The incredible life of Haris Medunjanin

Coming face to face with a man with a machine gun is not something you want to experience at any age. For a seven-year-old Haris Medunjanin, it was reality. As he fled Sarajevo with his mother and sister on one of the last buses out of the country, after the outbreak of war in 1992, they were stopped at a border checkpoint. A Serbian man boarded the bus threatening to kill the passengers, and took the young Haris aside.

"This guy told me, 'Never pick up a gun. Never do something stupid. Try to think positively. Try to do some sports,' " Medunjanin told the Philadelphia Enquirer in 2017. And sports and positivity was exactly what he did.

The gunman spared the lives of those on the bus, which crossed the border in Montenegro. Haris and his family moved around as refugees, from Denmark to eventually the Netherlands, where they settled. He had always played football on the streets in Sarajevo, but with his move to the Netherlands came the chance to play in an official capacity. After starting out with Fortuna Sittard, a move to an uncle’s house in Alkmaar lead to a chance with AZ, despite initially being turned down by the two-time Dutch champions.

It was there that he had his first contact - and arguments - with Louis Van Gaal. “I thought I could just argue with him, it was stupid of me”, he told AD in 2022. However, Haris learnt not to argue, and looks back on the experience positively. “I learned so much”, he told the Enquirer.

With first team opportunities limited at AZ, he moved to the first of the three countries in 2008 that would come to define the Bosnian’s career - Spain. In what was his opportunity in a big European league and to face the best in the world, Medunjanin made 46 appearances for Valladolid over two seasons, scoring seven goals.

The initial culture shock, especially at the eating hours, did not put him off returning six years later, signing for Deportivo La Coruña in 2014. However he only made 27 appearances during his second spell in Spain, and terminated his contract half way through his second season.

Bookending his first two Spanish adventures were his spells in Israel, specifically at Maccabi Tel Aviv, the second country that painted the picture not just of Medunjanin’s career but also his personal life. Despite initial hesitancy at moving there as Muslim, it turned to be a great decision. As well as having the chance to compete on a European stage in the UEFA Cup, he also met his now now ex-wife with whom he had a son, now three.

They still live in Tel Aviv, and naturally, recent events have brought back some emotional memories. “Fortunately, I get along well with my ex and we are in touch via Facetime almost daily. That's nice. That way I can see Benjamin every day, ask how he's doing,” he told AD in a recent interview. “Sometimes he's in a bomb shelter when I speak to him. That kind of hits home. The advantage is that he is quite young, he doesn't know exactly what is going on. But the most important thing is that he and my ex are safe.”

After a successful 2015-2016 campaign, where Medunjanin helped his team to a second-placed finish in the league and Europa League qualification, he took the opportunity to move to Philadelphia Union in January of the following season, signing a two-year deal. His connection with Earnie Stewart, the then sporting director at Union and previously of AZ facilitated the deal, and it lead to a very successful spell in The City of Brotherly Love.

Haris became Philadelphia’s most important player, winning player of the year in his first season with the club. In the 2019 campaign, Philadelphia set a then points record with the Bosnian playing every minute and leading the league in most passing statistics. It was also there that he linked up with Dick Schreuder for the first time, planting the seed for his move to Zwolle three years later.

The following year, Medunjanin found himself in Cincinnati, a new MLS expansion franchise that had played its first season only a year earlier. After two seasons at a club with teething problems - the team finished bottom in Medunjanin’s two full seasons, he answered the call of the Netherlands and Dick Schreuder, who had recently been appointed manager at PEC Zwolle.

“We often went to dinner together and became friends [in Philadelphia]. We clicked right away, also because we think the same about football and we are both honest.”, Haris said of Schreuder in 2022.

The chance to return to Europe also meant being closer to his son, who was an 18-hour-flight away from Cincinnati. “It wasn't always easy for me there, my wife had stayed behind in Israel. She found it hard to leave her family”, he told AD in the same interview.

With the Schreuder-Medunjanin duo reunited once again, records fell, as Zwolle obtained promotion to the Eredivisie, scoring 2.55 goals/90, finishing second on goal difference. Their 13-0 win against Den Bosch was the largest in the history of the division.

Since their arrival in Castellón, the vibes have been similar. The second greatest league start in the club’s history, and the joint most points obtained after 10 games in the history of the Primera RFEF. Albinegre fans can hardly believe what they’re seeing, but it’s clear that Medunjanin and Schreuder have their feet firmly on the ground.

For the former Bosnian international, the big moments are nothing new. And it doesn’t get much bigger than representing your country at the first World Cup in its history. However even as Vedad Ibisevic scored the winning goal against Lithuania in the game that send Bosnia to Brazil in 2014, the best was yet to come. They were drawn to play against Messi’s Argentina at the Maracana, and Medunjanin was the one who got his shirt. As told to the Enquirer:

"I knew [Messi] from Spain, and I asked him for his shirt after the game. He said, 'Of course, I'll give it to you afterward in the tunnel.' I thought for sure he had forgot. So I was coming back, I walked in the tunnel and I see Messi waiting there. I said, 'Hey, listen, I respect you now even more.' … I was walking to the tunnel and I saw him there waiting, and I was thinking: What the? Why is he waiting on me? Who am I, man? This is Messi.”

The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner even asked for Medunjanin’s in return, which now presumably lives in his large collection. Messi’s shirt is safely with Haris’s sister in Amsterdam.

Life is a journey, and very few have had one like Medunjanin’s. Coming face-to-face with war, even death - a childhood friend didn’t make it out alive - inevitably gives one a different perspective. “For the same money, I would have been dead now”, he told AD. “ It was war, eh." At Castellón, more than just star on the pitch, Medunjanin is there to share his experiences, in life and in football. And that’s been invaluable to the team, right from the first minute of pre-season. “I have made a lot of mistakes in my career, but also learnt from them. Maybe that's why I can still keep up.”