Record holder Barbarez
Sergej Barbarez wrote Bundesliga history yesterday when he came on for the injured Bernd Schneider after 41 minutes of Bayer Leverkusen's 3-0 win over VfB Stuttgart.
The 36-year-old now is the foreign player with the most Bundesliga appearances. Barbarez, winner of the goal-scorer cannon in the 2000/01 season, has played 324 matches, scoring 95 goals.
He has outclassed Dane Ole Björnmose, who had played 323 games for Hamburger SV and Werder Bremen between 1966 and 1977.
Bundesliga debut in August 1996
Barbarez had played his first Bundesliga match on August 17, 1996 - in Hansa Rostock's 2-2 draw with Karlsruher SC. His coach back then: Frank Pagelsdorf, who had discovered Barbarez four years earlier.
The 20-year-old Barbarez had finished his military duty in Bosnia and played for Velez Mostar until the winter break. Then he visited his uncle Mujo in Germany, and his uncle arranged a trial with Hannover 96 reserves.
"Actually I wanted to stay for just two weeks"
Pagelsdorf was the coach back then, and he was so impressed that he offered Barbarez a contract straight away. "Actually I wanted to stay in Germany for just two weeks, but I'm still here", Barbarez revealed many years later.
Barbarez is from Mostar, only 40 kilometres away from the Adriatic Sea. He spent his childhood in the Bijeli Brijeg ("White mountain") district.
Fußball as a family tradition
Playing football is in Barbarez's blood. His father Ljubo was a tough left-back, and he inherited his technique and the feeling for the ball from his grandfather Milan. "Unfortunately I barely got to know him. He died when I was three years old. But they showed me pictures and told me that he was a great player", Barbarez recalls.
The meeting between Pagelsdorf and Barbarez in 1992 was a fateful one. Barbarez followed Pagelsdorf to Union Berlin, to Hansa Rostock three years later and finally - after a spell at Borussia Dortmund - to HSV.
Tough times in Dortmund
Barbarez had a difficult start in Rostock, but once he had settled down, he impressed fans and critics alike. After 59 matches and 13 goals Barbarez made the move to Borussia Dortmund.
But he was to regret that transfer as he found it hard to get enough games under coach Michael Skibbe. He played just 36 matches in two years, then he opted for a move to HSV and was reunited with Pagelsdorf.
22 goals in 2000/01
The father of two made the ultimate breakthrough in Hamburg. He won the Bundesliga's goal-scorer cannon in 2000/01 with 22 goals, helping HSV to avoid relegation.
Barbarez, his wife Ana and sons Filip-André and Sergio-Luis stayed in Hamburg for six years. But then contract talks stalled and Barbarez joined Bayer Leverkusen.
A street named after him
He also announced his retirement from the Bosnian national team after 49 caps for his homeland. He had been voted "man of the year" in Bosnia one year earlier, and a street in Mostar had been named after him.
Despite his international retirement Barbarez is still in contact with other Bosnians abroad. He often meets up with Zlatan Bajramovic (Schalke), Ivica Grlic (Duisburg) or Zvjezdan Misimovic (Nuremberg).
Caring
But that's not all. "I'm not talking about football for 24 hours, I've got other interests, too." He wants to have fun, hold good talks, laugh. The 36-year-old also does a lot for children without parents. His charity "Centar" helps orphans to lead a normal life.
His contract with Bayer runs out at the end of the season. Maybe he'll return to Mostar then - his home that he had planned to leave for just two weeks initially.
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Franck Ribéry
"A nightmare for any defender" - Thierry Henry.
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