Darijan Bojanić (Bosnian pronunciation: [darijan bojanitɕ]; born 28 December 1994) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for K League 1 club Ulsan Hyundai.

Darijan Bojanić
Bojanić in 2024
Personal information
Date of birth (1994-12-28) 28 December 1994 (age 29)
Place of birth Växjö, Sweden
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Central midfielder
Team information
Current team
Ulsan Hyundai
Number 8
Youth career
0000–2010 Gislaveds IS
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010 Gislaveds IS 12 (4)
2010–2013 Östers IF 30 (0)
2013–2014 IFK Göteborg 10 (2)
2014–2018 Helsingborgs IF 96 (16)
2017Östersunds FK (loan) 4 (1)
2019–2022 Hammarby IF 110 (9)
2023– Ulsan Hyundai 36 (2)
International career
2011 Sweden U17 4 (1)
2012–2014 Sweden U19 6 (1)
2020 Sweden 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:06, 8 October 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 15:47, 16 January 2022 (UTC)

Early life

edit

His parents fled from Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Yugoslav Wars while his mother was pregnant with him. Bojanić was born in Växjö, Sweden, and grew up in Gislaved.[1] His mother is of Bosniak descent, while his father is ethnically Croat.[2] Bojanić is fluent in the Bosnian language.[3]

Club career

edit

Östers IF

edit

In 2010, after debuting in the senior team at local club Gislaveds IS at age 16, Bojanić moved to Östers IF in Superettan, Sweden's second tier. Around that time, he also attracted interest from several European clubs, reportedly Fulham and Heerenveen.[4][5] In 2012, Bojanić made 12 appearances as Öster won Superettan and got promoted to the first division.[6]

In 2013, Bojanić made his debut in Allsvenskan, aged 18. Midway through the season, after making 14 appearances for Öster, he transferred to IFK Göteborg.[7]

IFK Göteborg

edit

On 2 August 2013, Bojanić signed a four-and-a-half-year contract with IFK Göteborg, but failed to make an impact at the club.[8] He reportedly had disciplinary issues during his stay at IFK Göteborg and Bojanić later admitted that he once fell asleep during a team meeting. In total, Bojanić would only make 10 league appearances for the side.[9]

Helsingborgs IF

edit

On 15 July 2014, Bojanić moved to Helsingborgs IF.[10] He reunited with his former coach from Öster, Roar Hansen, and soon established himself as a starting player at the club.[11]

Bojanić fell out of favour with manager Henrik Larsson in 2016 after the player had criticised his coach in the media.[12] Helsingborg got relegated to Superettan the same year. In 2017, he went on loan to Östersunds FK in Allsvenskan, but failed to make an impact, only making four league appearances for the side.[13] He won the 2016–17 Svenska Cupen, the main domestic cup, with Östersund.[14]

In 2018, Bojanić played 29 games, scored six goals and provided 13 assists, as Helsingborg won a promotion to Allsvenskan.[6] At the end of the season, he was voted as Superettan Player of the Year.[15][16]

Hammarby IF

edit

2019

edit

On 26 November 2018, Bojanić moved on a free transfer to Hammarby IF, signing a three-and-a-half-year contract.[17] He played 29 games in the 2019 season, scoring four goals and providing 11 assists, the most in the league, as Hammarby finished third in the table after eight straight wins at the end of the campaign.[6] He vas voted as Allsvenskan Player of the Month in October,[18] and Hammarby Player of the Season by the fans at the end of the year.[19]

2020

edit

In January 2020, Bojanić signed a new three-and-a-half-year contract with Hammarby.[20] The season was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic with Bojanić being in poor form and plagued by injuries, only making 23 appearances as his side disappointedly finished 8th in the table.[21][6] Although, he scored from a free-kick in the first round of the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League against Puskás Akadémia (in a 3–0 win), before the club was eliminated from the tournament in the second round against Lech Poznań (in a 0–3 loss).[22]

2021

edit

On 30 May 2021, Bojanić won the 2020–21 Svenska Cupen with Hammarby, through a 5–4 win on penalties (0–0 after full-time) against BK Häcken in the final.[23][24] He featured in all six games as the side reached the play-off round of the 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League, after eliminating Maribor (4–1 on aggregate) and FK Čukarički (6–4 on aggregate), where the club was knocked out by Basel (4–4 on aggregate) after a penalty shoot-out, in which Bojanić missed his attempt.[25][26][27][28]

On 23 September 2021, Bojanić was appointed as the new club captain of Hammarby by head coach Miloš Milojević, replacing Jeppe Andersen.[29] On 2 April 2022, Bojanić was demoted to vice-captain by new head coach Martí Cifuentes, being replaced by Richard Magyar.[30]

