Босни ба Херцеговины хамгаалагч Тарик Мухаремович Сассуоло багаас 40 сая еврогоор Лидс Юнайтед руу шилжин ирж, тус багийн түүхэн дэх хамгийн үнэтэй гурав дахь тоглогч боллоо.
Тарик Мухаремович Дэлхийн аваргын үеэр АНУ-ын тоглогч Фоларин Балогуны үйлдсэн алдааны улмаас олны анхааралд өртөж, улмаар тухайн үйл явдал олон улсын хэмжээний маргаан дэгдээсэн билээ. Уг тоглолтод Балогун улаан хуудас авсан ч АНУ-ын ерөнхийлөгч Дональд Трамп ФИФА-гийн ерөнхийлөгч Жанни Инфантинотой холбогдон шийдвэрийг дахин хянуулах хүсэлт тавьсны дүнд тоглогчийн торгуулийг цуцалсан юм. Мухаремович тухайн үед бэртэлгүй үлдсэндээ талархаж байгаагаа илэрхийлээд, энэ нь өөрийнх нь карьер дахь мартагдашгүй үйл явдал болсныг дурджээ.
Өдгөө 23 настай хамгаалагч Лидс Юнайтед багийн төлөвлөгөө болон дасгалжуулагч Даниел Фаркегийн тавьсан шаардлагад нийцэн Премьер лигийг сонгосон байна. Тэрээр Ювентус багт байхдаа Жоржо Кьеллини, Леонардо Бонуччи зэрэг шилдэг хамгаалагчдаас суралцсан нь өөрийнх нь тоглолтын арга барилд ихээхэн нөлөөлсөн гэв. Лидс Юнайтед багийн шинэ тоглогч өмнө нь Дэлхийн аваргын урьдчилсан шатанд Италийн эсрэг тоглож, улсынхаа шигшээ багийг түүхэн амжилтад хүргэхэд гол үүрэг гүйцэтгэсэн билээ.
Мухаремович улирлын өмнөх бэлтгэл тоглолтод Аугсбургийн хаалганд гоол оруулж, шинэ багтаа амжилттай дасан зохицож байна. Тэрээр Премьер лигийн хүчирхэг довтлогчидтой халз тулахыг тэсэн ядан хүлээж байгаа бөгөөд багийнхаа төлөө эцсээ хүртэл тэмцэхэд бэлэн байгаагаа илэрхийллээ.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
When the United States forward Folarin Balogun stepped forcefully over the right ankle of Tarik Muharemovic, the Bosnia and Herzegovina defender could never have envisaged that it would spark one of the most controversial episodes in World Cup history.
After video reviews by the referee, presented in slow motion, Balogun received a red card during the USMNT’s round-of-32 victory, which ordinarily would have ruled the striker out of the subsequent game against Belgium. That was until United States President Donald Trump became so incensed by the decision that he picked up the phone to FIFA’s president, Gianni Infantino, requesting that the decision be reviewed.
A disciplinary committee, which Infantino insists acted independently, then took the highly unusual step of suspending Balogun’s ban.
All of a sudden, Muharemovic discovered a level of unintended fame, as videos of his contorted ankle were reviewed in the White House. “After this tackle, the media was exploding,” Muharemovic tells The Athletic. “I was everywhere. Every media site. But obviously, at the end, we know he (Balogun) didn’t want to do it on purpose. It was unlucky.
“I just thank god that I came out of it without an injury. That’s the most important thing. It was painful. I was also scared because I felt a lot of pain, but when I stood up it was OK.”
Folarin Balogun challenges Tarik Muharemovic, a challenge that earned a red card after a VAR review (Michael Steele/Getty Images)
Muharemovic’s rapid recovery was important, not only because he was competing in the World Cup, but also because he was in demand this summer.
He eventually signed for Premier League team Leeds United in a deal worth €40million (£34.1m; $46.7m) from Italian team Sassuolo. He is the third-most expensive signing in Leeds’ history, after Georginio Rutter and James Trafford, and was desperately required. As a left-sided, 6ft 4in (193cm) centre-back, he will fill the void left by Pascal Struijk’s £18m departure for Brighton & Hove Albion in June.
For the Leeds recruitment team, headed up by sporting director Adam Underwood, it was another triumph of long-term planning.
Leeds compiled scouting reports on Muharemovic for a full season and made their interest in the player clear in March. It was a similar operation to the one that tempted Sean Longstaff to join from Newcastle United last summer, when Leeds informed the player’s representatives in early spring that he would be their top midfield target if the team secured promotion at the end of the 2024-25 season.
