Dzeko
Edin Džeko (Bosnian pronunciation: [ědin dʒêːko]; born 17 March 1986) is a Bosnian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Bundesliga club Schalke 04. Nicknamed the "Bosnian Diamond" (Bosnian: Bosanski dijamant) or simply the "Diamond" (Dijamant), he is widely regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation. Having scored over 450 senior career goals for club and country, Džeko is also the all-time top goalscorer and most-capped player in the history of the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team. In addition, he is one of the few players to have made over 1,000 career appearances (the first Bosnian to achieve the feat, since the time matches have been recorded). Džeko currently ranks as the ninth-highest goalscorer across all UEFA club competitions, with 67 goals.
Džeko began his professional career at Željezničar in 2003. He then joined Czech side Teplice in 2005, who briefly loaned him out to Ústí nad Labem. Prior to joining Schalke, Džeko played for Manchester City, Roma, Inter Milan, Fenerbahçe and Fiorentina, but first made a name for himself while with German side VfL Wolfsburg, with whom he won the club's first-ever Bundesliga title in the 2008–09 season; he was the second-highest scorer in the league with 26 goals. In the following season, Džeko was then the Bundesliga top scorer with 22 goals. He also registered ten assists in both campaigns. Džeko then signed for Manchester City, where he notably scored four goals during a 2011–12 Premier League match 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 got the winning goal for City moments later, ensuring the team won a league title for the first time in 44 years. After lifting a second Premier League title in 2014, Džeko joined Roma in 2015, initially on loan, and finished as the top scorer of the 2016–17 Serie A season with 29 goals. On 3 March 2018, he scored his 50th league goal for the club, thus becoming the first player ever to record 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. He was named the team's captain in 2014, and went on to earn 152 caps and score 73 goals before retiring in 2026. He became the nation's all-time top scorer on 7 September 2012 in a win against Liechtenstein, recording a hat-trick to surpass Zvjezdan Misimović and Elvir Bolić. On 11 September 2018, he made his 95th appearance for Bosnia against Austria, surpassing Emir Spahić to become the country's most-capped player. Džeko helped his national team qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, their first major international tournament, scoring ten goals in the qualifying campaign. Twelve years later, Džeko's six goals helped lead Bosnia to a second World Cup qualification for the 2026 edition, secured shortly after his 40th birthday.
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