Vedad Ibisevic to make 250th Bundesliga appearance

Berlin – A tally of 102 goals in Germany’s top flight is not one reached by many and having just surpassed a milestone with his 100th Bundesliga goal, Vedad Ibisevic is set for another special occasion in his football career. The 32-year-old will make his 250th Bundesliga appearance on Sunday, when Hertha face Hamburger SV on matchday 23. Ibisevic has gone through a lot in his career. As a striker, scoring goals is the priority but there are also times when luck just doesn’t seem to be on your side and breaking the deadlock can take a bit longer. During such times, it’s very important to keep believing in yourself and have a manager who does the same. That’s what Pál Dárdai showed during Ibisevic’s recent goal-drought. “He fights like a bear and gives everything for the team,” praised the manager, as he continued to trust his goalscorer.

Ibisevic spoke with herthabsc.de about his previous 249 Bundesliga games, the good and bad times, as well as his most important goals.

herthabsc.de: Vedad, you are about to make your 250th Bundesliga appearance. Does that mean anything to you?

Vedad Ibisevic: Really? I didn’t even know that. That’s great. Every Bundesliga game is special for me but that is a nice number and I never thought I would get this many. It’s unbelievable to have played 250 games, but I’m trying to focus on what’s important: The game on Sunday. If everything goes to plan and we win with me scoring a goal, everything would be perfect.

herthabsc.de: Can you remember your first Bundesliga appearance?

Ibisevic: Yes, I think that was with Alemannia Aachen at home against Schalke. We lost 1-0 and I came on for about 20 minutes, right?

herthabsc.de: That’s correct. What did that feel like back then?

Ibisevic: I was very, very nervous before the substitution. I wanted to make an impact on our game, but I wasn’t quite able to. Schalke were just the better team. It was still a great experience to play in Aachen’s Tivoli. It’s a shame we didn’t manage to get any points, but I had a few friends in the stadium and we celebrated afterwards.

herthabsc.de: You’ve said that you can remember each of your 102 goals in the Bundesliga. So you still remember your first goal, right?

Ibisevic: Of course, it was against Stuttgart. We suffered a 4-2 defeat. Again, I came on with the score at 4-1 and managed to grab a consolation goal. Most people didn’t care about the goal as it didn’t achieve anything, but I was over the moon. I was so happy that I wanted to run over to our fans and give everyone a hug. I thought: “What an awesome feeling, I want to experience it more often!”

herthabsc.de: You’ve also gone through a few goal-droughts in your career. You recently ended one with a goal against Bayern, but overall you didn’t seem too phased by having not scored in a while...

Ibisevic: Lots of pressure comes from outside and I’ve gotten used to that by now. Counting how many minutes a striker hasn’t scored isn’t anything new. I’m eager and want to score goals at all costs, but personally it’s more important that the team is successful, not that I’m fulfilling my own ego. Sometimes people seem to forget that the ‘Vedator’ is also human and can make mistakes. Sure, as a striker’s job is to score goals. I have that in my blood. It’s my life.

herthabsc.de: Any win that stands out for you?

Ibisevic: Every victory is great, especially when you’ve worked hard for it. Winning is never easy, it’s earned the hard way. We’ve often managed to reward ourselves for our hard work over the last two years and I’m happy about every single win. We should’ve won against Bayern, which would’ve been a special victory, but that’s in the past now.

herthabsc.de: And what was your most disappointing defeat?

Ibisevic: The DFB-Pokal semi-final loss against Borussia Dortmund last season. That was really unfortunate and I think the game could’ve ended differently on any other day. But for that game, we didn’t show up and Dortmund had a great performance. They deserved to win, but it’s a shame that we missed out on the opportunity to play in our home stadium for the final.

herthabsc.de: Looking back, what have been the most memorable moments in your Bundesliga career so far?

Ibisevic: There are many. I’ve noticed that, especially after returning from a long break. Going up to the fans and celebrating with them again makes me realise why football is so great, and to have been a part of that 250 times now in the Bundesliga – that’s insane.

herthabsc.de: How many more games will follow for you?

Ibisevic: Another 250, right? (laughs) I think I can stop when I have 500.