Zećira Mušović

Zećira Mušović (born 26 May 1996) is a Swedish footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Damallsvenskan club FC Rosengård and for the Sweden women's national football team.

Zećira Mušović
Zećira Mušović in September 2015
Personal information
Full name Zećira Mušović
Date of birth (1996-05-26) 26 May 1996
Place of birth Falun, Sweden
Height 178 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position(s) Goalkeeper
Club information
Current team
 FC Rosengård
Number 1
Youth career
2005–2011 Stattena IF
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2012 Stattena IF 29 (0)
2012– Rosengard 71 (0)
National team‡
Sweden U-17 5 (0)
Sweden U-19 26 (0)
Sweden U-23 4 (0)
2018– Sweden 2 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 14:19, 19 May 2019 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 14:19, 19 May 2019 (UTC)

Early life

Mušović's family are from Prijepolje, Serbia. Her three older siblings were born in the town but the family emigrated due to the Bosnian War. The family eventually settled in Sweden. Mušović was born in Falun and brought up in Scania.[1] She remained proud of her Balkan heritage and takes annual vacations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, visiting relatives and her "favourite city" Sarajevo.[2]

Club career

Mušović began playing football for Stattena IF as a nine-year-old. She spent two seasons with the club's senior women's team in Division 2 in 2011 and 2012, helping the club secure promotion in the latter campaign.

She transferred from Stattena to LdB FC Malmö in October 2012.[3] In 2013 she understudied Þóra Björg Helgadóttir, who was named Goalkeeper of the Year as Malmö secured the 2013 Damallsvenskan championship. Malmö rebranded as FC Rosengård for the 2014 Damallsvenskan and Mušović was elevated to first team contention when Helgadóttir left the club during the mid-season break.

German import Kathrin Längert then vied with Mušović for Rosengård's goalkeeper position. When Mušović secured increasing first team participation in the 2015 Damallsvenskan, the club announced they were pleased with her development and awarded a new 2.5-year contract in May 2015.[4] Ambitious Mušović wanted to become the best goalkeeper in the world.[5]

Playing for FC Rosengård in November 2018

Mušović received two setbacks ahead of the 2016 Damallsvenskan season. First Rosengård signed Canadian goalkeeper Erin McLeod, then Mušović broke her arm while playing for Sweden U-23s. In the event McLeod suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury, so the club had to bring in veteran Sofia Lundgren as cover.[6]

After some long conversations with Rosengård director of football Therese Sjögran, Mušović agreed to remain at the club although she was unhappy at losing her place in the team once McLeod recovered from her injured knee. Instead of making a transfer request, she resolved to improve aspects of her own game by training alongside her experienced Canadian rival.[5]

In October 2017 Mušović was given a new three-year contract by Rosengård. She declared: "FC Rosengård has always been and will always be the club in my heart".[7] McLeod's lucrative contract was not extended, causing her team-mate and then wife Ella Masar to quit the club in solidarity.[8]

International career

Mušović captained Sweden under-19s to the 2015 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship final stage in Israel. She was disappointed when FC Rosengård stopped her attending the tournament because they needed her for club fixtures. The disappointment was compounded when Sweden under-19s won the competition.[5]

Despite having lost her position as first choice at club level, Mušović was called up by incoming Sweden national team coach Peter Gerhardsson for the opening 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup qualifiers.[1] She attended several matches as a non-playing substitute, then proudly won her first senior cap in March 2018, securing a debut "clean sheet" in a 3–0 win over Russia at the 2018 Algarve Cup.[9]

Mušović endured a difficult second appearance for Sweden, when she deputised for Hedvig Lindahl in a friendly against Italy in October 2018. Her handling error allowed Daniela Sabatino to score the only goal of the match.[10] In May 2019 she was one of three goalkeepers selected by Sweden for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, alongside Lindahl and the uncapped Jennifer Falk.[11]

Personal life

Mušović in 2018 was in a relationship with professional ice hockey player Alen Bibic.[9] In 2018 Mušović graduated with a degree in economics from Lund University. Her older brother Huso Mušović was himself a lower division footballer.[12]

Mušović maintains a personal blog at her own website. She has firm political views and challenged two of her social media contacts over their support for the "racist" Sweden Democrats party at the 2018 Swedish general election.[13]

Honours

Club
FC Rosengård

Winner

National team
Sweden

Winner

References
  1. Fredriksson, Emelie (16 September 2017). "Musovic: "Karriären var ett skämt"" (in Swedish). Aftonbladet. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  2. Alibegović, Jasmin (14 January 2019). "Zećira Mušović: Želim biti najbolja na svijetu" (in Bosnian). Dnevni avaz. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  3. Ahlin, Linus (12 October 2012). "Zecira lämnar för mästarlaget" (in Swedish). Helsingborgs Dagblad. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  4. Cederlund, Christer (19 May 2015). "Nytt kontrakt för Musovic" (in Swedish). Skånska Dagbladet. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  5. Friberg, Anna (16 April 2016). "Zecira Musovic: "Jag ska bli bäst i världen"" (in Swedish). Expressen. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  6. Brattgård, Louv (12 April 2016). "FC Rosengård förlänger med Lundgren" (in Swedish). Sveriges Television. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  7. "Zećira Mušović har förlängt sitt kontrakt med FC Rosengård" (in Swedish). FC Rosengård. 30 October 2017. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  8. Forsberg, Aron (1 November 2017). "Rosengårds bästa målskytt lämnar: "Mitt stoltaste ögonblick är att nobba erbjudandet"" (in Swedish). Fotboll Skanalen. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  9. Andersson, Jan Peter (10 March 2018). "Mušović om kärleken: "Alen är väldigt stolt"" (in Swedish). Expressen. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  10. Tengblad, Mattias (9 October 2018). "Sverige föll tungt efter missen: "Är olyckligt"" (in Swedish). Expressen. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  11. "Gerhardssons VM-trupp presenterad" [Gerhardsson's World Cup squad presented] (in Swedish). Swedish Football Association. 16 May 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  12. Dencker, Torbjörn (8 December 2015). "Huso Musovic: "Jag brinner lite extra för Stattena"" (in Swedish). Alltid Fullsatt. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  13. Mušović, Zećira (29 August 2018). "Landslagsläger i Göteborg och SD-sympatisörer i vänlistan" (in Swedish). Zeciramusovic.com. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
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