Ivan Osim (6 May 1941 – 1 May 2022), best known as Ivica Osim, was 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 ...

and

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 beg ...

. Widely regarded as one of the greatest Bosnian football managers of all time, he is also seen as one of the most influential football managers in the former

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

. As a player, Osim was in the Yugoslavia national team and played at the

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subseq ...

. He also represented Yugoslavia at

UEFA Euro 1968 The 1968 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was held in Italy. This was the third UEFA European Championship, an event held every four years and organised by UEFA. The final tournament took place between 5 and 10 June 1968. It ...

, where he won a silver medal and was voted into the Team of the Tournament. As a manager, Osim won a bronze medal with Yugoslavia at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

as an assistant, and reached the quarter-finals of the

1990 FIFA World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second ...

as head coach of the Yugoslavia national team. He also reached the 1984–85 UEFA Cup semi-finals as manager of his hometown club Željezničar. Osim was head coach of the Japan national team, before suffering a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

in November 2007 and subsequently leaving the post. In April 2011,

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 ...

announced that he had become president of the interim

committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...

to run the Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina after the country was suspended from all international competitions. He served until December 2012. Osim died in May 2022, after years of health issues following his stroke.

Life and family

Osim was born during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

, precisely one month after the

Nazi German Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...

invasion of Yugoslavia, to Slovene-German father Mihail "Puba" Osim, who worked as a

machinist A machinist is a tradesperson or trained professional who operates machine tools, and has the ability to set up tools such as milling machines, grinders, lathes, and drilling machines. A competent machinist will generally have a strong mechan ...

at the railways, and Polish-Czech mother Karolina. Both of his parents were also born in Sarajevo. Following the end of the war, he started playing football in the Željezničar youth system. He studied mathematics at the

University of Sarajevo The University of Sarajevo (Bosnian language, Bosnian, Croatian language, Croatian and Serbian language, Serbian: ''Univerzitet u Sarajevu'' / Sveučilište u Sarajevu / Универзитет у Сарајеву) is a List of universities in Bo ...

. Osim was married to Asima and they had three children, two sons, Selmir and Amar, and daughter Irma. His son Amar was a football player himself, who afterward also became a successful football manager. Since 1994, Osim had lived with his wife mostly in

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

, Austria. Discontinuities only occurred when he lived in Japan during his managerial career there and when he visited Sarajevo in his function as advisor for the Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Club career

Osim began his professional career with hometown club Željezničar in 1959. He is considered one of the best Bosnians to step on a football pitch and was known as a ruthless dribbler. Osim stayed in Yugoslavia until the end of 1968, as transfers abroad were prohibited for players under 28 at the time. In December 1968, he went to the Netherlands, to play for Zwolsche Boys. This stay lasted only three months, due to a knee injury. In 1970, Osim signed with

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

and played the rest of his career in France, playing also for

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; ; or ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced ...

, Sedan and again at Strasbourg.

International career

Jugoslovanska nogometna reprezentanca 1968

Osim made his debut for

in an October 1964 Olympic Games match against

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

, and has earned a total of 16 caps, scoring eight goals. He also played at

where Yugoslavia reached the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

, losing to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. Osim's final international game was an April 1969 World Cup qualification match away against

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Managerial career

Željezničar

When his playing career ended in 1978, Osim took the managing job at the club where he began playing, Željezničar. He managed the club until 1986, and finished third in the Yugoslav championship once, reached the

Yugoslav Cup The Yugoslav Cup (; ; , ), officially known between 1923 and 1940 as the King Alexander Cup (; , and between 1947 and 1991 as the Marshal Tito Cup (; ; ; ), was one of two major association football, football competitions in Socialist Federal Re ...

final once and the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

semi-finals A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, ...

once.

Yugoslavia

Osim assisted Ivan Toplak, head coach of the Yugoslav Olympic team, at the

where Yugoslavia won the

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

. In 1986, he took over the Yugoslavia national team. The first qualifying cycle for

UEFA Euro 1988 The 1988 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was held in West Germany from 10 to 25 June 1988. It was the eighth UEFA European Championship, which is held every four years and supported by UEFA. France national football team, Fr ...

ended in failure with an embarrassing 1–4 home loss against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Contrary to expectations and custom considering the fate of Yugoslav head coaches who presided over prior failed qualifying campaigns, Osim was not fired by the Yugoslav FA largely thanks to personal authority of FA president

Miljan Miljanić Miljan Miljanić ( sr-Cyrl, Миљан Миљанић; 4 May 1930 – 13 January 2012) was a Yugoslav and Serbian football administrator, coach and player who played as a defender. He was the all-powerful President of the Football Association ...

who wanted Osim to be given another chance. Osim's Yugoslavia rebounded in the

1990 FIFA World Cup qualification The FIFA World Cup qualification, qualification competition for the 1990 FIFA World Cup was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA FIFA#Structure, confederations. Each confederation — the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), Confederat ...

