Stats by Milos with suggestions from JeanMarcName: Vahid HalilhodžićNickname: "Vaha"
Country:
Yugoslavia /
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Club:
FC NantesNumber:
9Position: *
CFSide: RF/BS
Age: 30-34 years (15/10/1952)
Height: 182 cm
Weight: 80 kg
Attack:
90Defence:
40Balance:
82Stamina:
79Top Speed:
81Acceleration:
78Response:
91Agility:
79Dribble Accuracy:
83Dribble Speed:
77Short Pass Accuracy:
77Short Pass Speed:
75Long Pass Accuracy:
74Long Pass Speed:
77Shot Accuracy:
87Shot Power:
83Shot Technique:
88Free Kick Accuracy:
88Curling:
85Header:
88Jump:
82Technique:
79Aggression:
87Mentality:
75Goalkeeper Skills:
50Team Work:
79Injury Tolerance:
BCondition:
6Weak Foot Accuracy:
6Weak Foot Frequency:
5Consistency:
5Growth type:
Late PeakCARDS:P13 - Goal Poacher
P14 - Dummy Runner
S04 - PK Taker
S06 - Outside Curve
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Positioning - Scoring - Lines - Penalties - Outside
Attack / Defence Awareness Card: Attack MindedINFOS:Born in Jablanica in present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina, Halilhodžić started playing football in his early teens at the local minnows' ground Turbina Jablanica, as it was located some 100 meters from his family home. According to his admission, he did not consider becoming a professional footballer at the time and instead chose to continue his formal education, moving to the nearby city of Mostar at the age of 14 to study at the local electrotechnical high school, without ever appearing for Turbina in an official match. Nevertheless, it was in Mostar that he first started taking football seriously as he went on to join Yugoslav First League side Velež Mostar academy at the age of 16, in part on the insistence of his brother Salem, who at the time played for the club as a striker. Halilhodžić then went on to play there at youth levels for the next two and a half years, and, upon signing a professional contract with the club, was sent on a six-month loan to second level side Neretva Metković to gain some experience.
Upon his return from loan, he quickly broke into the first-team squad in the 1972–73 season, forming a successful attacking partnership with Dušan Bajević and helping Velež finish the season as league runners-up behind powerhouse Red Star Belgrade. Halilhodžić then went on to become one of the club's key players in the 1970s, appearing in a total of 376 matches and scoring 253 goals (including 207 appearances and 103 goals in the Yugoslav First League) before leaving the country in September 1981 to join French side Nantes Atlantique. Earlier that year he was instrumental in winning the club's first major silverware, scoring two goals in their 3–2 Yugoslav Cup final win against Željezničar.
At Nantes Halilhodžić immediately became a first-team regular, scoring 7 goals in 28 appearances in the 1981–82 Division 1. The following season he helped Nantes win the French championship and was also the league's top scorer with 27 goals in 36 appearances. Halilhodžić went on to spend five years at La Beajoire, appearing in a total of 163 league matches and scoring 92 goals for Nantes, also becoming league top scorer in the 1984–85 season with 28 goals.
In 1986 Halilhodžić decided to return to Mostar so he could spend more time with his father, who in the meantime fell seriously ill. While negotiating a new contract with Nantes, he intentionally asked for a salary bigger than anything the club could afford so that he could be released and return home. However, Francis Borelli, chairman of Paris Saint-Germain, stepped in and made him a "fantastic offer" to sign a one year contract, with the intention of bringing Halilhodžić to Parc des Princes in order to strengthen the team for their upcoming 1986–87 European Cup campaign.
Halilhodžić accepted the offer and went on to appear for the club in the first 18 games of the 1986–87 season, scoring 8 goals. However, his mother died during the season, and it was then that Halilhodžić decided to finally retire from active football.
