Wikipedia

Nemanja Bilbija

Nemanja Bilbija (Serbian Cyrillic: Немања Билбија, pronounced [němaɲa bîlbija]; born 2 November 1990) is a Bosnian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Bosnian Premier League club Zrinjski Mostar and the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team.

Nemanja Bilbija
Bilbija with Zrinjski Mostar in 2024
Personal information
Date of birth (1990-11-02) 2 November 1990 (age 33)
Place of birth Banja Luka, SFR Yugoslavia
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Zrinjski Mostar
Number 99
Youth career
2000–2008 Borac Banja Luka
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2010 Borac Banja Luka 30 (11)
2010–2013 Vojvodina 43 (2)
2012–2013 → Borac Banja Luka (loan) 23 (14)
2013–2015 Sarajevo 30 (6)
2015–2016 Split 9 (0)
2016–2018 Zrinjski Mostar 86 (40)
2019 Gangwon 6 (2)
2019– Zrinjski Mostar 122 (100)
International career‡
2009–2012 Bosnia and Herzegovina U21 22 (9)
2018– Bosnia and Herzegovina 6 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 3 May 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19 November 2023

A former youth international for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bilbija made his senior international debut in 2018. He is the Bosnian Premier League's record goalscorer.

Club career

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Early career

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Bilbija started his career with his hometown club Borac Banja Luka, whose academy he joined in 2000.[1] He made his professional debut on 8 November 2008 against Posušje at the age of 18.[2] He scored his first goal as a professional against Orašje on 7 March 2009.[3]

On 29 January 2010 Bilbija moved to Serbian side Vojvodina signing a four-year contract.[4] During his time at the club, he was sent on two loans to his former club, Borac Banja Luka.[5]

In August 2013, Bilbija signed a two-year deal with Sarajevo.[6]

In July 2015, he joined Split on a two-year contract.[7]

Zrinjski Mostar

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On 11 February 2016, Bilbija signed with Zrinjski Mostar on free transfer.[8] He scored on his competitive debut for the club against his former team Sarajevo on 28 February.[9]

In August 2017, Bilbija signed a new two-year deal with Zrinjski Mostar.[10] In a game against Vitez on 26 August, Bilbija scored his first hat-trick for the team.[11] A year later, he scored four goals in a convincing triumph over Zvijezda 09.[12]

On 10 November 2018, Bilbija scored a brace on his 100th appearance for the club.[13]

Gangwon

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On 23 December 2018, Bilbija joined South Korean side Gangwon for an undisclosed transfer fee.[14] On 4 January 2019, Bilbija officially joined Gangwon after signing a contract with the club.[15]

He made his debut for Gangwon on 2 March 2019, in a 2–0 away loss against Sangju Sangmu coming in as a substitute in the 71st minute.[16]

Bilbija scored his first goal for Gangwon on 15 May 2019, in a 2–0 home win against Paju Citizen in the round of 16 of the 2019 Korean FA Cup.[17]

Return to Zrinjski Mostar

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On 24 December 2019, Bilbija came back to Zrinjski almost a year after joining Gangwon, signing a three-and-a-half-year contract which will last until the summer of 2023 with the Mostar based club.[18] In his first game back, Bilbija scored a goal in a 2–0 league win against Čelik Zenica on 23 February 2020.[19]

On 31 October 2020, he scored a hat-trick against Velež in the Mostar derby.[20]

Bilbija finished the 2020–21 season as the league's top goalscorer with 17 goals.[21]

In a league game against Sarajevo on 23 October 2021, Bilbija scored his 76th goal for Zrinjski, making him the club's highest goalscorer of all time.[22] Following a 4–0 over Sarajevo on 16 April 2022, the club was crowned league champions, with Bilbija winning his fourth league title with Zrinjski.[23] He finished the 2021–22 season again as the league's top goalscorer with a record-breaking 33 goals.[24]

On 4 September 2022, Bilbija scored two goals in a 4–1 league win against Sarajevo, overtaking Wagner as the Bosnian Premier League's record goalscorer.[25] He finished the 2022–23 season as the league's top goalscorer for a third time in a row, as well as winning the double with Zrinjski, the first in the club's history.[26]

