Suvad Katana (; 6 April 1969 – 8 January 2005) 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 ...

who played as a sweeper.

Club career

Katana started playing football in Željezničar as a youngster. He made his league debut for the club in the 1987–88 season against

Red Star Belgrade Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club), commonly referred to as Crvena zvezda () and colloquially referred to as Red Star Belgrade in anglophone media, is a ...

(0–0). Although still a teenager, he was a regular starter in the squad in the following seasons. In 1992, War in Bosnia started and Katana fled to Switzerland with

Gordan Vidović Gordan Vidović (born 23 June 1968 in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina) is a former football player who played for the Belgium national team. His first club was FK Igman from Ilidža, suburb of Sarajevo. He was spotted there in 1988, by FK � ...

and Mario Stanić and subsequently moved to

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. He played there for

Genk Genk () is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality and City status in Belgium, city located in the Belgian Provinces of Belgium, province of Limburg (Belgium), Limburg near Hasselt. The municipality comprises only the town of Genk itself. It ...

(1992–1994), Gent (1994–1996) and

Anderlecht Anderlecht (; ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, B ...

(1996–1998). After a season with Turkish side

Adanaspor Adanaspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional Association football, football club based in Adana; currently, they play in the TFF First League. The club was founded in 1954 by middle-class merchants and artisans in response to their perceived ali ...

, he returned to Belgium and played for Lokeren (1999–2004). He ended his career in 2004 after suffering from persistent knee injuries. He was one of the best defenders in the Belgian championship during the 1990s. He won many awards for his performances at various clubs.

International career

Katana also played for the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team. His first game was against

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

on 24 April 1996, and last on 15 October 1998 against

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

. In total, he collected ten caps for the national team.

Personal life

After retiring as a player, Katana worked in former teammate Vidović's real estate company. In January 2005, Katana died in

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 ...

after suffering a

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest (also known as sudden cardiac arrest CA is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. When the heart stops beating, blood cannot properly Circulatory system, circulate around the body and the blood flow to the ...

, aged 35.Suad Katana overleden
- Nieuwsblad He was survived by his wife and two children.

References

External links

*
Profile at TFF.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Katana, Suvad 1969 births 2005 deaths People from Sarajevo Canton Bosniaks of Bosnia and Herzegovina Yugoslav Wars refugees Men's association football sweepers Yugoslav men's footballers Bosnia and Herzegovina men's footballers Bosnia and Herzegovina men's international footballers FK Željezničar Sarajevo players K.R.C. Genk players K.A.A. Gent players R.S.C. Anderlecht players Adanaspor footballers K.S.C. Lokeren Oost-Vlaanderen players Yugoslav First League players Belgian Pro League players Süper Lig players Bosnia and Herzegovina expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Bosnia and Herzegovina expatriate sportspeople in Turkey 20th-century Bosnia and Herzegovina sportsmen