Admir Adžem to lead Željezničar next season

(Patria) - A Željezničar youth product, a trophy winner as both a player and a coach, Admir Adžem (52), is the new head of FK Željezničar's professional staff, and he will lead the team from the start of preparations for the next season. Željo and Adžem have signed a two-year contract with an option to extend for another year.

Admir Adžem came to Željezničar as a boy. After going through Željo's football academy, he debuted in October 1991 in a match against Rad. He continued to train at Željo during the aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina, thus being one of those credited with the club's survival during the war years. He wore the Blues' jersey for eight seasons, and played abroad for Zagreb, and Polish clubs Pogon, Zaglebie, and Katowice. He made 145 appearances and won two BiH championship titles, and played 14 matches for the BiH national team.

This was followed by coaching education and work in Željezničar's Youth Academy. He led the youth teams of the Blues. He won two championship titles with the juniors and one with the cadets of the Blues. He made a significant contribution to the development of young players who later reached the BiH national team, and participated in two of Željo's appearances in the Youth Champions League. He was a member of the U-17 BiH national team's professional staff under Sakib Malkočević.

He had two mandates on the first team's bench. In the 2014/2015 season, he led the Blues in 22 matches, achieving 11 wins, seven draws, and four losses. He then led Željo in the 2017/2018 season, in which the Blues won the BiH Cup and finished as vice-champions of our country. In 40 matches, he had 27 wins, seven draws, and seven losses, with an average of 2.13 points per match, which is the highest in the last nine seasons. In both mandates, he placed a special focus on young players from our academy.

After Željezničar, he worked at Al-Wasl (UAE) as head of youth selections, and at Goražde, GOŠK, and Jedinstvo, which he led until the end of the season. He achieved his goals in Bihać, and Jedinstvo is currently on a 13-game unbeaten streak.

Admir Adžem will be officially presented at the start of preparations for the next season. The roll call will be on June 10. Željo will play the first leg matches of the Conference League qualifiers on July 10 and 17.