Muhamed Konjić

Muhamed Konjić (Bosnian pronunciation: [muxǎmed kǒːɲitɕ]; born 14 May 1970) is a Bosnian retired professional footballer who played as a centre-back, most notably for Monaco, Coventry City and the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team who he also captained.

Muhamed Konjić
Personal information
Full name Muhamed Konjić
Date of birth (1970-05-14) 14 May 1970
Place of birth Tuzla, SFR Yugoslavia
Height 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s) Centre-back
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1988–1989 Famos Hrasnica 15 (0)
1989–1992 Sloboda Tuzla 21 (0)
1992–1993 Belišće 19 (0)
1994 Sarajevo 1 (0)
1993–1996 Zagreb 63 (5)
1996–1997 Zürich 36 (5)
1997–1999 Monaco 37 (2)
1999–2004 Coventry City 138 (4)
2004–2006 Derby County 16 (0)
Total 345 (16)
National team
1995–2006 Bosnia and Herzegovina 39 (3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Club career

A solid defender, he played for many clubs around Europe including FC Zürich, AS Monaco, Coventry City and Derby County.

Konjić played in Jean Tigana's talented Monaco side which famously put Manchester United out of the Champions League in 1998 on away goals after a 1–1 draw at Old Trafford.[1]

Early in 1999, Konjić was recruited by Gordon Strachan, manager of English Premiership side Coventry City for a fee of around £2 million. Injuries prevented fans from getting a real glimpse of the player though, as he made just 19 appearances before the club's relegation at the end of the 2000–01 season.

In the next three seasons, all of which were spent in the Championship. 'Big Mo' (as he was nicknamed by Sky Blues fans) made 138 appearances, and scored four goals. During this period, Konjić had captained the club and became a fan favourite. He was renowned both for his fully committed style of play and also his willingness to bring the ball forward if the midfield and attack were not having any impact.

He was sold at the end of the 2003–04 season to Derby County by then Sky Blues manager Peter Reid. In the 2004–05 season, he made 18 appearances in George Burley's Derby side which reached the Football League Championship play-offs. Injuries have continued to hamper his progress, and he made just one appearance for Derby in the 2005–06 season as a result. He was released at the end of the season and subsequently retired from playing.[2]

International career
Bosnia-Herzegovina squad during UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying.

Konjić was an influential player in the Bosnian-Herzegovinian squad, for whom he was capped 38 times. He was the captain in the first match played by Bosnia and Herzegovina on 30 November 1995. This match, a 2–0 defeat to Albania, famously came just nine days after the Dayton Peace Agreement brought an end to the Bosnian conflict.

International goals

Scores and results table. Bosnia and Herzegovina's goal tally first:

GoalDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.14 October 1998Žalgiris Stadium, Vilnius, Lithuania Lithuania1–02–4UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
2.29 March 2000Bilino Polje Stadium, Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina North Macedonia1–01–0Friendly
3.7 October 2001Koševo City Stadium, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina Liechtenstein1–05–0 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification

Personal life

Konjić spent the first eight months of the Bosnian War in his country's army. After his military discharge he trained in the streets, often during artillery raids when everybody else was covering in bomb shelters or cellars.[3]

Honours

Individual

Awards

References
  1. "Monaco and bust for sorry United". The Independent. 19 March 1998. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  2. "Mo goes". Derby County F.C. 18 April 2006. Retrieved 4 January 2009.
  3. The Sunday Herald
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