Ermin Bičakčić (; born 24 January 1990) is a Bosnian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

for 2. Bundesliga club

Eintracht Braunschweig Braunschweiger Turn- und Sportverein Eintracht von 1895 e.V., commonly known as Eintracht Braunschweig () or BTSV (), is a German football and sports club based in Braunschweig, Lower Saxony. They compete in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier o ...

and the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team. Bičakčić started his professional career at

VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V. (), commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German professional sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's Association football, football team is currently part of Germany's f ...

, playing mainly in its

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players who are under contract to a club but who do not regularly play in matches for the club's primary team. Reserve teams usually include players who are part of the larger first-team squad but ...

, before joining Eintracht Braunschweig in 2012. Two years later, he moved to

TSG Hoffenheim Turn- und Sportgemeinschaft 1899 Hoffenheim e.V. (), commonly known as TSG Hoffenheim (), are a German professional football club based in Sinsheim. Originally founded in 1899 as a gymnastics club, Hoffenheim came into being in their modern fo ...

. In 2023, he went back to Eintracht Braunschweig. Bičakčić represented

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and Bosnia and Herzegovina at youth levels, but decided to represent the latter at the senior level. He made his senior international debut in 2013, earning over 40

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 Java ...

since. Bičakčić represented the nation at their first major championship, the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil fr ...

Club career

VfB Stuttgart

Because of the outbreak of the

Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. Following several earlier violent incid ...

, Bičakčić's family fled from his native Bosnia and Herzegovina and moved to Germany, where he started playing football at local clubs, before joining VfB Stuttgart's youth academy in 2005. He made his professional debut playing for VfB Stuttgart's reserve squad against

SV Sandhausen Sportverein Sandhausen 1916 e.V., commonly known as simply SV Sandhausen or Sandhausen, is a Football in Germany, German association football club that plays in Sandhausen, immediately to the south of Heidelberg in Baden-Württemberg. It is Ger ...

on 23 March 2010 at the age of 20. Seven months later, he made his first-team debut in a

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English language, English, is a German knockout Association football, football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competiti ...

game against

Chemnitzer FC Chemnitzer Fußballclub e.V. is a German association football club based in Chemnitz, Saxony. The club competes in Regionalliga Nordost, the fourth tier of German football. The roots of the club go back to its establishment as Chemnitzer BC 193 ...

. He made his league debut on 19 December against

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...

. On 29 July 2011, he scored his first professional goal in a triumph over Wehen Wiesbaden.

Eintracht Braunschweig

In January 2012, Bičakčić switched to

on a contract until June 2013. He made his official debut for the team on 5 February against

Eintracht Frankfurt Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. () is a German professional sports club based in Frankfurt, Hesse. It is best known for its football club, which was founded on 8 March 1899. The club currently plays in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German footb ...

. On 11 March, he scored his first goal for Eintracht Braunschweig against

Energie Cottbus FC Energie Cottbus (Lower Sorbian: ''Energija Chóśebuz'') is a Football in Germany, German football club based in Cottbus, Brandenburg. It was founded in 1963 as SC Cottbus in what was East Germany. After the German reunification, reunificatio ...

. In January 2013, Bičakčić extended his deal with the side until June 2015. He was an important piece in Eintracht Braunschweig's promotion to the

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

, which was sealed on 27 April.

TSG Hoffenheim

In May 2014, Bičakčić was transferred to

for an undisclosed fee. He made his competitive debut for the club in a

tie against

USC Paloma USC Paloma Hamburg is a German association football club from the city of Hamburg.Grüne, Hardy (2001). Vereinslexikon. Kassel: AGON Sportverlag History The club was formed in August 1909 by a group of sports-mad juveniles and takes its name fr ...

on 17 August and managed to score a goal. A week later, he made his league debut against

FC Augsburg Fußball-Club Augsburg 1907 e. V., commonly known as FC Augsburg (), is a Football in Germany, German professional football club based in Augsburg, Bavaria. FC Augsburg play in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German football league system. T ...

. On 4 February 2015, he scored his first league goal against

Werder Bremen Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen, Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, Werder are best known for their professional association foo ...

