We are the guys from below Trebević, we cheer for Baždarević

"We are the guys from below Trebević, we cheer for Baždarević..." This was chanted in the Valley of the Cups in the eighties of the last century. That was the brilliant FK Željo UEFA Cup generation led by captain Mehmed Meša Baždarević, the BiH news agency Patria reports an excerpt about Baždarević from the book „sportskivremeplov.ba“, by author Muhamed Bikić.

Years and years have passed since Meša left the Valley of the Cups, but his love for the club where he learned the football alphabet remains to this day, and he has never forgotten it. Every story with Baždarević begins with his Željo...

"Željo is my life. I started playing very early, at the age of eight. I went through all of Željo's selections, starting with Vjekoslav Lujo Kranjac, and later I was coached by Mile Bunjevac, Vasilije Radović, and Velija Bećirspahić," recalls the legendary Meša.

Mehmed Baždarević was a first-team player for Plavi from 1977 to 1986.

"I played in a brilliant generation of Željo which, unfortunately, did not win the championship title of the former Yugoslavia or any other trophy. And we were very close. According to many opinions, we played the most beautiful football in the country at that time. That generation managed to reach the final of the former state's Cup, then the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup. We were just one step away from winning the then Marshal Tito Cup, and from qualifying for the UEFA Cup final where the famous Real Madrid awaited us." Baždarević also fondly remembers the eternal derbies.

"My generation was more successful in the city derbies. In 14 matches, we won six times, drew six times, and lost only twice. Those were our most important matches of the season, because it was most important for the fans to beat Sarajevo, and we were very successful in those years."

The legendary Meša was the record holder for the number of appearances for all representative selections of the former Yugoslavia.

"I had a total of 109 appearances, and Dragan Džajić had 106. I played 55 matches for the youth national team, which was the European champion in 1978, and for the U-21 and Olympic teams, and 54 matches for the senior team."

Mehmed Baždarević is the winner of the Olympic bronze medal from Los Angeles in 1984. However, an ill-considered move (a red card) in the qualifying match Yugoslavia – Norway cost him a place in the 1990 World Cup in Italy.

"Those were the hardest moments of my playing career. I simply did what I did. It's true, I didn't exactly spit in the direction of the referee, which was later shown on TV footage, but the referee was rigorous. He wrote the worst things about me in the match report, and that was enough for FIFA to punish me severely. On the other hand, all the requests from the then Football Association of Yugoslavia were too futile. It was as if someone was interested in me not playing in the World Cup. And I wasn't considered an ordinary national team player. The fact that I was the record holder for the number of appearances for all representative selections speaks volumes."

Baždarević also had 18 unofficial and 2 official appearances for the national team of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

"During the war, I regularly played in charity matches for BiH. I responded to every call, no matter where the game was played. I played official matches against Greece and Croatia, and in the latter in Bologna, I was also the captain."

Regarding his club career, Baždarević continued playing in France after leaving Željo.

"In the summer of 1987, I moved to the French club Sochaux, where in 1989 I was chosen as the best foreign player in the French 1st league. I stayed at FC Sochaux until 1996, after which I played the 1996/97 season in Nîmes. I ended my career in 1998 at Étoile Carouge in Switzerland."

After ending his playing career, Baždarević turned to coaching. He was first an assistant coach at Sochaux, and then in 2003 became the head coach of Istres, with whom he entered the elite league of France. In July 2005, he went to Tunisia and took over Étoile du Sahel, with whom he played in the final of the African Champions League that same year. In the same year, he went to Qatar and took over Al-Wakrah. After spending one year in Qatar, he returned to France, where in December 2007 he took over Grenoble, with whom he entered the French First League. In June 2011, he took over FC Sochaux, and then he was again at the helm of the Qatari club Al-Wakraha.