Article by Alin Buzărin – Published Saturday, June 13, 2026, 00:39 / Updated Saturday, June 13, 2026 00:43
A few minutes before the match, we were rubbing our eyes, wondering (comfortingly, to be honest!) how it is that in the center of Bosnia's attack, against Canada (1-1 final result), the starter is Jovo Lukic and not Dzeko.
Very simple why, because the legendary Eden, who after a brilliant career put another golden link on his chain, namely promotion to the Bundesliga with Schalke 0-4, recently entered his fifth decade of life. That's why Barbarez keeps it, possibly fresh, for the end of the match.
18 after absolutely nothing
So the top scorer of our championship appears on the field18 goals for “U” Cluj in 2025-26 and none for Craiova a season before. A year ago Jovo was to be reported as rejected, a striker who in Bănie “didn't score goals”, as Sorinaccio Cârțu would say, could make his way back to his homeland so hard tried.
However, his football pedigree did not say much, Borac Banja Luka, if it means anything, it means (or used to mean) possibly in men's handball. Not in football.
Partially retreaded
Here comes his eye Nelutu Sabau, who likes to play with craft central tip, genuine novelty. A year before he had Blănuță, in the summer of 2025 he was looking for something similar. He brings Jovo under Feleac, pushed aside by Craiova as he removed the Spaniard from the workbench.
Neluțu is not the man to shove players down his throat, anyone who comes to the team passes through his filter. However, “The Moțu” is not settling down, so Bergodi takes over a team from the second half of the ranking in October, with a Bosnian striker still only partially retreaded.
Selected after a decade
Lukic's flourishing is mostly linked to Bergodi. The goals are starting to flow and Lukic, with just two caps for Bosnia's youth team almost a decade ago, is starting to attract attention. The summons appear, especially for the decisive match against Italy, where, however, he does not step on the field.
It's also hard. There are Demirovic, Dzeko, the young Bazdar, who at 22 can become a marketable product, and in the ex-Yugoslav space, marketability is an essential attribute.
Disease of tall people
Few people know that in the last four-five stages of the playoffs Jovo had big problems with his back. The disease of tall people, at 1.92 m the saddles are the first. At “U” he did not enter, he was withdrawn after the warm-up, and when he played, he was far below his usual level.
Maybe because of this, Cluj's engines were also upset at the end of the season, including their terrible match in the last round, in Bănie. It's hard to believe that in Toronto, the Bosnian was one hundred percent. The back is hard to deal with, you don't know when it “takes you” or when it leaves you. That's why he came out in the match against Canada after an hour of play, but maybe also because he got a yellow card.
Thoughts from the Lakeside
Moments after Lukic opened the scoring, the phone screen flickered. “Great Jovo!”
It was Cristiano Bergodi, enjoying himself on the shores of a splendid lake in Italy, at his home in Bracciano, near Rome. He was probably packing for the reunion of the Transylvanians in the following days and all kinds of thoughts were going through his head.
That he won't have “Grandeeee Jovo” in training until about three weeks from now, or who knows when. Or, if Jovo pulls off another feat at the Worlds, maybe he won't have it at all. It is essential for Bosnia, proof that after its exit Bosnia suffered terribly…
