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| Bosnia’s Debut Stirs Passions in St. Louis | |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| ST. LOUIS — The whiteboard propped on the sidewalk read “Sretno Zmajevi,” or Good Luck Dragons, referring to the nickname for the Bosnian national soccer team. And the message rippled down the street. | ST. LOUIS — The whiteboard propped on the sidewalk read “Sretno Zmajevi,” or Good Luck Dragons, referring to the nickname for the Bosnian national soccer team. And the message rippled down the street. |
| A semitruck trailer painted with the blue, yellow and stars of the Bosnian flag sat in a parking lot, and music bumped from speakers nearby. People milled about the street in blue-and-yellow jerseys and scarves. An old restaurant that closed down because of a kitchen fire had been converted into an apparel shop selling hats, vuvuzelas and all manner of Bosnian fan mementos. Conversation was loud inside Coffee Bar Skala, where smoke filled the air under a disco ball that rattled from the Bosnian country music set to a techno dance beat that vibrated through the dim, narrow space. | A semitruck trailer painted with the blue, yellow and stars of the Bosnian flag sat in a parking lot, and music bumped from speakers nearby. People milled about the street in blue-and-yellow jerseys and scarves. An old restaurant that closed down because of a kitchen fire had been converted into an apparel shop selling hats, vuvuzelas and all manner of Bosnian fan mementos. Conversation was loud inside Coffee Bar Skala, where smoke filled the air under a disco ball that rattled from the Bosnian country music set to a techno dance beat that vibrated through the dim, narrow space. |
| Bosnia has yet to kick off its first World Cup appearance, but the atmosphere along this thoroughfare in the hours before a recent tuneup against the Ivory Coast had all the energy one might expect in a Sarajevo street fair. Except this was not Sarajevo, nor was it anywhere close. This was about a mile-long stretch in St. Louis known as Little Bosnia, a place that seems more Eastern European than Midwestern America. | Bosnia has yet to kick off its first World Cup appearance, but the atmosphere along this thoroughfare in the hours before a recent tuneup against the Ivory Coast had all the energy one might expect in a Sarajevo street fair. Except this was not Sarajevo, nor was it anywhere close. This was about a mile-long stretch in St. Louis known as Little Bosnia, a place that seems more Eastern European than Midwestern America. |
| “There’s pretty much three places in the world where you want to be right now,” said Akif Cogo, 30, a native Bosnian who immigrated to St. Louis in 2001. “One is Brazil. Second one is Bosnia itself, because of the sheer number of people. The third place is definitely St. Louis.” | “There’s pretty much three places in the world where you want to be right now,” said Akif Cogo, 30, a native Bosnian who immigrated to St. Louis in 2001. “One is Brazil. Second one is Bosnia itself, because of the sheer number of people. The third place is definitely St. Louis.” |
| When war broke out in the newly independent Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina more than 20 years ago, hundreds of thousands of its citizens scattered, creating a diaspora with enclaves throughout the world. By design and by chance, an estimated 40,000 to 70,000 Bosnians have settled in St. Louis since the war, creating what is thought to be the largest Bosnian community in the United States. | When war broke out in the newly independent Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina more than 20 years ago, hundreds of thousands of its citizens scattered, creating a diaspora with enclaves throughout the world. By design and by chance, an estimated 40,000 to 70,000 Bosnians have settled in St. Louis since the war, creating what is thought to be the largest Bosnian community in the United States. |
| The large population has always turned out in local bars and in the living rooms of friends and family to cheer on the beloved soccer team. But now members of the St. Louis Bosnian community are bracing for an atmosphere more feverish than they have ever seen in their adopted hometown with their native country playing, for the first time, for soccer’s biggest prize. | The large population has always turned out in local bars and in the living rooms of friends and family to cheer on the beloved soccer team. But now members of the St. Louis Bosnian community are bracing for an atmosphere more feverish than they have ever seen in their adopted hometown with their native country playing, for the first time, for soccer’s biggest prize. |
| Ismet Dedic, 43, expects nothing less than standing room only at his bar, Skala, over the next few weeks. He opened the bar seven years ago, he said, and it has always been a gathering place for soccer. | Ismet Dedic, 43, expects nothing less than standing room only at his bar, Skala, over the next few weeks. He opened the bar seven years ago, he said, and it has always been a gathering place for soccer. |
| “We always take every game, like, serious,” he said, leaning on a bar chair with a broad grin in the burly facial features of a wrestler. | “We always take every game, like, serious,” he said, leaning on a bar chair with a broad grin in the burly facial features of a wrestler. |
| As much as Bosnians hang on every minute of their team’s soccer matches, it is a welcome relief for a people who have experienced the hardship of war and, most recently, flooding in their home country last month that caused billions of dollars’ worth of damage. | As much as Bosnians hang on every minute of their team’s soccer matches, it is a welcome relief for a people who have experienced the hardship of war and, most recently, flooding in their home country last month that caused billions of dollars’ worth of damage. |
