First step in the retirement of a football myth

The Bosnian striker Edin Dzekocaptain of the ‘Dragons’ for twelve years, announced on Thursday his upcoming retirement from the national team and invited fans to accompany him in his farewell match, which will be played on October 2 against Sweden in the Nations League. “The time has come to pass the baton. If I have defended the colors of the national team until I was 40 years old, it is because I have really given everything I could give. Always. Absolutely everything,” he wrote in a message in English published on social networks.

Dzeko is the player with the most caps (151 matches) and the top scorer (73 goals) in the history of the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team. He made his international debut in June 2007 against Türkiye and, in 2014, inherited the captain’s armband previously worn by Emir Spahic. The former Wolfsburg, Manchester City and AS Roma player extended his contract with Schalke 04 until the summer of 2027 in early August. He joined the German club in January 2026 from Fiorentina and helped them gain promotion to the Bundesliga.

“Nothing in my career has ever equaled the pride I felt every time I wore that shirt. Nothing,” stressed the player whom Bosnian fans and media nickname ‘Dijamant’ (Diamond). “I hope you will be present that night against Sweden, so that we can share one last emotion together. This is how I want to live my last evening representing my country: with all of you by my side, wearing this shirt that I have loved since my childhood and that I will love for the rest of my life,” he said.