, finishing ahead of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. At the

, Yugoslavia reached the quarter-finals by eliminating

2–1 in the round of 16, and proceeded to face

Diego Maradona Diego Armando Maradona Franco (30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional association football, football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two ...

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 ...

in the quarter-finals. Despite losing a defender,

Refik Šabanadžović Refik Šabanadžović (born 2 August 1965) is a former Yugoslav professional footballer who played as a midfielder and defender. Born in Montenegro, at the time part of SFR Yugoslavia, Šabanadžović played internationally for Yugoslavia and ...

, to a red card at the half an hour mark, Osim's team held on through the entire game and extra time, only to lose on penalties. Yugoslavia qualified for

UEFA Euro 1992 The 1992 UEFA European Football Championship was hosted by Sweden between 10 and 26 June 1992. It was the ninth UEFA European Championship, which is held every four years and supported by UEFA. Denmark won the 1992 championship, having been inv ...

, but Osim resigned on 23 May 1992; as his family in

faced

bombardment A bombardment is an attack by artillery fire or by dropping bombs from aircraft on fortifications, combatants, or cities and buildings. Prior to World War I, the term was only applied to the bombardment of defenseless or undefended obje ...

during 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 ...

. "My country doesn't deserve to play in the European Championship," said Osim, "On the scale of human suffering, I cannot reconcile events at home with my position as national manager." Yugoslavia was banned from the event, and its newly independent states have since competed as separate nations. Osim's home national team,

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 ...

, had to wait further 23 years to qualify for their first major football competition, having done so for 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 ...

held in Brazil.

Partizan

Osim became the new manager of Partizan in the summer of 1991, in parallel with coaching the Yugoslavia national team. He won the 1991–92 Yugoslav Cup with Partizan, having eliminated his old club Željezničar during the

of the competition.

Panathinaikos

After leaving Yugoslavia, Osim managed Greek Alpha Ethniki club Panathinaikos from 1992 to 1994, winning the

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup (), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Betsson Greek Cup for sponsorship reasons is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second-most important domestic men's footba ...

and

Super Cup A super cup is a competition, in association football, basketball, handball, volleyball and rugby union which often forms the 'curtain raiser' to a season, and typically involves only two teams who have qualified through success in other competi ...

in 1993, as well as finishing second in the league in 1993.

Sturm Graz

In 1994, Heinz Schilcher, whom Osim had played with in

, convinced him to manage Austrian club Sturm Graz. Osim led the ''Blackies'' to win the

Austrian Bundesliga The Bundesliga ( , "Federal League"), also known as Admiral Bundesliga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Austria and the highest level of the Austrian football league system. The competition decides the A ...

in 1998 and 1999, the Austrian Cup in 1996, 1997 and 1999 and the Austrian Supercup in 1996, 1998 and 1999. The club also appeared in the

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 ...

from 1998 to 2001 under Osim's guidance. Until 2022, Sturm was the only Austrian club to qualify from their group stage and play amongst the last 16 of the Champions League. Red Bull Salzburg repeated that achievement in the 2021–22 season, more than two decades after the Sturm team led by Osim.

JEF United Chiba

From 2003 to 2006, Osim was manager of

JEF United Chiba , full name and also known as , is a Japanese professional football club based in Chiba, capital of Chiba Prefecture. They currently play in the J2 League, Japanese second tier of professional football. History Furukawa Electric SC (19 ...

of the

J1 League The , the J.League or the for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Japan and the highest level of the Japanese football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation ...

and built a contender despite the club's modest means. The club came closest to its first league title in 2003, when it finished third in the season's first stage and second in the second stage. In 2005, JEF United won its first major title with Osim as manager, the J.League Cup.

Japan

On 21 July 2006, Osim was appointed head coach of the Japan national team, replacing Brazilian manager and former player Zico, who had resigned after the end of the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to FIFA World Cup hosts ...

. Japan defeated

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

2–0 in Osim's debut as head coach on 9 August 2006. At the 2007 AFC Asian Cup, he failed to lead Japan to its third successive title, losing to

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

in the semi-finals and to

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

in the third place play-off on penalties. Osim said, "I feel like I've dropped my trousers. Twice," in describing his own managerial performance, pointing out that he did not rest the tired players. During the tournament, Osim reduced his interpreter to tears during a dressing room tirade, in which he called his players "amateurs" following a 1–1 draw against

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

, and refused to watch the penalty shoot-out against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in the quarter-finals, saying "I didn't see it because it was bad for my heart. I don't want to die while I coach Japan's national team. I want to die in my hometown, Sarajevo." Osim's remarks gained popularity with Japanese fans, and (), a collection of his quotes published in 2005, sold 400,000 copies and was on the bestseller list in Japan.

