Samed Baždar
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Date of birth | 31 January 2004 | ||
Place of birth | Novi Pazar, Serbia and Montenegro | ||
Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
Position(s) | Forward | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Zaragoza | ||
Youth career | |||
Partizan | |||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2021–2024 | Partizan | 58 | (11) |
2024– | Zaragoza | 12 | (4) |
International career‡ | |||
2019 | Serbia U15 | 1 | (0) |
2019 | Serbia U16 | 2 | (0) |
2020 | Serbia U17 | 2 | (1) |
2021–2022 | Serbia U19 | 14 | (2) |
2023–2024 | Serbia U21 | 4 | (1) |
2024 | Serbia | 1 | (0) |
2024– | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 1 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 5 November 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 16 November 2024 |
Samed Baždar ( born 31 January 2004) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Segunda División club Real Zaragoza and the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team. Born in Serbia to Bosnian parents, Baždar represented the Serbia national team once before switching to play for Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2024.
Club career
[edit]Partizan
[edit]At a very young age, he drew the attention of the football public to himself after a great season in the Serbian Cadet League, where he scored 39 goals and assisted 17 in the championship. Even then, European giants were knocking on Partizan's door, the famous Juventus was rejected. Baždar did great things, wrote history, but remained firmly on the ground. After a dream year in the cadet league, Samed continued with great performances in the following seasons in the youth league.
A graduate of the club's youth academy, Baždar made his professional debut for the club on 15 May 2021 at the age of 18, coming on as a 79th-minute substitute for Miloš Jojić in a 3–0 victory over Voždovac.[1]
The 18-year-old drew the attention of the world public to himself when the British Guardian ranked him among the 60 greatest talents in the world, and the Spanish Marca wrote about him as an upcoming talent who is on the radar of Real Madrid and Atlético.
Baždar scored his first goal for Partizan on 9 July 2022 in a 4–0 away win against Javor in the first game of the season.[2] He scored his third goal of the season on 2 October in Derby of Serbia in a 4–1 win against Vojvodina. In the last moments of the game, Baždar took the ball away from his rival in the middle of the field, he himself ran towards the rival's goal and set the final score.[3] Baždar was the scorer again on October 30 in a 4–0 victory over Radnički Niš. It was the 85th minute of the game when Bibras Natcho played through the young Baždar, and the talented youngster from the school of (The Steamroller) placed the ball nicely in the net and increased to a big 4–0.[4]
Baždar scored his first goal in the 2023–24 Serbian SuperLiga season in the 22nd round match against Radnik Surdulica.[5] In the 23rd round Partizan kept the first place in the SuperLiga after defeating Železničar (3–1), and the young Baždar shined once again. The wonderkid had a goal, an assist and a foul made on him for a penalty after 30 minutes of football, so his performance resonated in the region as well - one of the most influential websites in Bosnia and Herzegovina proposed an "Invitation" for Baždar to the Football Association of Bosnia.[6] On April 20, 2024, in the 173rd edition of the Eternal derby, Baždar scored his first goal against bitter rivals Red Star.[7]
Zaragoza
[edit]On 17 July 2024, Spanish Segunda División side Real Zaragoza reached an agreement with Partizan for the signing of Baždar, who signed a five-year contract with the club.[8] Samed Baždar made his debut on August 16, 2024 in a 4–0 win over Cádiz CF, assisting Mario Soberón for the lead goal, playing 81 minutes when he was replaced by Marcos Luna.[9] On 21 September 2024, Baždar scored the winning goal in a 2–1 win over Levante UD. His goal reminded many Zaragoza fans of the legendary Savo Milošević, former Partizan striker, who scored a similar goal against Real Valladolid in the 1998-1999 season.[10]
International career
[edit]Born in Serbia, Baždar is of Bosniak descent.[11] He was selected for the junior national team when he was 12 years old. He made his U15 debut against the United States of America. For the next age category, he played in a double match with Slovakia in Dunajská Streda, at the beginning of November 2019. The head coach Saša Ilić invited him to the Serbia under-17 for the double match with Bulgaria in September 2020. In the first of two meetings on the field, Baždar replaced Viktor Radojević after one hour of play, and in the 87th minute he scored for the final 0–2. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 European Under-17 Championship was cancelled. That's how he joined the older generation and in June 2021 he made his debut for the Serbia under-19 in a match against Romania. Later, he was invited to the "Stevan Vilotić Ćele" Memorial Tournament, where he was the scorer of the only goal for the minimal victory over Hungary. He scored another goal in the friendly match against Croatia in March of the following year. In the meantime, Baždar also played for the under-18 team, in a double match with Slovenia in September 2021.