| During the war in 1992, Dedic fought as a soldier for his country and was captured and held for eight months in a prison in Serbia. He escaped one frigid February, he said, when the guards took the inmates to a Serbian neighborhood to dig trenches. Four of them asked their captors for a bathroom break, and when they obliged, the inmates walked behind some nearby homes. They eventually took off in a sprint for the Croatian border, which was just a mile away, Dedic said. The river separating the countries had a thin layer of ice over it, he said, so they cracked it and swam across, with adrenaline rushing so fast that the freezing water felt “like that was 80” degrees, he said. A friendly Croatian Army greeted them on the other side. Dedic said he came to St. Louis later in 1993 because he had family here. | During the war in 1992, Dedic fought as a soldier for his country and was captured and held for eight months in a prison in Serbia. He escaped one frigid February, he said, when the guards took the inmates to a Serbian neighborhood to dig trenches. Four of them asked their captors for a bathroom break, and when they obliged, the inmates walked behind some nearby homes. They eventually took off in a sprint for the Croatian border, which was just a mile away, Dedic said. The river separating the countries had a thin layer of ice over it, he said, so they cracked it and swam across, with adrenaline rushing so fast that the freezing water felt “like that was 80” degrees, he said. A friendly Croatian Army greeted them on the other side. Dedic said he came to St. Louis later in 1993 because he had family here. |
| Only a handful of Bosnian families had settled in St. Louis in the decades before Dedic arrived. But in the thick of the war, which lasted from 1992 to 1995, the United States government designated St. Louis as one of the preferred settlement areas for Bosnian refugees, and many of them came to the city both from Europe and from within the United States, said Cogo, who is co-writing a book on the Bosnian community in St. Louis. | Only a handful of Bosnian families had settled in St. Louis in the decades before Dedic arrived. But in the thick of the war, which lasted from 1992 to 1995, the United States government designated St. Louis as one of the preferred settlement areas for Bosnian refugees, and many of them came to the city both from Europe and from within the United States, said Cogo, who is co-writing a book on the Bosnian community in St. Louis. |
| One of those refugees is now one of the Bosnian national team’s top strikers. Vedad Ibisevic, 29, and his family weathered the war in Bosnia, and after a brief stop in Switzerland, they came to St. Louis in 2000. Ibisevic starred in high school and as a freshman at St. Louis University, scoring 18 goals in 22 games. He left for Europe after that first year and is now one of the top strikers with VFB Stuttgart in Germany. | One of those refugees is now one of the Bosnian national team’s top strikers. Vedad Ibisevic, 29, and his family weathered the war in Bosnia, and after a brief stop in Switzerland, they came to St. Louis in 2000. Ibisevic starred in high school and as a freshman at St. Louis University, scoring 18 goals in 22 games. He left for Europe after that first year and is now one of the top strikers with VFB Stuttgart in Germany. |
| His journey to professional soccer was an unusual one, as he bounced around makeshift fields in Bosnia, then to Switzerland and the United States before returning to Europe. But Ibisevic found plenty of stability and support in St. Louis to launch his professional career. When he had to travel back to Bosnia to play with the under-21 team, people in St. Louis helped him pay his way, he said. | His journey to professional soccer was an unusual one, as he bounced around makeshift fields in Bosnia, then to Switzerland and the United States before returning to Europe. But Ibisevic found plenty of stability and support in St. Louis to launch his professional career. When he had to travel back to Bosnia to play with the under-21 team, people in St. Louis helped him pay his way, he said. |
| “I somehow have a feeling, if I didn’t come to St. Louis, I would never have made it,” said Ibisevic, whose parents and sister still live here. “I have a great time here, at the same time developed as a player and as a person, gained a lot of confidence, met a lot of positive people.” | “I somehow have a feeling, if I didn’t come to St. Louis, I would never have made it,” said Ibisevic, whose parents and sister still live here. “I have a great time here, at the same time developed as a player and as a person, gained a lot of confidence, met a lot of positive people.” |
| Now Ibisevic and his Bosnian teammates must make a cohesive team out of a disparate bunch. More than half of Bosnia’s 23-man roster left the country during or after the war, or was born elsewhere. Asmir Begovic, the goalkeeper who plays club ball with Stoke City in England and fled to Germany and then Canada with his family when he was a child, said the team has gelled well. | Now Ibisevic and his Bosnian teammates must make a cohesive team out of a disparate bunch. More than half of Bosnia’s 23-man roster left the country during or after the war, or was born elsewhere. Asmir Begovic, the goalkeeper who plays club ball with Stoke City in England and fled to Germany and then Canada with his family when he was a child, said the team has gelled well. |
| Indeed, Bosnia looked good in World Cup qualifying, winning eight of 10 matches with a potent offense led by the super striker Edin Dzeko, who plays for Manchester City, and Ibisevic. The team clearly outplayed the Ivory Coast in its victory here, and followed that performance with a victory over Mexico in Chicago. In group play, the Dragons face a tough test against Argentina in their first match, but they will be the favorites against their next two opponents, Nigeria and Iran. | Indeed, Bosnia looked good in World Cup qualifying, winning eight of 10 matches with a potent offense led by the super striker Edin Dzeko, who plays for Manchester City, and Ibisevic. The team clearly outplayed the Ivory Coast in its victory here, and followed that performance with a victory over Mexico in Chicago. In group play, the Dragons face a tough test against Argentina in their first match, but they will be the favorites against their next two opponents, Nigeria and Iran. |
| “I think it’s definitely more than soccer,” said Begovic, 26. “What our country’s been through over the last few years, and being able to help people, make them happy and give them something to cheer about is a huge motivation for us.” | “I think it’s definitely more than soccer,” said Begovic, 26. “What our country’s been through over the last few years, and being able to help people, make them happy and give them something to cheer about is a huge motivation for us.” |