When the United States ahead Folarin Balogun stepped forcefully over the best ankle of Tarik Muharemovic, the Bosnia and Herzegovina defender might by no means have envisaged that it will spark one of the controversial episodes in World Cup historical past.
After video opinions by the referee, introduced in sluggish movement, Balogun obtained a purple card in the course of the USMNT’s round-of-32 victory, which ordinarily would have dominated the striker out of the following sport towards Belgium. That was till United States President Donald Trump picked up the phone to FIFA’s president, Gianni Infantino, requesting that the decision be reviewed.
A disciplinary committee, which Infantino insists acted independently, then took the extremely uncommon step of suspending Balogun’s ban.
All of a sudden, Muharemovic found a degree of unintended fame, as movies of his contorted ankle have been reviewed within the White House. “After this tackle, the media was exploding,” Muharemovic tells The Athletic. “I was everywhere. Every media site. But obviously, at the end, we know he (Balogun) didn’t want to do it on purpose. It was unlucky.
“I just thank god that I came out of it without an injury. That’s the most important thing. It was painful. I was also scared because I felt a lot of pain, but when I stood up it was OK.”
Folarin Balogun challenges Tarik Muharemovic, a problem that earned a purple card after a VAR evaluation (Michael Steele/Getty Images)
Muharemovic’s fast restoration was vital, not solely as a result of he was competing within the World Cup, but in addition as a result of he was in demand this summer time.
He finally signed for Premier League crew Leeds United in a deal value €40million (£34.1m; $46.7m) from Italian crew Sassuolo. He is the third-most costly signing in Leeds’ historical past, after Georginio Rutter and James Trafford, and was desperately required. As a left-sided, 6ft 4in (193cm) centre-back, he’ll fill the void left by Pascal Struijk’s £18m departure to Brighton & Hove Albion in June.
For the Leeds recruitment crew, headed up by sporting director Adam Underwood, it was one other triumph of long-term planning.
Leeds compiled scouting stories on Muharemovic for a full season and made their curiosity within the participant clear in March. It was a comparable operation to the one which tempted Sean Longstaff to affix from Newcastle United final summer time, when Leeds knowledgeable the participant’s representatives in early spring that he can be their high midfield goal if the crew secured promotion on the finish of the 2024-25 season.
For Muharemovic, who spent 4 years on Juventus’ books earlier than becoming a member of Sassuolo within the Italian second tier in 2024, there have been different choices. Sunderland made a late play, however his performances in Italy, the place he helped Sassuolo to promotion and then made 32 appearances in Serie A final season, additionally yielded curiosity from main golf equipment.
“Juventus was not that much, but I’m thankful for every interest,” Muharemovic says. “Inter was additionally on the desk, however I made a decision to come to one of the best league.
“After the World Cup, my agent, my family and I talked together. I got all the names of the clubs and I felt Leeds was the best for me. I knew how much they wanted me. I really felt how much they put in to buy me, how much interest they had, and I liked the club’s plan. They showed me the A to Z, really everything: what their plans are, how they want to bring the club back where it belongs to (be). There was a whole presentation.
“Then the coach (Daniel Farke) told me he wants a player who gives everything for his team and who comes to fight from the first second to the last second. I am a player like this. I play and I defend. With my feet or with my head, I don’t care. I just want to defend the goal and help the team.”
Tarik Muharemovic is thought-about a key addition at Leeds United this summer time (George Wood/Getty Images)
Muharemovic is already well-travelled for a 23-year-old and speaks English fluently. He was born in Slovenia, moved to Austria along with his household as a youngster, and then joined Juventus at 18.
Although he was signed to play for Juventus’ improvement groups, he realized from the legends of the game on the membership’s coaching advanced in Turin, as grizzled defenders Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini have been approaching the top of their careers. Even then, they maintained the identical chest-beating gladiatorial presence that so intimidated opponents. Former team-mate Alvaro Morata once compared training against Chiellini as akin to going “into a cage with a hungry gorilla and trying to take his food”.
“This is a part of my career that I’m really grateful for,” says Muharemovic. “They help you a lot when you come there as a young player. It’s hard to become a first-team player at Juventus, but when you train with them, they’re the first ones who come to you, and especially if you’re a defender. They’re the first to tell you how to defend.
“The first time I went to train with the first team, I went to the gym. I was the first inside because I didn’t know where to go. I was just waiting for the other players to come. Then I went on the bike and I saw Paulo Dybala coming inside, then Chiellini, then Bonucci. Big names. It felt like a movie.
“I watched them closely. I liked how Chiellini celebrated after every slide tackle, after every duel. But I also watched a lot of old videos from my idol, the Bosnia defender Emir Spahic, and how aggressive he was when celebrating.”
Does he suppose that defensive persona can affect opponents? “Maybe yes, but also a lot of strikers get angry about it, so I like it even more,” he grins.
A playful and pushed character, Muharemovic ought to be effectively obtained at Elland Road, the place he scored an overhead kick in a 4-0 win over Augsburg during pre-season. He says he is relishing the prospect of going through the Premier League’s most potent forwards. “Every one of them,” he smiles. “(Erling) Haaland. (Benjamin) Sesko from Manchester United. We know how hard the Premier League is, but we’re not scared of anybody. We just want to play, we want to fight, especially for the club.”
Ermedin Demirovic, Dzenis Burnic and Tarik Muharemovic have fun Bosnia and Herzegovina’s qualification for the World Cup (Getty Images/Getty Images)
By now, Muharemovic has skilled a red-hot environment, most notably when he excelled throughout his country’s World Cup qualifying victory over Italy in March, serving to safe a place within the competitors for under the second time in its historical past. For a nation of round three million, it was a monumental achievement.
“Even today it still feels like a dream,” Muharemovic says. “What we achieved, it was one of the best nights we ever had, for the whole country, the whole Bosnian people, wherever they live. We knew if we won, the city was going to explode, it was going to burn. I really enjoyed that.
“After the game, we drove to the city centre in Sarajevo, where there were over 100,000 people. You can imagine how crazy that is.”
At the World Cup, his nation certified from their group — Muharemovic was despatched off in their defeat against Switzerland — however were knocked out by the USMNT.
Does he consider they fulfilled their potential? “No, I don’t think so. We could do much more because we did not play like we did against Wales and Italy (in qualifying), which showed how well we can play and how sharp we can be. We played OK, but we could have done much more.
“I’m still happy that we made it out of the group and that we made history. To do something like this is still incredible.”
Since becoming a member of Leeds, he has been watching YouTube movies of the environment at Elland Road.
“It’s crazy, amazing,” he says. “The Premier League is a dream come true. Every footballer knows that the Premier League is the No 1 league in the world. It’s the best football you can watch and the most interesting, because every club can win against everyone.”