Janković emphasized that a tremendous amount of work often goes on in youth categories that flies under the radar of the sports public, citing Kerim Alajbegović as one of the best examples.
"To be honest, a lot was done in the previous period through the younger age categories of the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team. Few people know that my professional staff and I literally selected Kerim Alajbegović for the U-15 squad. I spoke with him and his father at the time, and we are still in contact today. We managed, with great difficulty, to pry him away from the German national team," revealed Janković.
The young gem made his debut in the beloved jersey under Janković, at an international tournament in neighboring Croatia, where he immediately demonstrated his full potential.
"He debuted at the 'Vlatko Marković' tournament in Croatia and was already showing his lavish talent then. He scored goals, he was the tournament's top scorer. I remember two goals against Wales when we advanced to the final to play against Croatia," recalled the former youth team selector.
Besides Alajbegović, Janković also reflected on two other names that today form the backbone of the Bosnia and Herzegovina A national team – Benjamin Tahirović and Esmir Bajraktarević. Behind their donning of the Bosnia and Herzegovina jersey also lies the timely reaction of the youth professional staff.
"Regarding Tahirović and Bajraktarević, again, few people know, my professional staff and team manager Alija Porča established the first contact with their relatives, that is, their parents. So they were already in that period sorting out the paperwork necessary for obtaining both ordinary and sports citizenship," recounted Janković.
This statement by Janković once again confirmed how crucial scouting and timely contact with players from the diaspora and their families is for the future of the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team, and the national team director Emir Spahić and his collaborators have done a "lion's share" of work on this matter in the past period.
There are several more promising footballers in the pipeline who are being linked with our national team, and there is no doubt that the main operatives of the Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina will do everything possible to persuade them to wear the Dragons' jersey.