2022

edit

Bojanić featured in the final of the 2021–22 Svenska Cupen, in which Hammarby lost by 4–5 on penalties to Malmö FF after the game ended in a 0–0 draw.[31][32] During the summer, he reportedly attracted interest from FC Zürich in the Swiss Super League, but their bid was rejected.[33] In the league, Bojanić scored four goals in 29 appearances, often captaining his side, that ultimately finished 3rd in the Allsvenskan table.[6] On 10 November 2022, shortly after the final game of the season, Hammarby accepted a bid from K League 1 club Ulsan Hyundai for his transfer, subject to the player's personal agreement.[34]

Ulsan Hyundai

edit

On 14 November 2022, Ulsan Hyundai confirmed that they had reached an agreement for his transfer, effective in January 2023.[35][36]

International career

edit

Between 2011 and 2014, Bojanić won several caps for both the Swedish U17 and U19 teams.[37]

Bojanić was called up to the Swedish senior squad for the training tour in early 2020.[38] He made his debut in a 1–0 friendly win against Moldova on 9 January 2020.[39] Three days later, on 12 January, he provided the assist to Simon Hedlund as Sweden won 1–0 against Kosovo.[40] Manager Janne Andersson praised him as one of the best Swedish players during the tour.[41]

In 2021, Bojanić confirmed that he was contemplating switching his allegiance to Bosnia and Herzegovina, where his family originally is from, pending a call-up and an application for dual citizenship.[42]

Style of play

edit

As a deep-lying playmaker, Bojanić is known for his strong passing game and technique. He is also a set piece-specialist.[1]

Career statistics

edit

Club

edit
As of match played 19 September 2023[43]
Club Season League Cup Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Gislaveds IS 2010 Division 3 12 4 12 4
Total 12 4 0 0 0 0 12 4
Östers IF 2010 Superettan 0 0 0 0
2011 Superettan 5 0 4 0 9 0
2012 Superettan 11 0 1 0 12 0
2013 Allsvenskan 14 0 2 0 16 0
Total 30 0 7 0 0 0 37 0
IFK Göteborg 2013 Allsvenskan 7 1 1 1 8 2
2014 Allsvenskan 3 1 3 1 0 0 6 2
Total 10 2 4 2 0 0 14 4
Helsingborgs IF 2014 Allsvenskan 11 2 0 0 11 2
2015 Allsvenskan 27 3 6 2 33 5
2016 Allsvenskan 17 3 5 2 22 5
2017 Superettan 12 2 1 0 13 2
2018 Superettan 29 6 4 0 33 6
Total 96 16 16 4 0 0 112 20
Östersunds FK (loan) 2017 Allsvenskan 4 1 2 1 6 2
Total 4 1 2 1 0 0 6 2
Hammarby IF 2019 Allsvenskan 29 4 3 0 32 4
2020 Allsvenskan 23 0 4 1 1[a] 1 28 1
2021 Allsvenskan 29 1 4 0 6[b] 0 39 1
2022 Allsvenskan 29 4 7 2 36 6
Total 110 9 18 3 7 1 135 13
Ulsan Hyundai 2023 K League 1 7 0 2 0 1[c] 0 10 0
Career total 269 32 49 10 8 1 326 43
  1. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  2. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
  3. ^ Appearances in AFC Champions League

International

edit
As of 12 January 2020
National team Year Apps Goals
Sweden 2020 2 0
Total 2 0

