Enes Sipovici, 35 years old, played six seasons in L1, at Oțelul, Farul and Petrolul, becoming champion with Galațiul in 2011. He talks about the load of the Bosnia-Romania game and reveals troubling episodes from his childhood spent during the war of the early 90s.
Enes Sipovici arrived in Romania at the age of 18 and grew up as a footballer in League 1. He was part of the Galaţi team that won the miraculous title in 2011, and his Carpathian experiences shaped his profile as a player, who then went on to play in Belgium, Morocco, Qatar or India. Plus 15 selections in the U21 national team of Bosnia, in the period immediately after his recruitment by the Steel.
He recently quit football, and now, from a Sarajevo that still bears the traces of the '92-'95 war in its souls, on the streets and in the surrounding mountains, he analyzes the Bosnia-Romania “final”. And it goes back in time to the cruel times of childhood marked by bullets, bombs and rockets.
“In Bucharest, Bosnia needed visas to cross the center of the field”
– Enes, how is the atmosphere around the Bosnia-Romania match?
– We, all Bosnians, are waiting for a big match, a positive result, because we are only in our hands to reach the World Cup. I think things have calmed down with the supporters, with the BHFanaticos group. However, Romania will be an uncomfortable opponent, against whom we luckily won in Bucharest.
– Did the success in the first game of the campaign surprise you?
– I am convinced that many were surprised by that result, especially since Romania was on top of us in the second half. We needed visas to cross the center of the field. I couldn't get out of my own half. But you know how it happens sometimes: you score a goal, you defend very well and you win. It is clear that Romania was much better then, they deserved at least a draw, but luck was on Bosnia's side.
“Romania is catching us in a very complicated period at the batch level”
– But what will happen in Zenica, given that Bosnia is now coming with a decimated batch of injuries and suspensions?
– Indeed, Romania now finds us in a very complicated period. And, apart from the medical or disciplinary problems, there is also the situation of Dzeko, without many minutes collected in the last stages at Fiorentina. The surprise we are waiting for is the one from Tabakovic, in formidable form in the Bundesliga, at Monchengladbach. He can solve this match with Romania.
– What is Bosnia's weak point?
– Bosnia is in a period of transition, there are many young, good, but inexperienced players. They have not yet collected really important matches in the national team. This is in contrast to Romania, which, mostly with the current group, went to last year's European Championship and got the routine of high-stakes games. I know, Stanciu will be missing, but there are guys who have been playing together for a few years and can cover such an absence, even of the captain.
Bosnia is waiting for us in Zenica with a plethora of young players / photo: Cristi Preda (GSP)
Bosnia is not a country with a generous selection area, as is the case elsewhere. We also need to gain a little courage, to overcome a mental barrier, because we missed every time we reached the barriers on the threshold of a qualification. When I needed a big result, I always lost!
– Enes Sipovic, former Oțelul defender
“Romania seemed to be the favorite, but things are going in a bizarre way in the Balkans”
– As a Bosnian, what worries you the most before a “final” with Romania?
– The fact that there are two very difficult matches coming up, with Romania and away with Austria, we should win both to win the group. But, if I remember correctly, Bosnia has never in history achieved two outstanding games in the space of four days. And it's hard for that to happen now in the premiere, especially with a decimated lot.
– How do you think Romania is now?
– Honestly, after the draw, Romania seemed to me to be the favorite of the group, at the end of a good European made in Germany. But here, in the Balkans, things often happen in a bizarre way and I didn't understand what happened to your national team. A lot of talk often replaces reality and you don't even know where the truth is anymore. I read that there were also various problems such as conflicts between Lucescu and the players, Mitriță withdrew. That is, an area of the world where today you are on the wave, and tomorrow you go straight into the abyss, apparently without any logical explanation.
The federation schedules the matches in Zenica because there the stands are close to the pitch, creating a state of terrible pressure on the opponent. But honestly, I would have chosen Zelezniciar's Sarajevo stadium, where you wouldn't have had a chance. It's an arena with a fantastic aura and it seems to carry you forward to victory
– Enes Sipovici, former Oțelul defender
The conflicts between Mircea Lucescu and some of the national team players are well-known even beyond Romania's borders / PHOTO: Cristi Preda (GSP)
“I'm taking coaching courses, they offered me a job at the Academy in Morocco”
– Tell me what you do now that you've put your boots on?
– I run all day after my three and a half year old son. I also enrolled in coaching school, I also have a business in tourism, so I don't get bored. I was also recently invited to Morocco to participate in a documentary film about the club where I played for three years. Something very beautiful! They also offered me a job in the Academy, but first I want to get my degrees and then I'll see where I take it.
– The most pleasant memory from Romania?
