Season Summary after 9 weeks

Football fans in Bosnia-Herzegovina expected for a long-time to see a season in which the traditional giants would dominate the league. In the previous years, we have seen clubs like Borac, Željezničar, and Velež get relegated in the First Ligas or just barely avoid relegation. This year is very different, the leading clubs are those who we would expect to see in top, with the only exception of Sloboda who seems to be in a perpetual crisis.

Just before the Euro Qualifiers break, NK Široki Brijeg took a 3 point lead on top of the Premijer Liga following a 5 game winning streak. FK Sarajevo is right behind but has performed inconsistently in the past few match-ups. After losses to Leotar and Široki, they grabbed a win in Prijedor to give themselves some momentum going into the final stretch of the autumn half-season. FK Željezničar has been excellent recently after a very slow start to the season and they are now undefeated in their 6 past league encounters. Amar Osim’s side has a very light schedule and should be able to continue this run. FK Borac Banja Luka started emphatically but has now registered three back-to-back losses and has dropped to fourth place. Things don’t seem encouraging as they will visit an astonishing Čelik in next round. Rivals HŠK Zrinjski and FK Velež from Mostar have been battling for the fourth-fifth position since the league started as both teams have played beyond expectations. They are not very far behind the leading four and could well spoil the intentions of some clubs.

In the middle of the table we have 5 teams at 11 points with an identical record of 2 wins, 3 draws, and 4 losses. Among these we have this season’s biggest underachiever, FK Olimpic. The team from Otoka is the proof that money alone will not bring success, even after signing players such as Vladavić, Regoje, and Muharemović. The team has been slightly better recently but a home draw to NK GOŠK Gabela confirms their constant uncertainty. We also have FK Leotar who played along with expectations. They have been good at home and even shocked FK Slavija in Eastern Sarajevo.  Then, there is NK Travnik who opened the season very well, but eventually plunged in a crisis after long-time manager Selimović was sacked. At 11 points we also have NK Čelik, who have been recently a very pleasant surprise. They are now undefeated in the past 4 matches and I wouldn’t bet against their run ending anytime soon. Finally, there is also FK Rudar who has has shown several good performances including a home win against Velež and an away draw to Slavija.

At the bottom of the table we have 5 times separated by only 3 points. NK GOŠK Gabela holds a very respectable 12th position and 10 points just after being promoted from the Federation’s First League. They are on an impressive 4 game unbeaten streak including away draws to Olimpic and Travnik. The little town of Gabela on the Bosnian-Croatian border has proved to be a very pleasant surprise and refreshment in the Premijer Liga. Sharing the 12th position we also have NK Zvijezda. The team from Gradačac has been a tough nut to crack for a lot of teams and therefore probably deserves a better position. Barely escaping a position that leads to relegation, we have FK Sloboda with a terrible 9 points in as many games. The team from Tuzla has recorded a single win in the past 5 just as their crisis seems to get worse. Something needs to change quickly in the ranks of this once football giant. 15th place is held by FK Kozara even though they have been exceptionally solid in all games. Their goal differential of -3 is impressive for a team that is on the edge of relegation. They nearly caused an upset in Široki Brijeg last week, but a late goal demolished their hopes of coming back with a point. Finally, we have FK Slavija that has played below any expectations this season. Their defence allowed a humungous 25 goals. They have the worst form in the league with only 1 point in their last five.

In conclusion, despite of all the scandals that surrounded Bosnian football in the recent weeks, this season is showing promise to be one of the most exciting ones yet. We have many contenders for the title and also a league that has never been so organised. Refereeing standards have improved dramatically and the normalisation committee seems to have done an overall good job to make the competition more regular. I predict that by the end of the fall half-season, we will have a NK Široki Brijeg side on top with FK Željezničar, FK Sarajevo, and FK Borac Banja Luka following closely. There shouldn’t be any major change in the rankings overall. Note that the eternal derby between FK Željezničar and FK Sarajevo will take place soon in the 13^th week of competition.

Top Scorers

5 goals: Kojašević (Sarajevo), Džidić (Zrinjski)

4 goals: Marjanović, Bekić (Zrinjski), Karić (GOŠK), Kapić (Olimpic), Šešlija (Slavija), Ivešić (Travnik)
3 goals: Suljić, Obuća, Haskić (Sarajevo), Selimović, Zeba, Adilović (Željezničar), Vidaković, Kajkut (Borac), Hadžić (Čelik), Dudić (GOŠK), Pliska (Olimpic), Varea (Široki Brijeg), Bešlija (Travnik)

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