St. Louis finally had its World Cup sendoff on Saturday, when Energizer Park played host to international friendly match between Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIH) vs. Panama. Bosnian supporters from across the Midwest gathered in downtown St. Louis to give BIH a proper going-away party.
Anticipation emanated throughout the Bosnian community since late March, when Esmir Bajraktarević’s penalty kick sealed BIH’s second-ever World Cup berth during the European qualifying playoff match. Not only had Bosnia and Herzegovina upset the playoff favorites, but the team’s fortune was sealed by a child of Bosnian refugees. That story has resonated deeply in St. Louis, where more than 60,000 Bosnians live.
Are you a CITY SC fan?
Subscribe to the CITY Scene newsletter to get a fan’s guide to the pro soccer scene in St. Louis.
So as BIH’s World Cup dream began to look possible, St. Louis CITY SC began to explore what it would take to include BIH in its Summer of Soccer initiative. When the World Cup dream became reality, it became paramount to BIH that the team spend time in St. Louis to spend time acclimating to the challenges of playing through summer in North America, as well as playing one final sendoff in front of a supportive crowd.
The excitement was already evident in mid-May, when hundreds of soccer fans and members of the Bosnian community gathered at the Sebilj Fountain in the Bevo Mill neighborhood. “We see the sport of soccer as like a religion,” said CITY2 assistant manager Elvir Kafedžić, who founded the St. Louis Dragons youth soccer program. “Now, to be able to have our heroes come to our new hometown here in St. Louis, it’s special for us to be able to send them off to the World Cup with an atmosphere that they would only experience back home in Bosnia.”
Fans greeted BIH at the airport last Tuesday, ahead of Saturday’s friendly. As Kafedžić alluded, the team’s visit was as much an opportunity to send love to the team as it was a celebration of Bosnian culture and heritage. The Bosnian national team supporter group led a 2,000-fan march through downtown to Energizer Park. Supporters donned blue, yellow, and white. Vehicles were affixed with both the current flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the flag of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Chants of “Volim Te Bosna” (“I love you, Bosnia”) rang out. Fans gathered to sing, dance, and drink coffee out of the World’s Largest Bosnian coffee pot, flown in from Sarajevo.
More than 21,000 fans packed Energizer Park during the match on Saturday. The stadium became Little Bosnia for the next few hours as fans sang Halid Bešlić’s “Ljiljani” ahead of kickoff. Bosnian center back Nikola Katić sent the crowd into euphoria when he met teammate Amar Dedić’s cross in the 23rd minute. Panama’s Jiovany Ramos, however, tied the match just ahead of halftime. After the match ended in a draw, the BIH team took a lap around the stadium to thank the fans.
“We knew about the strong community here,” BIH manager Sergej Barbarez said afterward. “You definitely felt that in how we played today, and we are very honored that we chose St. Louis for this camp.”
BIH will play Canada at BMO Field in Toronto on Friday at 2 p.m.
