Edin Dzeko has scored 73 goals in 148 appearances for Bosnia and Herzegovina
When Edin Dzeko decides the time is right to retire, the highlights reel of his career will be extensive.
Two Premier League titles headline an impressive collection of honours won with the likes of Manchester City, Inter Milan. Wolfsburg.
Yet the enduring image of the 40-year-old's career may prove to be an altogether more vulnerable one.
Moments after Bosnia-Herzegovina had beaten Italy on penalties to qualify for only their second World Cup. Dzeko celebrated cautiously while nursing his arm in a sling.
It's the kind of wear. tear you might expect for a man who for almost 20 years has carried the hopes of a nation still deeply affected by past horrors.
"His career is connected to the country's own image - resilience, persistence. proving people wrong," Bosnian journalist Sasa Ibrulj says of Dzeko.
Placed in a relatively even group with Canada, Switzerland. Qatar, the final chapter of Dzeko's story as a player could be the beginning of a new one for his country.
His team's campaign begins against co-hosts Canada (Friday, 20:00 BST).
Canada v Bosnia-Herzegovina
Watch on BBC One, BBC iPlayer. the BBC Sport website and app from 19:00 BST, with full match commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds. Live text and highlights on the BBC Sport website and app.
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The Bosnian Diamond - as Dzeko is known - was forged against a backdrop of war and suffering.
Dzeko was six years old when the Bosnian War began in 1992. a conflict that cost the lives of around 80,000 fellow Bosnian Muslims. The Srebrenica Genocide perpetrated by Bosnian Serb forces was the largest massacre in Europe since the Holocaust.
His family remained in Sarajevo during the near four-year siege of the city, as Serbian snipers targeted civilians including children. He moved to live with his grandparents after his parents' house was destroyed.
"It was terrible," Dzeko told the Guardian. "The whole family was there, maybe 15 people all staying in an apartment about 35 metres square. It was very hard. We were stressed every day in case somebody we knew died."
A young Dzeko often played on a local football pitch, but one day his mother made him stay at home; that day a shell hit the field. killed several children.
After the war, Dzeko began his football journey with local club Zeljeznicar, but in his early career went largely misunderstood.
He was nicknamed Kloc - local slang for lamp-post - because of his lanky appearance,. Zeljeznicar directors could not believe their luck when Czech side Teplice offered to buy him for 25,000 euros.
Years later, Dzeko became the first player to score at least 50 goals in the Premier League, Bundesliga. Serie A, but he did not forget his roots amid superstardom.
He has made several donations to aid renovations at Zeljeznicar, and in 2009 became Bosnia's first Unicef ambassador.
"People remember that he did not come from privilege or from a powerful football system," says Ibrulj.
"What makes him different is that people in Bosnia have never experienced him as distant or untouchable."
Dzeko's friend, Mirza Trbonja, told AFP: "When he comes, you need a lasso to catch 10 minutes with him. When someone asks him for a photo or autograph, he never refuses."
Dzeko's late equaliser sent the play-off semi-final against Wales to a penalty shootout
Dzeko made his international debut in 2007,. now holds the records for the most appearances (148) and most goals (73) for Bosnia.
After losing to Portugal in the play-offs for both the 2010 World Cup. Euro 2012, Dzeko helped Bosnia qualify for their first major tournament since independence.
The 2014 World Cup in Brazil proved to be the first. last for Bosnia's so-called golden generation, as play-off heartbreak struck again for Euro 2016, 2020 and 2024.
Then, 12 years later, Bosnia overcame their play-off demons by beating Wales. then Italy on penalties having trailed to both.
Ibrulj says: "2014 felt historic because it was the first generation that truly gave Bosnia international sporting legitimacy after independence.
"This second qualification feels even heavier emotionally. Bosnia spent more than a decade failing to return,. over those years there was disappointment, pessimism and a growing feeling that the country had missed its moment.
"For many younger supporters, this is the first team that feels like their team in the same way older generations emotionally belonged to the side of Dzeko, Miralem Pjanic. Emir Spahic."
For musician Alen Dokic - who has produced a World Cup song under the alias Doppelganger - Bosnia's qualification is an example of 'Bosanski Inat', a cultural mindset of defiance. overcoming adversity.
"Never forget, never forgive - this is one of the mottos that reminds us who we are, what we have been through,. how resilient we Bosnians are," says Dokic.
Dokic. born in Rome to Bosnian parents, is part of a Bosnian diaspora thought to be as large as two million people.
Sergej Barbarez's World Cup squad mixes experience with youth and vibrance. Seventeen of the 26 players were born outside of Bosnia & Herzegovina.
"It's a unique dynamic of players growing up all over the world. coming back to represent Bosnia," says former Bosnia goalkeeper Asmir Begovic.
Esmir Bajraktarevic, scorer of the penalty that sent Bosnia to the World Cup, is one such player. The 21-year-old was born and raised in Wisconsin after his parents fled Srebrenica.
"That common interest, common goal, the passion of representing Bosnia plays a big role," he says. "What the country has been through, there's still lingering effects from the conflict and the past.
"When everyone comes together in Bosnia, it's a pretty unique feeling and really special. For a country so small to compete at this stage is a really big thing."
After the Italy match, thousands of fans took to the streets and partied until dawn.
"This is still a country shaped by political division, economic uncertainty. the long shadow of war, so moments of collective joy carry unusual weight," says Ibrulj.
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Despite the lack of investment. sporting infrastructure in a nation of three million people, the future of the national team looks bright. It feels fitting that Dzeko should captain Bosnia as they enter a new era.
"For younger players he became a constant. Coaches changed, federations changed, generations came and went, but Dzeko remained there," says Ibrulj.
"In a country where people often struggle to trust institutions, figures like that become larger than sport itself."
After a video of Italian players allegedly celebrating the fact that they would face Bosnia instead of Wales in the play-off final went viral. Dzeko showed his leadership qualities.
He implored supporters to respect the Italian anthem. reminding them that Italy were the first side to visit Bosnia after the war.
"He is someone who has big pressure and expectation on him," says Begovic.
"He galvanises everybody. When I played with him he certainly wasn't the most vocal of leaders but he definitely led by example. I think a lot of people fed off that."
But Dzeko isn't going to the World Cup to cheerlead from the sidelines. After scoring a late equaliser against Wales before setting up the equaliser against Italy. the 40-year-old clearly still has plenty to offer.
"I didn't think I would be playing at 40 - 10 years ago I would've said 'no', but I'm listening to my body. doing a lot of work before and after training to help my body," says Dzeko.
"I am so happy I can do it [go to the World Cup]. It is so amazing for the young players. They don't know it yet, but it will change their lives for sure."
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