What after THIS?

By Mladen BOŠNJAK

Among football fans in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the conditional phrase "if this ever passes" and the bold overture "when this passes" are most common. What then? Indeed, there are many suggestions, variants, ideas… some crazy, some confused, some silly, some thought-out, some serious, some visionary. What after THIS?

No sensible person, of course, can predict the final easing of the pandemic, no normal person dares to predict when football competitions in Bosnia and Herzegovina will resume, when competitions under the auspices of UEFA and FIFA will resume, when the long-awaited playoffs will take place. Everyone trembles at the imagined picture of the local economy, which economic entities will survive this pre-apocalyptic state, who will be healthy and solvent enough to sponsor weak BiH football. And sports in general.

It is not known how the clubs are preparing for the Day after THIS, how they see the situation in their ranks in, say, a year. But, it is clear that this is a good opportunity to start from healthy foundations: transfer the youth academy to the senior team, a young and promising coach from within the club, set reasonable salaries with contracts, and roll up your sleeves! This is not some special intelligence, this is the matrix by which, it seems, Dinamo Zagreb will function. And the matrices by which that club has functioned for the last 20 years have certainly yielded results.

Will any of our Premier League teams have the strength and courage to start from a clean slate, from a swept yard, will anyone muster the strength to drive out the political dregs from the club premises or will local obscurantists continue to do as they please? Will anyone have the strength to give up profane (semi)coaches who, before being engaged by clubs, first inquire where the municipal court is!? (I had minor unpleasantness, verbal though, for writing about one such person, but that only drives me to mark them even more energetically). Does anyone have an answer to the question of why a political turncoat (Mićić) in Bijeljina is so much more influential in the football club than a football legend (Krstajić)? We need to find answers to all these questions and, much harder, a counter-remedy.

It is indeed very difficult to predict the near future. Many clubs in Europe are on the verge of bankruptcy, a few of them have "turned off the lights", almost all have drastically cut costs… The continuation of the Champions League, the Europa League is uncertain… Some national championships will end with a tournament format for the remaining rounds, some plan to freeze the current situation, a few are silent and waiting for a solution from heaven. We seem to be among those.
As I write this, I sincerely hope that I will enjoy the game of the local youth on pleasant autumn evenings, that I will recognize love on the beardless face of every player, recognize the sincere motive, and see youthful playfulness and flair. I most sincerely see myself at Bilino Polje, at national team matches, after which songs will echo through the streets of Zenica until dawn.

Of course, that is the optimistic forecast of a provincial writer who imagines the time after THIS!