December 18 – Sloboda Tuzla, a club from Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Premier League, has fired all of its coaches and players following a string of poor results. The news was delivered by club president Azmir Husić (pictured) after the team’s final match of the year.
The club, one of the oldest in the country, has lost 15 of its 17 league games this season.
With 16 matches left in the season, Husic said the club plans to rebuild and fight to stay in the league.
Founded in 1919, Sloboda Tuzla is in last place with just two points from 17 matches, having scored five goals and conceded 36.
The reason for the dismissal of all the players and coaches is not just the team’s poor performance but also to move towards rectifying the club’s financial difficulties.
According to Husić, the previous club management signed unaffordable player contracts, but he said that some players from the current squad will be offered new contracts and can continue playing for the team, but are nevertheless free to look for new clubs if they prefer.
“It couldn’t have been a better, but also a harder day,” said Husic.
“The harder part was telling the players that they were no longer part of Sloboda, and that’s what I did. The easier part was that there were no games next weekend, that we shouldn’t think about it. We weren’t able to score a goal, let alone win a few points. I had to go out in front of the guys and tell them everything about the situation as it is,” he continued.
“Most of them accepted it. We already have six or seven players who have resigned their contracts, even though they were for longer periods. That’s a relief for us. We hope that during this week the majority will do it and accept everything. That will be an indicator for us in which direction we need to go and build a team that will bring the season to an end and take a few more points by the end.
“I took a step that few others would have taken. I think we can make a better team than the one that only won two points. If we had brought in players from the canton and the First League, we would have done more, I’m sure of it. Even before lunch with coach Nalić, we agreed that there was no point in further cooperation. One of his demands was that the cooperation should stop. And when the agreement came, it was that he would be here until the end of the half-season so we could see what happens next.
“I think we need a new face who will try to deal with everything. It will be difficult to make a new team, but it is doable. We will talk to some players here. There were some contracts that were unacceptable and that is why I thought everything should be terminated. We will make new contracts, which are not against the law. Everyone was told that they are free and that their contracts are up for termination. And after the termination, we will approach a number of players who wore the Sloboda jersey in the first part of the season with the new boss. We will try to make agreements that are more realistic than the current ones.”
Contact the writer of this story, Aleksander Krassimirov, at moc.l1737183480labto1737183480ofdlr1737183480owedi1737183480sni@o1737183480fni1737183480