Amar Osim

Amar Osim

Osim as Željezničar manager in 2013
Personal information
Date of birth	(1967-07-18) 18 July 1967 (age 56)
Place of birth	Sarajevo, SFR Yugoslavia
Height	1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Youth career
0000–1986	Željezničar
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1986–1991	Željezničar	52	(5)
1991–1992	Saint-Dié
1992–1996	Strasbourg
1996–1997	Željezničar	7	(1)
Managerial career
2001–2003	Željezničar
2006–2007	JEF United Chiba
2009–2013	Željezničar
2014–2016	Al Kharaitiyat
2018–2021	Željezničar
2022	Velež Mostar
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Amar Osim (born 18 July 1967) is a Bosnian professional football manager and former player. He is regarded as one of the most successful Bosnian football managers. ^[1]

Osim was a talented player during his teens. However, he did not transfer his talent after getting called up to the Željezničar first team. Apart from Željezničar, Osim also played in France for Saint-Dié and Strasbourg. He ended his career while at Željezničar in 1997.

Osim decided to stay in football, becoming a manager. He is the most successful manager in Željezničar's history, winning five Bosnian Premier League titles, four Bosnian cups and one, now defunct, Bosnian Supercup in his three stints with the club. ^[2] Osim also won one J.League Cup with Japanese club JEF United Chiba in 2006. He managed Qatari club Al Kharaitiyat as well, with mediocre results. In 2022, Osim was appointed at Velež Mostar.

Playing career

Born and raised in Sarajevo, Osim started playing football in hometown club Željezničar. After playing for the youth team, he entered the senior squad in 1986. In 1991, he left for France where he played for lower division clubs Saint-Dié and Strasbourg. In 1996, he returned to his home country. Osim played one more season for Željezničar before retiring.

Although a talented player, with good technical skills, Amar never managed to match the success or renown of his father, Ivica Osim's playing career.

Managerial career

Željezničar

Osim's managerial career started in Željezničar's youth squad which he guided to success in domestic competitions. After Dino Đurbuzović was sacked in the spring of 2001, club officials promoted him to the place of first team manager.

He immediately led the club to two Bosnian Premier League titles in 2001 and in 2002, being runner-up in 2003.

In August 2002, Osim led Željezničar to the 2002–03 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round, where the club lost 5–0 on aggregate to English Premier League club Newcastle United. That is, so far, the club's best post-war European competition result.

He also claimed two national cup titles in 2001 and 2003, being runner-up in 2002. Osim claimed the Bosnian Supercup in 2001 as well, after winning the double that year. ^[3] In 2002, he got the award for Bosnia and Herzegovina Manager of the Year.

Osim was sacked at the beginning of the 2003–04 season due to poor results.

JEF United Chiba

Amar's father Ivica Osim invited him to Japan to be his assistant at JEF United Chiba. After Ivica was named the head coach of the Japan national team, Amar got promoted.

He guided JEF United to win the J.League Cup in 2006. But after a poor finish to the 2007 season, in which JEF United finished in 13th place in the J1 League, Osim got sacked.

Return to Željezničar

After his time in Japan, Osim returned to his hometown and in June 2009, returned to Željezničar for his second spell as the club's manager.

In his first season as manager, Osim immediately guided the club to win the league title and finished as national cup runners-up. In the following season he won the national cup, losing the league title just one round before the end of the season and ending third. In 2012, he claimed the league title once again, with three rounds left to play, breaking many records on the way and also defended the national cup, bringing the double back to Željezničar after eleven years.

Osim left the managerial position of the club in September 2013, becoming its new sporting director. ^[4] In December 2014, he resigned as sporting director and left Željezničar.

While at the club, Osim won many individual managerial awards after his success with Željezničar, including three Manager of the Season awards, the most out of any manager.

Al Kharaitiyat

In December 2014, Osim was named the new manager of Qatar Stars League club Al Kharaitiyat. ^[5]

In his first season, he made a club record of a seven-game unbeaten run in the league and nine games in all competitions. In that season's league, Al Kharaitiyat finished in 9th place. In March 2015, Osim was named Qatar Stars League Manager of the Month for February 2015. ^[6]

In his second season as the club's manager, Osim's Al Kharaitiyat finished in 12th place, just narrowly missing relegation.

