Mehmed "Meho" Kodro (born 12 January 1967) is a Bosnian professional

football manager ''Football Manager'' (also known as ''Worldwide Soccer Manager'' in North America from 2004 to 2008) is a series of football management simulation video games developed by British developer Sports Interactive and published by Sega. The game bega ...

and former

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who ...

who played as a forward. He spent most of his 16-year senior career in Spain, mostly with Real Sociedad (four seasons) and

Tenerife Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of Janu ...

(three), amassing

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...

totals of 263 matches and 105 goals. He possessed good technical skills, and was equally adept in the air. After retiring, Kodro started a managerial career.

Club career

Born in

Mostar , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = Mostar (collage image).jpg , image_caption = From top, left to right: A panoramic view of the heritage town site and the Neretva river from Lučki Bridge, Koski Mehmed Pasha ...

Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Bosna i Hercegovina, Социјалистичка Pепублика Босна и Херцеговина), commonly referred to as Socia ...

Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yu ...

, Kodro's professional debut occurred in 1985 at the age of 18 with hometown club

FK Velež FK or fk may refer to: In arts and entertainment: * Flyer Killer, fictional automated robots in the ''Terminator'' film franchise. * Fox Kids, a former American children's television programming block. * Funky Kong, a video game character. Place ...

. He appeared in only 14

Yugoslav First League The Yugoslav First Federal Football League ( Serbian: Прва савезна лига у фудбалу / ''Prva savezna liga u fudbalu'', hr, Prva savezna liga u nogometu, sl, Prva zvezna nogometna liga, mk, Прва сојузна лига, ...

games in his first two years but eventually became a starter, scoring a total of 31 goals in his last two full seasons and helping his team win the 1986 edition of the

Yugoslav Cup The Yugoslav Cup ( hr, Pokal Jugoslavije; sr, Куп Југославије; sl, Pokal Jugoslavije, mk, Куп на Југославија), officially known between 1923 and 1940 as the King Alexander Cup ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Kup kralja Aleksandra, ...

– he did not play in the final against GNK Dinamo Zagreb however – and three consecutive top-three finishes. When the

Yugoslav Wars The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and insurgencies that took place in the SFR Yugoslavia from 1991 to 2001. The conflicts both led up to and resulted from ...

began, Kodro migrated to Spain – after scoring five goals in only five matches in the last edition of the Yugoslavian championship – where he spent the vast majority of his remaining career. He first played with Real Sociedad of San Sebastián, always netting in double digits for the Basques, including 23 in 1993–94 and a career-best 25 in the following year (including a hat-trick in the

Basque derby The Basque derby (in Basque ''Euskal Derbia'', in Spanish ''derbi Vasco'') is the name of the football local derby between Real Sociedad and Athletic Bilbao. It embodies the inter-city rivalry between Bilbao and Donostia-San Sebastián, capita ...

) and finishing second in the

Pichichi Trophy In Spanish football, the Trofeo Pichichi is awarded by the sports newspaper '' Marca'' to the top goalscorer of each La Liga season. Named after the Athletic Bilbao striker Rafael "Pichichi" Moreno, the trophy has been awarded annually since the ...

race to Real Madrid's

Iván Zamorano Iván Luis Zamorano Zamora (; born 18 January 1967) is a Chilean former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is regarded as one of Chile's most recognized footballers, along with Marcelo Salas, Leonel Sánchez and Elias Figuer ...

. Kodro was purchased by

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Found ...

in the 1995 off-season, starting throughout most of the campaign but only managing nine

goals for the

Catalans Catalans (Catalan, French and Occitan: ''catalans''; es, catalanes, Italian: ''catalani'', sc, cadelanos) are a Romance ethnic group native to Catalonia, who speak Catalan. The current official category of "Catalans" is that of the citize ...

, including two in the ''

El Clásico El Clásico or el clásico (; ca, El Clàssic, ; ) is the name given to any football match between rival clubs FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. Originally referring to competitions held in the Spanish championship, the term now includes every m ...