. In September 2016, he put pen to paper on a new four-year contract with the squad. Bičakčić helped TSG Hoffenheim make their first historical

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

appearance in the 2018–19 season. On 23 October 2018, he debuted in the competition against

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

. He played his 100th match for the team on 19 December against Werder Bremen. Bičakčić signed a new three-year deal with TSG Hoffenheim in May 2019. In September 2020, he suffered a severe knee injury, which was diagnosed as an anterior cruciate ligament tear and was ruled out for at least six months. Over 19 months after the injury, on 14 May 2022, he returned to the pitch. In June, he penned a new one-year contract with the side.

Return to Eintracht Braunschweig

In October 2023, Bičakčić returned to Eintracht Braunschweig on a deal until June 2024. He played his first official game for the outfit since coming back on 27 October against

Fortuna Düsseldorf Düsseldorfer Turn- und Sportverein Fortuna 1895 e.V., commonly known as Fortuna Düsseldorf (), is a Football in Germany, German football club based in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, that competes in the 2. Bundesliga. Founded in 1895, Fo ...

. On 11 November, he scored first goal for Eintracht Braunschweig since his comeback against

VfL Osnabrück VfL Osnabrück is a German multi-sport club in Osnabrück, Lower Saxony. It currently fields teams in basketball, gymnastics, swimming, table tennis, and tennis but is by far best known for its Association football, football section. The footba ...

, which secured the victory for his team. He made his 100th appearance for the squad against

Hannover 96 Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96 (), is a German professional association football, football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony. They played in the Bundesliga for a total of 30 years between 19 ...

on 14 April 2024. In June, he prolonged his contract with Eintracht Braunschweig for an additional season. In July, he was named club

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

International career

Despite representing

at the under-18 level, Bičakčić decided to play for

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

at the senior level. He was first part of the Bosnia and Herzegovina under-19 team. In August 2013, his request to change sports citizenship from German to Bosnian was approved by

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

. Earlier that month, he received his first senior call up, for a friendly game against the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, and debuted in that match on 14 August. On 10 September, in a 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier against

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

, Bičakčić scored his first senior international goal. In June 2014, Bičakčić was named in Bosnia and Herzegovina's squad for the

, country's first major competition. He made his tournament debut in the opening group tie against

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

on 15 June.

Personal life

Bičakčić is a practising

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

; together with international teammates

Ermedin Demirović Ermedin Demirović (; born 25 March 1998) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Bundesliga club VfB Stuttgart. Born in Germany, he plays for the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team. Demirović started his professional caree ...

Jusuf Gazibegović Jusuf Gazibegović (; born 11 March 2000) is a professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Bundesliga club 1. FC Köln. Born in Austria, he plays for the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team. Gazibegović started his professional car ...

Haris Tabaković Haris Tabaković (; born 20 June 1994) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Bundesliga club TSG Hoffenheim. Born in Switzerland, he plays for the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team. Tabaković started his professional car ...

Nihad Mujakić Nihad Mujakić (; born 15 April 1998) is a Bosnian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Süper Lig club Eyüpspor, on loan from Partizan, and the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team. Mujakić started his professional career ...

Haris Hajradinović Haris Hajradinović (; born 18 February 1994) is a professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Süper Lig club Kasımpaşa. Born in the Republic of Macedonia, he plays for the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team. Hajradi ...

Dženis Burnić Dženis Burnić (; born 22 May 1998) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for 2. Bundesliga club Karlsruher SC. Born in Germany, he plays for the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team. Burnić started his professional career ...

Sead Kolašinac Sead Kolašinac (; born 20 June 1993) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Serie A club Atalanta. Born in Germany, he plays for the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team. Kolašinac started his professional career at Sch ...

, Enver Kulašin,

Nail Omerović Nail Omerović (born 20 October 2002) is a Bosnian professional footballer who plays as a full-back for Croatian Football League club Osijek and the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team. Club career After not being able to train earlier in his ...

Benjamin Tahirović Benjamin Tahirović (; born 3 March 2003) is a professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Danish Superliga club Brøndby. Born in Sweden, he plays for the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team. Tahirović started his profe ...

and

Osman Hadžikić Osman Hadžikić (born 12 March 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Velež Mostar. Born in Austria, he represented that nation at youth international levels but in 2023 switched to play for Bosnia and Herzegovina na ...

he visited a

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

Ilidža Ilidža ( sr-cyrl, Илиџа, ) is a spa town and a municipality located in Sarajevo Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It has a total population of 66,730 with 63,528 in Ilidža itself, and i ...

during the national team's concentration.

Career statistics

Club

International

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

References

External links