In November 2016, after a poor start to the 2016–17 season, Osim was sacked after almost two years as Al Kharaitiyat's manager. ^[7]

Second return to Željezničar

2018–19 season

On 31 December 2018, Osim once again came back to Željezničar and signed a three and a half year contract after monthly speculations of him becoming the manager even earlier. ^[8]

His first win in his third term as Željezničar's manager came on 3 March 2019, in a 2–1 home league win against Mladost Doboj Kakanj. ^[9] In Osim's first Sarajevo derby after six years, Željezničar suffered a 3–0 home loss to fierce city rivals FK Sarajevo on 6 April 2019. ^[10]

On 13 April, in a 1–0 away league loss against Zrinjski Mostar, Osim made his 300th appearance as Željezničar's manager and became the club's third manager with the most games. At the time, the first two were Milan Ribar with 367 games and his father Ivica Osim with 301 games. ^{[11] [12]} On 24 April, in his 302nd managerial appearance for Željezničar, in which the club drew 0–0 against Široki Brijeg on their home stadium Grbavica, Osim surpassed his father in managerial appearances for the club. ^[13]

In the last game of the season, Željezničar beat Tuzla City 3–0 away on 25 May 2019, putting an end to a very turbulent season. ^[14]

2019–20 season

Osim's first win as Željezničar's manager in the 2019–20 season came on 27 July 2019, a 2–0 away league win against Mladost Doboj Kakanj. ^[15] Željezničar won their first Sarajevo derby since Osim's second return in a 5–2 home league win against Sarajevo on 31 August 2019. ^[16]

He made a new Bosnian Premier League record with the club on 28 September 2019, after a 2–2 away league draw against Tuzla City, in which Željezničar ended the game unbeaten and continued their 11-game unbeaten run in the league since the beginning of the season, surpassing the one of city rival Sarajevo, which was a ten league game unbeaten run since the start of the 2006–07 Bosnian Premier League season. ^[17]

On 6 October 2019, Osim's team lost 3–0 away in a league match against Borac Banja Luka, thus ending their 11-game unbeaten run in the league. ^[18] On 30 November 2019, Željezničar once again beat their rivals Sarajevo, this time in a 3–1 away league win, with Osim being praised from Željezničar fans for his tactical geniusness. ^[19] In that game, he also earned a yellow card for arguing with referee Haris Kaljanac. ^[20]

At the end of the season however, Željezničar failed to win any trophy, with Osim's team finishing in 2nd place in the 2019–20 league season, three points short of 1st placed Sarajevo, though after the season ended abruptly due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Bosnia and Herzegovina on 1 June 2020. ^[21] He also guided the team to the semi-finals of the 2019–20 Bosnian Cup, but did not get the chance to win the competition as it was abandoned due to the pandemic, with no winner being proclaimed. ^[21]

2020–21 season

Željezničar started off the 2020–21 season with a win against Velež Mostar on 1 August 2020, with Osim's team scoring three goals in the first thirty minutes of the game and securing the win at home ground. ^[22] That game also marked Osim's 200th win as Željezničar manager. ^[23] With three more league wins after the Velež game, Željezničar suffered its first loss under Osim in the new season on 21 August 2020, an unexpected 1–0 home defeat against Mladost Doboj Kakanj. ^[24]

In Osim's first European game with Željezničar since his return, his team lost 3–1 against Israeli club Maccabi Haifa in the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League first qualifying round on 9 September 2020. ^[25]

In the middle of an eight-game winless run in the 2020–21 league season, which had culminated with a home draw against Mladost Doboj Kakanj, Osim was sacked by the club on 11 April 2021. ^[26]

Velež Mostar

On 11 June 2022, Osim signed a one-year contract with Velež Mostar, with an option to stay at the club even longer. ^[27] On 15 July 2022, he took charge for the first time as Velež manager for their Premier League match against Posušje, which ended in a 1–1 draw. ^[28]

On 28 July, Velež unexpectedly got eliminated from the 2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League in the second qualifying round by Maltese club Ħamrun Spartans. ^[29] On 5 August 2022, Osim won his first match as Velež manager after a 3–1 win over his former club Željezničar. ^[30]

Osim terminated his contract with Velež by mutual consent on 29 November 2022. ^[31]

Personal life

Osim's father Ivica was a renowned player and manager. His mothers' name is Asima. He has two children and one grandchild. ^{[32] [33]} On 1 May 2022, Osim's father died in Graz, Austria, where he had mostly lived since 1994. ^[34] He was buried in Sarajevo at the Bare Cemetery on 14 May, thirteen days after his death. ^[35]

Managerial statistics

As of match played 19 November 2022 ^[36]

Managerial record by team and tenure

Team	From	To	Record
			G	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Željezničar	1 March 2001	10 October 2003	150	93	35	22	259	115	+144	062.00
JEF United Chiba	20 July 2006	31 December 2007	66	25	7	34	101	109	−8	037.88
Željezničar	22 June 2009	19 September 2013	144	85	28	31	245	119	+126	059.03
Al Kharaitiyat	27 December 2014	5 November 2016	42	14	10	18	63	72	−9	033.33
Željezničar	31 December 2018	11 April 2021	68	34	16	18	114	63	+51	050.00
Velež Mostar	11 June 2022	29 November 2022	21	6	9	6	23	21	+2	028.57
Total			491	257	105	129	805	499	+306	052.34

