Benjamin Tahirovic, 19, can choose between playing for the national team of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Sweden.
Now Romatalangen has made the decision – and it is Bosnia that he wants to represent.
– Jan Andersson had planned a trip to Rome to meet him, Sweden’s national team manager Stefan Petersson tells Fotbollskanalen.
The talented Benjamin Tahirovic made five appearances for Roma in Serie A during the season, including one.
The central midfielder has Swedish and Bosnian citizenship, and therefore was able to choose between the two national teams.
The decision is made, and Sweden is clearly losing more talented players. This was confirmed by the captain of the Bosnian national team, Faruk Hadjibegić, on his Facebook page.
He wrote, “I am very happy with the way the talks have gone, especially with Tahirovic’s family ready for their son to be part of our team. Benjamin is the future of Bosnia and Herzegovina and I am happy to work with him.” .
Jan Anderson was going to Rome this weekend
Stefan Pettersson, the national team manager, told Fotbollskanalen that Tahirovic informed Blagault of his country’s selection yesterday (Wednesday).
– It’s boring, of course. Then we know very well how difficult it is for players to make a decision like that. There are many things that come into play and it’s not that simple which we respect.
Peterson also revealed that Jan Andersson planned to travel to Rome this weekend, in connection with Roma’s match against Hellas Verona, to speak to Tahirovic.
“I couldn’t have done it any other way.”
The 19-year-old is one in a row of footballers who have chosen not to play for the Sweden national team.
Examples of such players are Anil Ahmadudzic (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Saman Ghoddos (Iran) and Sid Haksapanović (Montenegro).
Peterson says the national team’s management won’t change the way it does these things. Nor does he think Sweden could have done differently in the Tahirovic case.
We cannot see that we could have done anything differently, or should have done it. If you look at recent years, there are many players who could have chosen other national teams but chose Sweden, and that must not be forgotten.
may regret
On Wednesday, Tahirovic posted an Instagram story with the flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina and an exclamation mark, which can probably be seen as confirmation of his selection for his country.
But it’s not over yet. The Bosnian midfielder will not be ‘locked up’ until he has made his competitive debut.
Minutes to play in a competitive match could come for Tahirovic in the Euro 2024 qualifiers, which start in March, at the earliest.