– Every moment had something beautiful, both in Steel, and in Lighthouse, and in Petrol. I feel proud to have spent six wonderful years in Romania, and whenever I have the opportunity to speak Romanian, I do so with great pleasure.
Sipovic in the Oțelului shirt, with which he also won the title in 2011
– You really speak amazing Romanian, congratulations!
– Thank you! Do you know why it was easy for me to learn? When I was little, I used to watch telenovelas, I heard Spanish, Italian, and Romanian immediately seemed similar to me and I picked it up pretty quickly because I also had good teachers at Oțelul. Viorel Tănase, Pelin, who immediately accepted me in the group, which meant an admirable thing for an 18-year-old kid from Bosnia.
Certainly, the most beautiful moment was when I won the title with Oțelul, but I played the best during the six months I spent at Petrolul, where I had a sensational collaboration with Vivi Răchită. If I regret anything, it's that I didn't continue to Ploiesti
– Enes Sipovic, former Liga 1 defender
“I had a hard week after the Petrolul – Steaua scandal”
– An episode from Romania that stuck on your retina?
– Do you remember the scandal at Petrolul – Steaua, when a Ploiești supporter jumped from the stands to attack Galamaz? I then intervened in the incident, the press accused me of removing a box from the hand of that fan, but it was about a lighter.
The moment when Stella's players put Galamaz's attacker to the ground in the match with Petrolul de Ploiești, from 2011. Photo: GSP archive
– What exactly happened?
– I saw a lighter on the lawn, I pretended to tie my shoelaces, a photographer caught the episode when I was giving the object to a masseur from Petrolul, Bourceanu also saw me. From there the impression was formed that I had hidden a box from the supporter's hand, I found myself summoned to the hearings and at the FRF. Okay, I didn't get hurt in the end, but it was a pretty rough week for me. I was watching TV, headlines with “Criminal Sipovic”. I was a little scared, because I was a 20-year-old kid, among foreigners, I didn't speak Romanian that well. But Vivi Răchită helped me enormously.
– In what sense?
– I learned many things from him. He told me: “Sipo, turn off the TV, don't read anything, just mind your own business!”. And he was right! I'm sorry that now there is no place at Petrolul. He had a lot of faith in me: managing a 20-year-old centre-back, game by game, is not easy for a coach.
“A grenade exploded near our house, the window fell on dad”
Sarajevo was a city under siege for 4 years
– The war three decades ago caught you at a young age, between 2 and 5 years old. Do you still remember anything from that troubling time, though?
– I remember some images very well. They are still in my head, my parents didn't tell me. For example, I can see the day when the war started, the front line was somewhere 5 kilometers from our house, on a mountain, and my father hugged us, kissed us and left. The mother started to cry. I didn't understand what was happening, but this scene stuck in my mind and I translated it later. And there's one more episode.
– I'm listening to you!
– Dad came home one day to rest, and a grenade exploded right next to our house. The window broke and fell on top of him. He came out quickly and we all took refuge in the bathroom, where the tub was full of water, because my mother was stocking up. We had no water, no electricity, food was difficult. And all that water immediately turned red from my wounds.
I do not wish anyone to go through the terrible moments of a war. Politicians do what they want, they don't ask us anything. I lost four years of my childhood. I can't forget how I sometimes looked out of the window at night and saw quite close the light trails left by the bullets and rockets flying around
– Enes Sipovic, former Liga 1 defender
“I was surprised that Rădoi gave up Craiova”
Mirel Rădoi surprisingly closed his accounts with Craiova after a promising start to the season / photo: Ionuț Iordache (GSP.ro)
– Do you still keep in touch with your former colleagues from Romania?
– With the boys from Oțelul, in particular. Unfortunately, this summer I couldn't make it to Galați, where we were all invited to celebrate 14 years since winning the title. I had to be in Bosnia on urgent business. I hope to make time next year, if a similar event is organized.
– How does the Romanian championship look from Sarajevo?
– It can be seen that Botoșani is the great revelation of the championship and I am happy for the Bosnian kid there. Riad Suta was a colleague of mine at Gabela, my last career club. He is a boy with great potential and will do a good job in Romania. I was surprised that Rădoi gave up Craiova. I had a little chat with him when they played here with FK Sarajevo, he's a legend, the team was starting to look good, I didn't understand why he left. I'm still looking at Graovac from FCSB, where it seems that the team that won the title last season is no longer there.
– The steel?
– My steel is there in the middle of the leaderboard, struggling to get a soothing position. Likewise Petrol, where I understand there are big financial problems. I hope it will be resolved, because it would be a great shame to disappear such beautiful clubs, with tradition, with superb galleries, where a special atmosphere is always created. You enjoy playing football in places like Ploiesti, even as an opponent, with the stadium full and the crowd chanting against you.