Honours

edit

Gislaveds IS

Östers IF

Östersunds FK

Helsingborgs IF

Hammarby IF

Ulsan Hyundai

Individual

References

edit
  1. ^ a b "Artisten som slutade strula – nu bygger Bojanics blick Bajens briljans". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). 20 October 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  2. ^ ""Jag är en toffel och en gottegris"" (in Swedish). Östers IF. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  3. ^ "Nogometaša Ibrinog kluba prozvali Hrvatom pa im odgovorio: Ja sam Bosanac" (in Bosnian). Dnevni avaz. 28 November 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  4. ^ "Bojanic lämnar Öster för utlandet?" (in Swedish). Smålänningen. 27 June 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  5. ^ "Östertalang testar med Fulham" (in Swedish). Smålandsposten. 28 October 2010. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  6. ^ a b c d e "Statistik: Darijan Bojanic" (in Swedish). Swedish Football Association. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  7. ^ "Darijan Bojanic lämnar Östers IF" (in Swedish). Östers IF. 1 August 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  8. ^ "Därför släpper de Bojanic till rivalen" (in Swedish). Aftonbladet. 15 July 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  9. ^ "Twitterstjärnan har vaknat i HIF" (in Swedish). Helsingborgs Dagblad. 10 August 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  10. ^ "HIF förstärker med två spelare" (in Swedish). Helsingborgs IF. 15 July 2014. Archived from the original on 17 August 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  11. ^ ""Jag har blivit en bättre person"" (in Swedish). Värnamo Nyheter. 10 January 2015. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  12. ^ "Bänkad - går då till attack mot "Henke"" (in Swedish). Aftonbladet. 18 May 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  13. ^ "Bojanic lämnar Östersunds FK" (in Swedish). OSD Sport. 11 August 2017. Archived from the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  14. ^ "Östersund mot Europa!" (in Swedish). Swedish Football Association. 13 April 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  15. ^ "Årets bästa spelare och lag enligt spelarna själva" (in Swedish). Allsvenskan. 20 December 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  16. ^ "Darijan Bojanic lämnar HIF" (in Swedish). Allsvenskan. 20 December 2018. Archived from the original on 12 April 2019. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  17. ^ "Darijan Bojanic till Hammarby" (in Swedish). Hammarby Fotboll. 26 November 2018. Archived from the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  18. ^ "Darijan Bojanic är Månadens spelare i oktober" (in Swedish). Allsvenskan. 2 November 2019. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  19. ^ "Darijan är årets Bajenspelare 2019!" (in Swedish). Hammarby Fotboll. 7 November 2019. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  20. ^ "Hammarby förlänger med Darijan Bojanic" (in Swedish). Hammarby Fotboll. 6 January 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  21. ^ "Bojanic: "Kände att nu räcker det – jag vill spela igen"" (in Swedish). Aftonbladet. 22 August 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  22. ^ "Hammarby 3 – 0 Puskás Akadémia" (in Swedish). UEFA. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  23. ^ "Hammarby cupvinnare efter straffdrama" (in Swedish). Swedish Football Association. 30 May 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  24. ^ "Historisk och dramatisk cupfinalseger mot Häcken" (in Swedish). Hammarby Fotboll. 30 May 2021. Archived from the original on 16 June 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  25. ^ "Maribor 0 – 1 Hammarby". UEFA. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  26. ^ "Hammarby 5 – 1 Čukarički". UEFA. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  27. ^ "Hammarby 3 – 1 Basel". UEFA. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  28. ^ "Ett slut att glömma efter 210 minnesvärda minuter" (in Swedish). Hammarby Fotboll. 26 August 2021. Archived from the original on 30 August 2021. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  29. ^ "Milojevic bekräftar kaptensbyte i Bajen - petade Andersen: "Det är jobbigt"" (in Swedish). Fotbollskanalen. 23 September 2021. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  30. ^ "Årets lagkaptener utsedda" (in Swedish). Hammarby Fotboll. 2 April 2022. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  31. ^ "Straffar gav MFF första cupguldet på 33 år" (in Swedish). Swedish Football Association. 26 May 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  32. ^ "Bajen golvat från elva meter i titelmatchen" (in Swedish). Hammarby Fotboll. 26 May 2022. Archived from the original on 26 May 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  33. ^ "Avslöjar: Oviss Bajen-framtid för Bojanic trots stort bud - jagas av mästarklubb" (in Swedish). Fotbollskanalen. 23 June 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  34. ^ "Hammarby överens med sydkoreansk klubb om övergång för Darijan" (in Swedish). Hammarby Fotboll. 10 November 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  35. ^ "허리부터 탄탄하게! 울산현대, 2023시즌 대비 첫 보강으로 다리얀 보야니치 영입!" (in Korean). Ulsan Hyundai FC. 14 November 2022. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  36. ^ "Tack, Darijan!" (in Swedish). Hammarby Fotboll. 14 November 2022. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  37. ^ "Landslagsdatabasen: Darijan Bojanic" (in Swedish). Swedish Football Association. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  38. ^ "Truppen till januariturnén" (in Swedish). Swedish FA. 9 December 2019. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  39. ^ "Sverige 1 – 0 Moldavien" (in Swedish). Swedish FA. 9 January 2020. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  40. ^ "Andra 1-0-segern på turnén" (in Swedish). Swedish FA. 12 January 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  41. ^ "Janne Andersson hyllar Bojanic – som ligger lågt om Blågult: "Jag vill inte jinxa något"" (in Swedish). Fotbollskanalen. 12 January 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  42. ^ "Bojanic överväger spel i bosniska landslaget: "Det är absolut aktuellt"" (in Swedish). Fotbollskanalen. 20 September 2021. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  43. ^ "Darijan Bojanic". Svensk Fotboll. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
edit