Baždar made his debut for the senior Serbia national team on 25 March 2024 in a friendly against Cyprus.[12]
On 1 November 2024, several media outlets reported that Baždar announced he would switch national alligances to Bosnia and Herzegovina.[11] Baždar made his Bosnia and Herzegovina national team debut on 16 November 2024 in a Nations League game against Germany at Europa-Park Stadion. He substituted Luka Kulenović in the 63rd minute, as Germany won 7–0.[13]
Career statistics
[edit]Club
[edit]- As of matches played on 5 November 2024.
Club | Season | League | National Cup[a] | Continental | Total | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Partizan | 2020-21 | Serbian SuperLiga | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
2021-22 | Serbian SuperLiga | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
2022-23 | Serbian SuperLiga | 27 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 7[c] | 0 | 34 | 4 | |
2023-24 | Serbian SuperLiga | 25 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2[b] | 0 | 31 | 8 | |
Total | 58 | 11 | 5 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 74 | 12 | ||
Zaragoza | 2024-25 | Segunda División | 12 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | 12 | 4 | |
Career total | 70 | 15 | 5 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 86 | 16 |
- ^ Includes Serbian Cup, Copa del Rey
- ^ a b Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa Conference League
- ^ Five appearances in UEFA Europa League, Two appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
International
[edit]- As of match played 16 November 2024[14]
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
Serbia | 2024 | 1 | 0 |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2024 | 1 | 0 |
Total | 1 | 0 |
References
[edit]- ^ "Partizan vs. Voždovac 3 - 0". Soccerway.com. 15 May 2021.
- ^ "Javor vs. Partizan 0 - 4". Soccerway.com. 9 July 2022.
- ^ "Partizan vs. Vojvodina 4 - 1". Soccerway.com. 2 October 2022.
- ^ "PARTIZAN VS. RADNIČKI NIŠ 4 - 0". Soccerway.com. 30 October 2022.
- ^ "RADNIK SURDULICA VS. PARTIZAN 1 - 2". Soccerway.com. 24 February 2024.
- ^ "PARTIZAN VS. ŽELEZNIČAR PANČEVO 3 - 1". Soccerway.com. 2 March 2024.
- ^ "RED STAR BELGRADE VS. PARTIZAN 3 - 2". Soccerway.com. 20 April 2024.
- ^ "Acuerdo con el Partizan de Belgrado el fichaje de Samed Baždar" [Agreement with Partizan Belgrade for the signing of Samed Baždar] (in Spanish). Real Zaragoza. 17 July 2024. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
- ^ "CADIZ VS. REAL ZARAGOZA 0 - 4". Soccerway.com. 16 August 2024.
- ^ "REAL ZARAGOZA VS. LEVANTE 2 - 1". Soccerway.com. 21 September 2024.
- ^ a b "Samed Bazdar Switches Serbia for Bosnia, Set to Miss Match Against Málaga - footboom1.com".
- ^ "Cyprus v Serbia game report". ESPN. 25 March 2024.
- ^ "Germany v Bosnia and Herzegovina game report". ESPN. 16 November 2024.
- ^ "Samed Baždar". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
External links
[edit]- Samed Baždar at FK Partizan
- Samed Baždar at Soccerway.com
- Samed Baždar at WorldFootball.net
- Samed Baždar at Soccerbase.com
- Samed Baždar at National-Football-Teams.com
- Samed Baždar at BDFutbol
- 2004 births
- Living people
- Footballers from Novi Pazar
- Men's association football forwards
- Bosnia and Herzegovina men's footballers
- Bosnia and Herzegovina men's international footballers
- Serbian men's footballers
- Serbia men's international footballers
- Serbia men's youth international footballers
- Serbia men's under-21 international footballers
- Dual internationalists (men's football)
- Bosniaks of Serbia
- FK Partizan players
- Real Zaragoza players
- Serbian SuperLiga players
- Serbian expatriate men's footballers
- Bosnia and Herzegovina expatriate men's footballers
- Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Spain
- Bosnia and Herzegovina expatriate sportspeople in Spain
- Expatriate men's footballers in Spain