Administrative work

On 18 April 2011,

announced that Osim would head an interim

to run the Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina after the country was suspended for two months from all international competitions by FIFA. He served as head of the committee until 13 December 2012.

Health issues and death

On 16 November 2007, Osim suffered a

at his residence in Chiba, Japan while watching a friendly match between

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

and

on television. He was in a coma for almost three weeks during which time he was visited by notable people of world football like

Michel Platini Michel François Platini (; born 21 June 1955) is a French association football, football Administrator (business), administrator and former player and manager. Regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, Platini won the Ballon d'O ...

and

Sepp Blatter Joseph Sepp Blatter (born Josef Blatter; 10 March 1936) is a Swiss former association football, football administrator who served as the list of Presidents of FIFA, eighth president of FIFA from 1998 to 2015. He has been banned from participatin ...

among others. Eventually, Osim regained consciousness on 3 December 2007 and asked his wife, Asima, "What's the score?" of the game he was watching at the critical moment when he suffered the stroke. He was then moved from an

intensive care unit An intensive care unit (ICU), also known as an intensive therapy unit or intensive treatment unit (ITU) or critical care unit (CCU), is a special department of a hospital or health care facility that provides intensive care medicine. An inten ...

to a general ward at the Juntendo University hospital in

Urayasu 260px, Old Urayasu is a city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 170,533 in 81,136 households and a population density of . The total area of the city is . Urayasu is best known as the home of Tokyo Dis ...

, Chiba on 23 December. On 7 December 2007, the Japan FA formally announced the appointment of Takeshi Okada, who coached Japan during the

1998 FIFA World Cup The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 1 ...

, to replace Osim as

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

head coach. On 1 May 2022, Osim died at his home in

, Austria, five days short of his 81st birthday, after years of health issues following his stroke. After the news of his death, leading regional figures from the world of football and politics paid tribute to him. Croatian football manager and former player

Velimir Zajec Velimir Zajec (born 12 February 1956) is a Croatian professional football manager and former player who is the current president of Dinamo Zagreb. Club career Zajec began his career at Dinamo Zagreb in 1974, aged 18. In ten years at the c ...

said "''Švabo'' has also left. The days in Panathinaikos are not forgotten. A great coach." Serbia national team head coach Dragan Stojković called Osim an "intelligent man, a football strategist who had great intuition, who was one of the most important football names in the former Yugoslavia and will be remembered that way." Bosnian Presidency chairman Šefik Džaferović said that everyone will remember Osim as a "top footballer and football manager, but also a great man and patriot, with unique charisma and first-class moral qualities." On 4 May, the coffin with Osim's body was laid out in the middle of the Merkur Arena, Sturm Graz's home ground, and thousands of fans were present when the stadium was floodlit for 81 minutes in honour of Osim. He was buried in

at the

Bare Cemetery The Bare Cemetery is a cemetery complex in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina opened in 1965, with the first funeral and interment occurring on 3 January 1966. The central part of the cemetery is a spacious plateau with a staircase and a porch tha ...

on 14 May 2022. Thousands of people attended Osim's funeral and it was also broadcast live on national television. He was survived by his wife Asima, their daughter Irma and their two sons, Selmir and Amar. In May 2023, the city of Graz renamed the forecourt of the Merkur Arena to ''Ivica-Osim-Platz'' ('Ivica-Osim-Square'). That same month, the street Zvornička 21 in Sarajevo, where Željezničar's home ground Grbavica stadium is located, was renamed to Ivica Osim Boulevard.

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Željezničar *

Yugoslav Second League Yugoslav Second League ( Bosnian: ''Druga savezna liga,'' Croatian: ''Druga savezna liga'', Serbian: ''Друга савезна лига'', Slovenian: ''Druga zvezna liga'', Macedonian: ''Втора сојузна лига'', ''Vtora sojuzna l ...

: 1961–62 (West) Strasbourg * French Division 2: 1976–77 Yugoslavia *

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro or Euros, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition ...

runner-up:

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

Individual * UEFA Euro Team of the Tournament:

Manager

Partizan *

: 1991–92 Panathinaikos *

: 1992–93 * Greek Super Cup:

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

Sturm Graz *

: 1997–98, 1998–99 * Austrian Cup: 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99 * Austrian Supercup: 1996, 1998, 1999 JEF United Chiba * J.League Cup:

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

Japan * Afro-Asian Cup of Nations:

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

Awards and orders

Awards

*Osim received the Sixth of April Sarajevo Award in 1990. *Osim was posthumously inducted into the Japan Football Hall of Fame in 2022.

Orders

Order of the Rising Sun, 4th Class, Gold Rays with Rosette: 2016

References

External links