In August 2023, Zrinjski became the first ever club from Bosnia and Herzegovina to reach the group stages of a European club competition after eliminating Icelandic club Breiðablik in the 2023–24 UEFA Europa League third qualifying round, which assured Zrinjski of a group stage spot in the UEFA Europa Conference League as a minimum.[27]

International career

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Bilbija was a member of the Bosnia and Herzegovina national under-21 team. He was also captain of the under-21 side and is the highest goalscorer in the team's history with 9 goals.[28]

In August 2017, Bilbija received his first senior call-up, for 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Cyprus and Gibraltar.[29] He debuted in a friendly game against United States on 28 January 2018.[30]

Personal life

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Bilbija's father Milorad Bilbija was also a professional footballer who currently works as a football manager.[31]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of match played 8 May 2024[32]
Club Season League Cup Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Borac Banja Luka 2008–09 Bosnian Premier League 17 5 0 0 – 17 5
2009–10 Bosnian Premier League 13 6 3 1 – 16 8
Total 30 11 3 1 – 33 12
Vojvodina 2009–10 Serbian SuperLiga 10 1 0 0 – 10 1
2010–11 Serbian SuperLiga 18 1 3 0 – 21 1
2011–12 Serbian SuperLiga 5 0 0 0 0 0 5 0
2012–13 Serbian SuperLiga 9 0 2 0 3 0 14 0
2013–14 Serbian SuperLiga 1 0 0 0 4 1 5 1
Total 43 2 5 0 7 1 55 3
Borac Banja Luka (loan) 2011–12 Bosnian Premier League 11 6 1 0 – 12 6
2012–13 Bosnian Premier League 12 8 – – 12 8
Total 23 14 1 0 – 24 14
Sarajevo 2013–14 Bosnian Premier League 10 2 6 2 – 16 4
2014–15 Bosnian Premier League 20 4 1 0 6 2 27 6
Total 30 6 7 2 6 2 43 10
Split 2015–16 1. HNL 9 0 – – 9 0
Zrinjski Mostar 2015–16 Bosnian Premier League 9 4 – – 9 4
2016–17 Bosnian Premier League 31 10 3 2 2 0 36 12
2017–18 Bosnian Premier League 30 12 0 0 2 0 32 12
2018–19 Bosnian Premier League 16 14 1 0 6 2 23 16
Total 86 40 4 2 10 2 100 44
Gangwon 2019 K League 1 6 2 2 1 – 8 3
Zrinjski Mostar 2019–20 Bosnian Premier League 3 2 0 0 – 3 2
2020–21 Bosnian Premier League 28 17 1 0 3 4 32 21
2021–22 Bosnian Premier League 32 33 1 1 – 33 34
2022–23 Bosnian Premier League 30 24 4 5 8 2 42 31
2023–24 Bosnian Premier League 29 24 4 0 14 5 47 29
Total 122 100 10 6 25 11 157 117
Career total 349 175 32 12 48 16 429 203

International

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As of match played 19 November 2023.[33]
National team Year Apps Goals
Bosnia and Herzegovina
2018 1 0
2023 5 0
Total 6 0

Honours

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Sarajevo[32]

Zrinjski Mostar[32]

