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Edin Džeko

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Edin Džeko

Edin Džeko (Bosnian pronunciation: [ědin dʒêːko]; born 17 March 1986) is a Bosnian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Serie A club Fiorentina and captains the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team. He is the all-time top goalscorer and most capped player of the Bosnian national team. Džeko was named Bosnian Footballer of the Year for three years in a row. He has been nicknamed "the Bosnian Diamond" (Bosnian: Bosanski dijamant) or simply "Diamond" (Dijamant) by football fans and journalists in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Prior to joining Fiorentina, he played for Manchester City, Roma, Inter Milan and Fenerbahçe, but he made a name for himself while playing for German club VfL Wolfsburg, with whom he won the Bundesliga in the 2008–09 season. He was the second-highest goalscorer with 26 goals. In the 2009–10 season, Džeko was the top scorer with 22 goals. He also registered ten assists in both seasons. During the 2011–12 Premier League season, Džeko scored four goals in one game for Manchester City against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane. On the final day of that season, he scored an equaliser against Queens Park Rangers in the 92nd minute, before Sergio Agüero won it for City with seconds to go, ensuring the team won a league title for the first time in 44 years. Džeko finished as the top scorer of Serie A in the 2016–17 season, scoring 29 goals for Roma. On 3 March 2018, he scored his 50th league goal for the club, thus becoming the first player ever to score 50 goals in three of Europe's top five major leagues.

A former youth international for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Džeko made his senior international debut in 2007, earning over 140 caps and scoring 72 goals since. Džeko became the highest Bosnia and Herzegovina goalscorer of all time on 7 September 2012 in a game against Liechtenstein, scoring a hat-trick to surpass Zvjezdan Misimović and Elvir Bolić. On 11 September 2018, in a game against Austria, he played his 95th game for Bosnia and Herzegovina and surpassed Emir Spahić to become the country's most-capped player. His ten goals in the qualifying campaign helped his national team qualify for its first international tournament, the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Džeko began his career at Željezničar, playing as a midfielder between 2003 and 2005, but with little success playing in that position. He was widely regarded as too tall, and with poor technical abilities. Džeko's coach at the time though, Jiří Plíšek, saw his potential and when Plíšek returned home, he advised Teplice to buy him. Željezničar accepted a bid of just €25,000 for Džeko, one of Željezničar's directors saying years later, "[we] thought we won the lottery".

Džeko had a loan spell with Ústí nad Labem in 2005, during which he scored six goals in 15 games. Later that year, he moved back to Teplice, staying there until 2007. With 13 goals in 30 games, he was the second-top goalscorer of the Czech League in the 2006–07 season. Due to his performances, VfL Wolfsburg manager Felix Magath signed him for €4 million.

After moving to Wolfsburg, Džeko scored five goals and recorded three assists in his first 11 games: he was named by Sportal as the best striker in the first half of the 2007–08 Bundesliga season. During his first season in Germany, Wolfsburg finished in fifth place, qualifying for a UEFA Cup spot for the following season. Džeko finished the 2007–08 season with eight goals and seven assists in 17 games started.

After Wolfsburg acquired fellow Bosnian international Zvjezdan Misimović in July 2008, Džeko's performances improved significantly. During the first half of the 2008–09 Bundesliga season Džeko scored five goals and added seven assists, but after the winter break he added 21 goals and three more assists. This upturn was especially visible during their ten-game winning streak from 7 February to 26 April, in which he scored 11 goals and added an assist. In May 2009 Džeko scored a hat-trick against Hoffenheim, and did so again two weeks later against Hannover 96, contributing 26 goals and 10 assists overall in 32 league matches. His goal tally was second only to teammate Grafite, with whom he formed the most successful strike duo in Bundesliga history; Misimović, the team's main assist and key pass provider, himself broke a longstanding Bundesliga record for assists by setting up 20 goals, the three players becoming known as "the magic triangle". Wolfsburg ended the season as Bundesliga champions for the first time in the club's history; they finished two points clear of Bayern Munich, the key match being the meeting between them on the 26th matchday which finished 5–1, Džeko and Grafite scoring two goals each in an impressive performance (the latter added his second and the team's fifth with a memorable dribble and backheel). At that point Wolfsburg, in third at the start of the day, gained the lead in the table for the first time and retained the position for the rest of the season to take the title.

In the DFB-Pokal, Džeko scored six goals in two matches, and in the UEFA Cup, four goals and two assists in eight matches. These performances resulted in him being given the Bundesliga Players' Footballer of the Year award. Despite attracting interest from A.C. Milan Džeko decided to stay, renewing his contract until June 2013.

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