Idman.biz
An interview with Elvir Bolić, a living legend of Bosnian and Herzegovinian football, for Futbolxeber.az
- It was a pleasant surprise to see you at the World Minifootball Championship in Baku.
- Thank you. I am the director of the Bosnia and Herzegovina national minifootball team. I am here to support the team. Also, my company is one of the sponsors of the national minifootball team.
- You used to play in big clubs, you are a famous football player. Do people recognize you in Baku?
- Although I played football 20-25 years ago, there are still people who recognize me. I was surprised that people recognized me in a restaurant and hotel.
- Because Turkish football is very popular in Azerbaijan, and Fenerbahçe also has many fans...
- Yes, I didn't know that (laughs). As I said, it was a pleasant surprise that people recognized me in Baku. As far as I can see, Azerbaijan and Turkey are very close. There were Turkish channels on TV in the hotel as well.
- Although you played for Galatasaray for a short time, your main successes are related to Fenerbahçe. In your opinion, what is the reason for the Istanbul club's failures in recent years?
- It's very difficult to say. Yes, Galatasaray has been dominant in recent years. It is not easy to knock them off the top. That's how it is in football, one period is like that, the next period is different. I believe that Fenerbahçe will soon achieve great success. But this will not be easy.
- After you finished your football career, you worked as a coach in the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team for a short time, but it did not continue afterwards. Why didn't you want to work as a coach?
- As you said, I did not work as a coach after that. I wanted to spend more time with my family. Coaching is a very difficult job. But I wouldn't say that I am completely out of football. I closely follow the local championship, the Turkish and Spanish championships. My son has also started playing football.
- Fantastic money has been circulating in world football in recent years. Players are paid 100, 150, 200 million dollars. If Elvir Bolić played football in this era, what would his transfer value be?
- It would be very different (laughs). I remember, in my first season at Fenerbahçe I scored 24 goals, and in the second I scored 23. They said, why did you score less this year? But now I see that they score only 15-16 goals. Now football is a bit different, everything is more tied to business. What can be done? It is like that now. If you want to play in the Champions League final, you have to spend a lot of money. Money is very important in modern football. I think the prices are a bit inflated.
- Do you know anyone in Azerbaijani football?
- I don't know anyone specifically. What can I say falsely? But I have general information. One of my purposes in coming to Baku is to get to know Azerbaijani football better. I know that efforts are being made to develop the country's football. I saw the city, I liked it very much. Everyone speaks positively about Azerbaijan and Baku.
İdman.biz