Individual

References

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  1. ^ "Bilbija ponovo u Borcu?". radiosarajevo.ba (in Bosnian). 23 January 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  2. ^ "Travničani prekinuli post". sportsport.ba (in Bosnian). 8 November 2008. Retrieved 10 November 2008.
  3. ^ "Dvije pobjede i tri remija". sportsport.ba (in Bosnian). 7 March 2009. Retrieved 9 March 2009.
  4. ^ "Službeno: Bilbija četiri godine u Vojvodini". sportsport.ba (in Bosnian). 29 January 2010. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
  5. ^ "Nemanja Bilbija se nakon posudbe iz Borca vratio u Vojvodinu". klix.ba (in Bosnian). 17 June 2013. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
  6. ^ "Službeno: Bilbija potpisao za Sarajevo!". sportsport.ba (in Bosnian). 29 August 2013. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
  7. ^ "Nemanja Bilbija potpisao za Split". sportsport.ba (in Bosnian). 4 July 2015. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  8. ^ "Službeno: Bilbija potpisao za Zrinjski". sportsport.ba (in Bosnian). 11 February 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  9. ^ "Čudo neviđeno: Otpisani obilježili derbi u Mostaru". sportsport.ba (in Bosnian). 28 February 2016. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
  10. ^ "Bilbija i Jakovljević produžili ugovore sa Zrinjskim". scsport.ba (in Bosnian). 2 August 2017. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
  11. ^ "Super Nemanja: Hat-trick Bilbije za pobjedu Plemića u Vitezu". sportsport.ba (in Bosnian). 26 August 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  12. ^ "Nemanja Bilbija četiri puta pogađao mrežu Zvijezde 09". radiosarajevo.ba (in Bosnian). 29 August 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  13. ^ "Nemanja Bilbija novi rekorder Zrinjskog". faktor.ba (in Bosnian). 13 November 2018. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
  14. ^ "Nemanja Bilbija napustio Zrinjski i potpisao za Gangwon". bih.ba (in Bosnian). 23 December 2018. Retrieved 24 December 2018.
  15. ^ Nemanja Bilbija potpisao za Gangwon: Sretan sam što sam došao u ovu ligu at klix.ba, 4 January 2019
  16. ^ "Sangju Sangmu vs Gangwon". Soccerway.com. 2 March 2019. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  17. ^ S. Mlaćo (15 May 2019). "Zaboravljeni Nemanja Bilbija konačno se upisao u listu strijelaca" (in Bosnian). sportsport.ba. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  18. ^ E.B. (24 December 2019). "Zvanično: Nemanja Bilbija u Zrinjskom do ljeta 2023. godine" (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  19. ^ "NK ČELIK - HŠK ZRINJSKI (0 : 1) 0 : 2". nfsbih.ba (in Bosnian). 23 February 2020. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  20. ^ K.H. (31 October 2020). "Bilbija razbio Velež u mostarskom derbiju i donio Zrinjskom veliku pobjedu" (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  21. ^ E.B. (30 May 2021). "Nemanja Bilbija ponio titulu najboljeg strijelca Premijer lige BiH" (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  22. ^ E. Čaušević (23 October 2021). "Bilbija srušio Sarajevo, a onda uzeo megafon i baklju u ruke" (in Bosnian). sportsport.ba. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  23. ^ "Zrinjski deklasirao Sarajevo i osvojio titulu prvaka Bosne i Hercegovine" (in Bosnian). Sport1.ba. 16 April 2022. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  24. ^ K.H. (28 May 2022). "Zrinjski i Bilbija stavili tačku na najbolju sezonu jednog kluba u historiji Premijer lige BiH" (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  25. ^ A.J. (6 September 2022). "Bilbija oborio njegov rekord: Oglasio se legendarni Wagner Santos Lago" (in Bosnian). sportske.ba. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  26. ^ S. Mlaćo (29 May 2023). "Bilbiji laskavo priznanje, sezona za pamćenje Ramića, Santos i Amoah izjednačeni" (in Bosnian). sportsport.ba. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  27. ^ H.H. (17 August 2023). "Zrinjski postao prvi klub iz BiH koji se plasirao u grupnu fazu evropskih takmičenja" (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  28. ^ "Najbolji premijerligaški igrač: Od toga neće biti ništa, nemojte mene pitati zašto me nema u reprezentaciji". sport1.ba (in Bosnian). 2 November 2018. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
  29. ^ "Baždarević otkrio karte za Kipar i Gibraltar". sportsport.ba (in Bosnian). 16 August 2017. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
  30. ^ "Prosinečki debitovao remijem: Zmajevi bez golova protiv SAD". sportsport.ba (in Bosnian). 29 January 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  31. ^ "Tamara Bilbija: Otac je "krivac" što Nemanja i ja volimo Borac, Velikan iz Platonove će biti hit". klix.ba (in Bosnian). 5 August 2017. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  32. ^ a b c "N. Bilbija: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
  33. ^ "Nemanja Bilbija". eu-football.info. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
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