MAINTENANCE. “It’s difficult to prevent players from doing their job”, testifies Mécha Bazdarevic, member of the Yugoslav selection excluded from Euro 1992

It was one of the most beautiful selections of the early 1990s. Quarter-finalist of the Italian World Cup, Yugoslavia had the favor of the forecasts on the eve of Euro 1992, played in Sweden. But ten days before the competition, the UN Security Council voted for an embargo preventing Yugoslav participation in any sporting event.

Thirty years later, this case inevitably echoes the exclusion of Russia from the qualifying play-offs for the 2022 World Cup, decided by FIFA on Monday February 28. Then Sochaux player, Mécha Bazdarevic (54 caps), was a member of his selection. Currently on a mission with UEFA to develop football in Bosnia and Herzegovina, he agreed to return to this “collapsed dream”.

Franceinfo: sport: This Russia’s exclusion from the next World Cup bring back any memories for you?

Mecha Bazdarevic: A little, yes. But there, it happened very quickly, after a few days. For us, it was still prepared, we expected to be excluded. We saw that abnormal things were happening in our country. But we thought that by competing in the European championship, we were going to prevent these tragic events in our country. We wanted to show that we could continue together. I was convinced it was possible.

On a personal level, how did you learn that Yugoslavia would not play Euro 1992?

At the end of the qualifications, we saw that some players withdrew from the selection, in particular the Croats. They did not participate in the last qualifying match, in Austria. But in no way were we expecting our dream to end. We Bosnians, like the coach, withdrew because Sarajevo was bombed. But the team left anyway, and they learned about the ban in their training camp in Sweden. They were forced to return.

Was it a personal decision?

We were five from Bosnia, including Faruk Hadzibegic [ancien joueur et entraîneur de Sochaux]in addition to the coach [Ivica Osim, ancien joueur de Sedan et Strasbourg]. We went to greet the group in Zurich before leaving for Sweden. We did all that, but we decided not to go becauseBeyond football, there were more important things. There were beginning to be deaths. It was very difficult to live.

In football alone, it has serious consequences because a player does not have many opportunities to play in a Euro or a World Cup…

It sometimes happens once in a career… Some young people will have opportunities, but others have fought for 15 years to play this kind of event, and there… (he sighs). It’s a whole life project, like the Olympic Games. It is very difficult to prevent players from doing their job and achieving their dreams. But hey, again, there are more important and more serious things.

“At some point, you realize it’s just football. I would give everything I’ve done in my career to save a few lives.”

Mecha Bazdarevic

france info: sports

Do you consider it fair to exclude a selection in the name of the actions of a president?

Russian footballers, basketball players and tennis players have nothing to do with it. They have friends in all countries, in Ukraine, in France… What can be blamed on an athlete who is disqualified because the Russian president has decided so? Russian players, if they go to a competition, will get hit, but they have nothing to do with it.

FIFA/UEFA suspends Russian clubs and national teams from all competitions

▶️ https://t.co/Q2htzW3W9z pic.twitter.com/LFo1bUtqmm

— FIFA Media (@fifamedia) February 28, 2022

Precisely, did you suffer this kind of acts on the ground in “reprisals” of the events in Yugoslavia?

To me, no, because we were victims. But Serbs… They were insulted, spat on. They weren’t the ones making the war! I do not know a player in the world who will sign up for war, who will encourage people to go there. Most athletes want to gather, battle and wage war on the field. But at the end of the match, basta!

Looking back, do you consider this non-participation a turning point in your career?

I think. I was 31, it was the best time to win a title. I was one of the best players in my position in Europe. This European championship was to confirm my superb period. It was the same for [Dragan] Stojkovic [Dejan] Savicevic, [Zvonimir] Boban. I was negotiating with Barcelona at that time, they wanted to see me in the European championship before… Then it became harder in my life, with the war on top of that.

Exclusion may seem all the more bitter as Denmark, which you beat in qualifying, won the Euros after replacing you…

(He cuts) We hadn’t beaten them, we had swept them away! [La Yougoslavie l’avait emporté 2-0 au Danemark, mais s’était inclinée 2-1 à domicile] It was a big nation with [Peter] Schmeichel, [Michael] Laudrup… But we were too strong, we had spent ten years together! When we saw that they were European champions, it was the double penalty. It was a dream that was falling apart, because we were favorites for these European championships. It was difficult, because we knew we would never be together again.