FK Sarajevo

On the field, FK Sarajevo (referred to as Sarajevo FC in English) have been Bosnia and Herzegovina's most successful team in former Yugoslavia times, and in the top three after BiH's independence. Off the field, they have been BiH's football face/representative touring around the world during the war in the first half of the nineties, and they remain an organization that contributes to life in Sarajevo in more ways than anyone could imagine or maybe even expect from a football club.

History

Fudbalski Klub Sarajevo were founded in 1946 as SD Torpedo, after two already existing teams, Udarnik (Vanguard) and Sloboda (Liberty) decided to join forces, so as to create one really strong club.

Maroon was chosen as the new team's main color mostly because by the time they were founded, every “common” color was already “taken” by other clubs.

Ferhatović – the key player

Sarajevo, named like that since 1947, won their first championship in former Yugoslavia in 1967, leaving Dinamo Zagreb second, two points below them. It was the last season of legendary striker Asim Ferhatović at the club, a figure so prominent in Sarajevo's history, that following his sudden death in 1987 (he suffered a heart attack the day after he had turned 54), the club renamed their stadium after him.

Ferhatović scored 126 goals in official matches for Sarajevo, from 1951, until the summer of 1967, when he retired. He spent his entire career at Sarajevo, excluding a super short stint at Fenerbahçe, in 1963. Soon after he joined the Turkish club, he asked them to allow him to return to Sarajevo, saying that it was the only team he really wanted to play for, despite the fact that "Fener" were paying him good money.

Ferhatović is the club's leading all-time scorer if someone takes into account the goals scored only in official matches. Dobrivoje Živkov scored a total of 212 goals for Sarajevo from 1950 to 1961, but this number includes goals in unofficial matches as well (Ferhatović's tally, including the unofficial matches, goes up to 198).

After that 1967 triumph, it took Sarajevo 18 years to celebrate another national title, winning the Yugoslav First League again in 1985. This time, it was another Croatian team, Hajduk Split, they left second. Right after that, key figures of the squad departed, most of those moved abroad, so Sarajevo failed to repeat their success next season.

War and the new conditions that followed

Once the war in former Yugoslavia broke out, the ugliest scenes of which took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo spent a good amount of time playing friendly games abroad, since it was impossible to have a proper championship in BiH, while the war was going on.

Ever since the war was ended and all parties involved managed to come together and create a single league in which all BiH clubs could and would compete, Sarajevo have struggled to remain at the top, losing that spot to city rivals Željezničar.

As previously mentioned, Sarajevo remain a club closely linked to the local community, contributing in many ways, offering help to groups of Sarajevo citizens who need it, supporting all sorts of initiatives that have to do with the improvement of life in the city, a “policy”, more like a “way or approaching things”, that maybe is worth more than Championship and Cup titles.

Player records

There is no doubt who has worn Sarajevo's jersey more times than anyone else, it's Ibrahim Biogradlić, who, interestingly, started and ended his career when Ferhatović started and finished his own (1951, 1967). Biogradlić, an excellent defender, played in 404 official matches, 646 if someone takes into account the unofficial ones as well.

By Dimitris Basias

References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FK_Sarajevo
https://bs.wikipedia.org/wiki/FK_Sarajevo
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asim_Ferhatović
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibrahim_Biogradlić
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dobrivoje_Živkov
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FK_Sarajevo_records_and_statistics
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yugoslav_First_League
https://www.fksarajevo.ba/en/history