserves, he has not developed as expected.
Lazar Carevic has joined Barca’s Juvenil A from OFK, with attributes and skills suggesting he could become a promising goalkeeper. Although he had creditable outings in Barça B, the Cetinje player could not set a higher standard than local talents Arnau Tenas and Iñaki Peña.
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After five seasons in Barca’s youth set-up, Carevic moved to Vojvodina before landing in Portuguese football.