For Muharemovic, who spent four years on Juventus’ books before joining Sassuolo in the Italian second tier in 2024, there were other options. Sunderland made a late play, but his performances in Italy, where he helped Sassuolo to promotion and then made 32 appearances in Serie A last season, also yielded interest from major clubs.
“Juventus was not that much, but I’m thankful for every interest,” Muharemovic says. “Inter was also at the table, but I decided to come to the best league.
“After the World Cup, my agent, my family and I talked together. I got all the names of the clubs and I felt Leeds was the best for me. I knew how much they wanted me. I really felt how much they put in to buy me, how much interest they had, and I liked the club’s plan. They showed me the A to Z, really everything: what their plans are, how they want to bring the club back where it belongs to (be). There was a whole presentation.
“Then the coach (Daniel Farke) told me he wants a player who gives everything for his team and who comes to fight from the first second to the last second. I am a player like this. I play and I defend. With my feet or with my head, I don’t care. I just want to defend the goal and help the team.”
Tarik Muharemovic is considered a key addition at Leeds United this summer (George Wood/Getty Images)
Muharemovic is already well-travelled for a 23-year-old and speaks English fluently. He was born in Slovenia, moved to Austria with his family as a child, and then joined Juventus at 18.
Although he was signed to play for Juventus’ development teams, he learned from the legends of the sport at the club’s training complex in Turin, as grizzled defenders Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini were approaching the end of their careers. Even then, they maintained the same chest-beating gladiatorial presence that so intimidated opponents. Former team-mate Alvaro Morata once compared training against Chiellini as akin to going “into a cage with a hungry gorilla and trying to take his food”.
“This is a part of my career that I’m really grateful for,” says Muharemovic. “They help you a lot when you come there as a young player. It’s hard to become a first-team player at Juventus, but when you train with them, they’re the first ones who come to you, and especially if you’re a defender. They’re the first to tell you how to defend.
“The first time I went to train with the first team, I went to the gym. I was the first inside because I didn’t know where to go. I was just waiting for the other players to come. Then I went on the bike and I saw Paulo Dybala coming inside, then Chiellini, then Bonucci. Big names. It felt like a movie.
“I watched them closely. I liked how Chiellini celebrated after every slide tackle, after every duel. But I also watched a lot of old videos from my idol, the Bosnia defender Emir Spahic, and how aggressive he was when celebrating.”
Does he think that defensive persona can impact opponents? “Maybe yes, but also a lot of strikers get angry about it, so I like it even more,” he grins.
A playful and driven character, Muharemovic should be well received at Elland Road, where he scored an overhead kick in a 4-0 win over Augsburg during pre-season. He says he is relishing the prospect of facing the Premier League’s most potent forwards. “Every one of them,” he smiles. “(Erling) Haaland. (Benjamin) Sesko from Manchester United. We know how hard the Premier League is, but we’re not scared of anybody. We just want to play, we want to fight, especially for the club.”
Ermedin Demirovic, Dzenis Burnic and Tarik Muharemovic celebrate Bosnia and Herzegovina’s qualification for the World Cup (Getty Images/Getty Images)
By now, Muharemovic has experienced a red-hot atmosphere, most notably when he excelled during his country’s World Cup qualifying victory over Italy in March, helping secure a place in the competition for only the second time in its history. For a nation of around three million, it was a monumental achievement.
“Even today it still feels like a dream,” Muharemovic says. “What we achieved, it was one of the best nights we ever had, for the whole country, the whole Bosnian people, wherever they live. We knew if we won, the city was going to explode, it was going to burn. I really enjoyed that.
“After the game, we drove to the city centre in Sarajevo, where there were over 100,000 people. You can imagine how crazy that is.”
At the World Cup, his country qualified from their group — Muharemovic was sent off in their defeat against Switzerland — but were knocked out by the USMNT.
Does he believe they fulfilled their potential? “No, I don’t think so. We could do much more because we did not play like we did against Wales and Italy (in qualifying), which showed how well we can play and how sharp we can be. We played OK, but we could have done much more.
“I’m still happy that we made it out of the group and that we made history. To do something like this is still incredible.”
Since joining Leeds, he has been watching YouTube videos of the atmosphere at Elland Road.
“It’s crazy, amazing,” he says. “The Premier League is a dream come true. Every footballer knows that the Premier League is the No 1 league in the world. It’s the best football you can watch and the most interesting, because every club can win against everyone.”
