Ermedin Demirovic #10

Profile

Before Bosnia and Herzegovina’s World Cup playoff Demirovic jokingly promised he would buy beer for the entire Stuttgart stadium if his side qualified. After they defeated Italy he actually followed through, standing behind the bar and personally serving free beer to supporters in Stuttgart. The gesture was particularly notable because Demirovic himself does not drink alcohol. “I’m a man of my word,” he said afterwards. Born in Germany to Bosnian parents, Demirovic is one of the rare players of his generation who represented Bosnia and Herzegovina at every single youth level before eventually reaching the senior national team. His club career was far less straightforward than many expected: released by Hamburg and pushed through loans in France, Spain and Switzerland before eventually establishing himself as one of the Bundesliga’s most complete forwards with Augsburg and Stuttgart.

Key stats