Sliskovic asked to serve up aces

After a series of rows, misunderstandings and failed searches for big international names, Bosnia-Herzegovina finally turned to one of their own in January and named Yugoslavia's star striker of the 1980s, Blaz Sliskovic, as their new coach.

'Ace up his sleeve'
The 42-year-old started his playing career with FK Velez before moving to NK Hajduk Split and then on to Olympique de Marseille. He is remembered as one of his country's most talented players who always seemed to have "an ace up his
sleeve", although some critics said he was too lazy and should have achieved more in his playing career.

Bearzot praise
Sliskovic played 26 matches for Yugoslavia between 1978 and 1986. His performance in the 5-1 home defeat of Greece in 1978 so impressed the watching Italian coach Enzo Bearzot that he said afterwards: "Sliskovic? If I had him, I would conquer the world." However, Sliskovic never really justified this billing in international football.

Golden years
His golden years were with Hajduk where he was known for his ability to beat opponents by producing the unexpected. In a match against FK Sloboda Tuzla in 1979, with a harsh wind blowing in from the Adriatic, Sliskovic kicked off, took the ball past five Sloboda players and scored before then leaving the field because he was cold.

Coaching role
In 1998, after spells in Italy and Croatia, Sliskovic took over as coach of Bosnia-Herzegovnian side HSK Zrinjski. Now he will lead the national team, but his appointment was not met with universal approval, the main gripe being his lack of coaching experience.

Healing wounds
Criticism of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Football Federation has been fierce in the wake of the failure to qualify for the 2002 FIFA World Cup finals in Korea/Japan. The federation has sought to bring in someone of authority to manage the nation's best, and Sliskovic, it seems, is the best Bosnia can produce at present. He faces the tricky task of healing the national wounds and trying to form a cohesive unit from a crop of fine individual players in
time to qualify for EURO 2004™.