'' against Real Madrid (3–0 home win). After ''Barça'' came out empty in silverware, manager

Johan Cruyff Hendrik Johannes Cruijff (, internationally known as Johan Cruyff; 25 April 1947 – 24 March 2016) was a Dutch professional football player and manager. As a player, he won the Ballon d'Or three times, in 1971, 1973 and 1974. Cruyff was a ...

– who insisted in his signing – was dismissed and the player also left Camp Nou, signing with

CD Tenerife Club Deportivo Tenerife, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Tenerife, in the Canary Islands. Founded in 1912, the club plays in the Segunda División, holding home matches at the Estadio Heliodoro Rodríguez Lóp ...

where he played three seasons, notably contributing two goals from eight appearances in the Canary Islands side's semi-final run in the

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...

. In 1998–99, for the only time in his career, he failed to find the net and his team suffered top-flight relegation. 32-year-old Kodro returned to the Basque region in the summer of 1999, joining

Deportivo Alavés Deportivo Alavés, S.A.D. (; ''Sporting Alavés''), usually abbreviated to Alavés, is a Spanish football club based in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Founded on 1 July 1920 as Sport Friends Club, it ...

on loan for the 1999–2000 campaign. He retired from football the following year after one year in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

with

Maccabi Tel Aviv FC Maccabi Tel Aviv Football Club ( he, מועדון כדורגל מכבי תל אביב; ''Moadon Kaduregel Maccabi Tel Aviv'') is an Israeli football club from Tel Aviv and part of the Maccabi Tel Aviv Sport Club. Founded in 1906 in Jaffa a ...

International career

Kodro earned two

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...

for

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

, his debut coming on 4 September 1991 in a 4–3 friendly loss against Sweden. In the late 90s and early 2000s he played 13 times with

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

, appearing in six 1998 FIFA World Cup

qualification Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to: * Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional exper ...

games and scoring in a 2–1 away victory over

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

Coaching career

Kodro started working as a manager in 2006, being assistant to

José Mari Bakero José María Bakero Escudero (born 11 February 1963) is a Spanish former professional footballer, and a manager. Having played mainly for Real Sociedad and Barcelona, he began his career as a forward (not being a prolific goalscorer) but was c ...

at former club Real Sociedad. On 5 January 2008, he was appointed head coach of Bosnia and Herzegovina, accepting the job after the Football Association met his conditions, which were to allow him to continue living in San Sebastián and to guarantee him full independence in football matters. Things quickly went sour, however: he led the side in two friendlies before refusing to take charge of the team for a game against

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

scheduled for 26 May in

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

, arranged by the federation without his knowledge; as a result, he was sacked on 17 May. In the summer of 2008, Kodro was appointed manager of the youth sides. He remained in the post for two years when he was promoted to B-team duties, as they competed in Segunda División B. In the following years, Kodro was in charge of FK Sarajevo in the

Bosnian Premier League The m:tel Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( bs, m:tel Premijer liga Bosne i Hercegovine / м:тел Премијер лига Босне и Херцеговине), also known as Liga 12, is the top tier football league in Bosnia and He ...

and Swiss Super League club Servette FC. On 4 June 2020, he signed as new coach of FC Stade Lausanne Ouchy in the latter country's Challenge League.

Personal life

Kodro's son,

Kenan Kenan (also spelled Qenan, Kaynan or Cainan) (; ar, كِنَاْنْ, Keynān; grc-x-biblical, Καϊνάμ, Kaïnám) is an Antediluvian patriarch first mentioned in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. In scriptures According to Gen ...

, is also a professional footballer and a forward. He was coached by his father at

Real Sociedad B Real Sociedad de Fútbol "B" (also known as Sanse) is a Spanish football team based in San Sebastián, in the autonomous community of Basque Country. Founded in 1955, it is the reserve team of Real Sociedad and plays in Primera Federación ...

for two years. They became the first son and father to represent Bosnia and Herzegovina internationally.

Career statistics

International goals

:''Scores and results list Bosnia and Herzegovina's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kodro goal.''

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Velež Mostar *

: 1985–86; runner-up 1988–89 Barcelona *

Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footb ...

runner-up: 1995–96 Maccabi Tel Aviv * Israel State Cup: 2000–01

Individual

Awards * Bosnian Footballer of the Year: 1996, 1997

References

External links