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NCAA men Ibisevic departs Saint Louis, hoping to find pro career in France.
SoccerTimes (Tuesday, July 27, 2004) -- Striker Vedad Ibisevic, the NCAA Division I's top freshman scorer last season, has left Saint Louis to pursue a professional career in France. Ibisevic spent the last two weeks training with powerful Paris St. Germain, which won the French Cup and finished second in France's Ligue 1 last season, and a club spokesperson told the media it is likely he will be offered a contract. Ibisevic, a native of Bosnia, played the second half of last weekend's 1-0 friendly victory over Spain's Celta Vigo. Local media described his appearance as "steady and sure," and called the 6-foot-2, 175-pounds attacker "a wonderful target." The same media reports that he and two French league players are competing for the team's final roster spots. "This kid wanted to go to Europe," Saint Louis coach Dan Donigan said. "The coach (Vahid Halilhodvic) from PSG is Bosnian, so there's a connection there with his homeland. He went to Bosnia this past spring to play in some exhibition games, so I'm sure that's where he got seen. An opportunity came to him in July to go over there and train. We're thrilled to death for him, very happy for him."
"He played for us for one year, played extremely well and now he's gone," Donigan said. "You can look at it two ways. You can be real negative and jealous of the whole thing as a coach, but at the same time, you can be very excited and happy for him which is how I feel. We're proud of him, very excited for him." Ibisevic, who turns 20 on August 6, pumped in 18 goals and added four assists for 40 points, helping the Billikens to a 15-4-3 record and advancement to the NCAA Division I tournament quarterfinals in 2003. He eclipsed the previous freshman record of 12 goals and 29 points United States men's striker Brian McBride established in 1990. Ibisevic escaped the war in Bosnia and went to Germany and Switzerland before coming to St. Louis, with its large Bosnian community, for his sophomore year of high school. Saint Louis signed him from Roosevelt High School. The timing of Ibisevic's departure is not ideal for the Billikens who start their season in a month. "It's just unfortunate for me that it came in late July because obviously you make plans for your season," Donigan said. "We're certainly going to miss him, but we have other players in our program that can step up and show the responsibility he had." A pair of freshman standouts return this season and will be expected to shoulder much of the burden. Forward Will John had nine goals and five assists last year and John DiRaimondo, who recorded four goals and a team-leading 10 assists playing left midfield a year ago, could be moved to the front line. Both players are part of the U.S. under-20 men's pool. Ibisevic had trained with Bosnia's under-21 men. Major League Soccer knew of Ibisevic, but had never contacted the player about a contract, a league spokesperson said. "They were well aware of him, but I just think it was a situation where they were allowing him the (sophomore) year of college soccer," Donigan said. "I'm sure they were going to pursue him next year."
Gary Davidson is SoccerTimes' managing editor. E-mail Gary Davidson.
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