Honours

Manager

Željezničar

• Bosnian Premier League: 2000–01, 2001–02, 2009–10, 2011–12, 2012–13
• Bosnian Cup: 2000–01, 2002–03, 2010–11, 2011–12
• Bosnian Supercup: 2001

JEF United Chiba

• J.League Cup: 2006

Individual

• Bosnia and Herzegovina Manager of the Year: 2002
• Bosnian Premier League Manager of the Season: 2010, 2011–12, 2012–13
• Qatar Stars League Manager of the Month: February 2015

See also

• List of FK Željezničar Sarajevo players
• List of FK Željezničar Sarajevo managers

References

1. E.K. (1 December 2017). "Ko su najtrofejniji treneri iz BiH?". sportske.ba (in Bosnian). Retrieved 1 December 2017.
2. Nedim Kreštalica (10 February 2016). "Amar Osim". 1921.ba (in Bosnian). Retrieved 26 April 2020.
3. "Osim card coming up trumps at Željezničar". UEFA.com. 8 February 2010. Retrieved 8 February 2010.
4. "Amar Osim u administraciji Željezničara, Đurbuzović ostaje na klupi" (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. 19 September 2013. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
5. Edin Isanović (27 December 2014). "Amar Osim trenersku karijeru nastavlja u Kataru". Klix.ba. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
6. D.B. (3 March 2015). "Katarska Premier Liga: Amar Osim dobio nagradu za najboljeg trenera u februaru" (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
7. E.B. (5 November 2016). "Nakon serije loših rezultata: Amar Osim napustio Al Kharitiyat" (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
8. E.B. (31 December 2018). "Amar Osim zvanično imenovan za novog trenera Željezničara" (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. Retrieved 31 December 2018.
9. M. Šljivak (3 March 2019). "Prekinut crni niz FK Željezničar: Ermin Zec junak Grbavice!" (in Bosnian). sportsport.ba. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
10. M. Šljivak (6 April 2019). "Šampionski ples FK Sarajevo na Grbavici: Bordo tim ponizio Plave!" (in Bosnian). sportsport.ba. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
11. M. Šljivak (13 April 2019). "Pezer ušao i pogodio za pobjedu HŠK Zrinjski protiv FK Željezničar" (in Bosnian). sportsport.ba. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
12. A. Čaušević (11 April 2019). "Amar Osim u subotu postaje član "kluba 300" FK Željezničar" (in Bosnian). sportsport.ba. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
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18. N.K. (6 October 2019). "Borac u Banjoj Luci razbio Željezničar i nanio mu prvi poraz u sezoni" (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
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20. "(VIDEO) Kaljanac ima dosta posla da smiri klupe: Oba trenera zaradila opomenu, bilo je i isključenja" (in Bosnian). Sport1.ba. 30 November 2019. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
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22. K.H. (1 August 2020). "Željezničar na krilima sjajnog Lendrića ubjedljivo savladao Velež na Grbavici" (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
23. E.B. (3 August 2020). "Veliki jubilej: Amar Osim ostvario 200. pobjedu na klupi Željezničara" (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
24. N.K. (21 August 2020). "Mladost na Grbavici senzacionalno pobijedila očajni Željezničara" (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
25. E.B. (9 September 2020). "Željin "bunker" nije izdržao: Plavi izgubili u Haifi i ispali iz Evropske lige" (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
26. N.K. (11 April 2021). "Amar Osim više nije trener FK Željezničar!" (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
27. K.H. (11 June 2022). "Amar Osim predstavljen u Veležu: Pomoći ću klubu da se dalje razvija, imamo perspektivu" (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
28. "Počela nova sezona Premijer lige BiH: Jović i Pantelić ukrasili debi golovima" (in Bosnian). Sport1.ba. 15 July 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
29. H.H. (28 July 2022). "Blijedi Velež bez ispaljenog metka pao na Malti i ispao iz Evrope" (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
30. M. Šljivak (5 August 2022). "Srcu najteža, ali olakšavajuća pobjeda za Amara Osima: Velež u sjajnom meču savladao Željezničar" (in Bosnian). sportsport.ba. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
31. E.B. (29 November 2022). "Amar Osim više nije trener Veleža!" (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
32. "Amar Osim biografija". Biografija.org (in Serbian). 18 June 2019. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
33. N.K. (28 November 2018). "Radost u porodici Osim: Amar postao dedo, a Ivica dobio prvo praunuče" (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
34. "Umro je Ivica Osim" (in Croatian). index.hr. 1 May 2022. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
35. E.B. (14 May 2022). "Ivica Osim sahranjen u Sarajevu, hiljade ljudi se oprostilo od legende bh. nogometa" (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
36. "Amar Osim". Sofascore (in Croatian). Retrieved 19 November 2022.

External links

• Amar Osim at Soccerway
• Amar Osim manager profile at J.League ( archive ) (in Japanese)