Semir Štilić Explained

Semir Štilić (born 8 October 1987) is a Bosnian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Besides his homeland, he also played in Poland, Ukraine, Turkey and Cyprus.

A former youth international for Bosnia and Herzegovina national team, Štilić made his senior international debut in 2008, earning 7 caps until 2015.

Club career

Early career

Born in Sarajevo, Štilić began his playing career with hometown club Željezničar in 2005. After three seasons with Željezničar, he moved abroad for the first time in his career, signing a 4-year contract with Polish club Lech Poznań in June 2008.^[4]

On 23 July 2012, Štilić joined Karpaty Lviv,^[5] He stayed in Ukraine for only one season, as he left for Turkish club Gaziantepspor in August 2013.^{[6] [7]}

On 23 January 2014, Štilić went back to Poland and signed one-and-a-half-year deal with Wisła Kraków.^[8]

APOEL

On 13 June 2015, Štilić signed a three-year contract with Cypriot First Division club APOEL.^[9] He made his APOEL debut on 21 July 2015, in his team's 1–1 away draw against Vardar in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League.^[10] He scored his first goal for APOEL on 22 August 2015, in his team's 5–1 away victory over Ermis Aradippou in a league match.^[11] On 26 August 2015, Štilić scored from a long-range free kick against Astana at the GSP Stadium, in APOEL's 1–1 draw in the play-off round of the 2015–16 UEFA Champions League.^[12]

On 19 September 2016, his contract with APOEL was mutually terminated.^[13]

Wisła Płock

On 4 September 2017, Štilić moved from Wisła Kraków to Ekstraklasa club Wisła Płock.^[14] In May 2019, almost two years after signing with Wisła Płock, he decided to leave the club.^[15]

Return to Željezničar

On 2 August 2019, eleven years after leaving the club, Štilić returned to Željezničar, signing a three-year contract.^[16] His first match back at Željezničar was a 5–2 home league, Sarajevo derby win against Sarajevo on 31 August 2019.^[17] Štilić scored his first goal since his return to Željezničar on 25 September 2019, in a 6–0 home league win against Zvijezda 09.^[18] He was named man of the match in Željezničar's 3–1 away league win against Sarajevo in the derby on 30 November 2019, scoring two goals and earning an assist.^[19]

Štilić scored his first goal for the club in the 2020–21 season on 7 August 2020 in a league win against Radnik Bijeljina.^[20] He scored his first goal of the 2021–22 season against Posušje on 3 April 2022.^[21] On 15 June 2023, he extended his contract with Željezničar until June 2024.^[22]

Štilić left the club after the end of the 2023–24 season and announced his retirement from professional football following his contract expiration.^[23]

International career

Štilić represented the Bosnia and Herzegovina U21 national team eight times, scoring one goal. On 15 December 2007, he represented the Bosnia and Herzegovina Olympic team, coming on as an 89th-minute substitute in the country's 0–1 friendly defeat to Poland.^{[24] [25]}

Štilić made his senior international debut for Bosnia and Herzegovina on 30 January 2008, in a friendly game against Japan, coming on as an 83rd-minute substitute in 0–3 away defeat.^[26]

Post-playing career

On 14 August 2024, Željezničar announced the hiring of Štilić as a new scout for the club.^[27]

Personal life

Semir is the son of former footballer and current football manager Ismet Štilić.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition^{[28] [29] [30]}

Club	Season	League			National cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Željezničar	2004–05	Bosnian Premier League	1	0	—		—		—		1	0
	2005–06	Bosnian Premier League	6	0	3	0	—		—		9	0
	2006–07	Bosnian Premier League	17	7	3	0	—		—		20	7
	2007–08	Bosnian Premier League	25	10	6	2	—		—		31	12
	Total		49	17	12	2	—		—		61	19
Lech Poznań	2008–09	Ekstraklasa	29	9	7	3	12	3	1	0	49	15
	2009–10	Ekstraklasa	26	2	1	0	4	0	1	0	32	2
	2010–11	Ekstraklasa	28	6	6	2	14	1	1	0	49	9
	2011–12	Ekstraklasa	23	1	4	1	—		—		27	2
	Total		106	18	18	6	30	4	3	0	157	28
Karpaty Lviv	2012–13	Ukrainian Premier League	22	1	2	2	—		—		24	3
Gaziantepspor	2013–14	Süper Lig	6	1	2	3	—		—		8	4
Wisła Kraków	2013–14	Ekstraklasa	16	7	0	0	—		—		16	7
	2014–15	Ekstraklasa	36	9	0	0	—		—		36	9
	Total		52	16	0	0	—		—		52	16
APOEL	2015–16	Cypriot First Division	16	3	6	0	8	1	1	0	31	4
Wisła Kraków	2016–17	Ekstraklasa	14	1	0	0	—		—		14	1
Wisła Płock	2017–18	Ekstraklasa	27	4	0	0	—		—		27	4
	2018–19	Ekstraklasa	12	0	3	2	—		—		15	2
	Total		39	4	3	2	0	0	0	0	42	6
Željezničar	2019–20	Bosnian Premier League	14	8	3	1	—		—		17	9
	2020–21	Bosnian Premier League	26	8	3	1	1	0	—		30	9
	2021–22	Bosnian Premier League	12	1	0	0	—		—		12	1
	2022–23	Bosnian Premier League	30	6	6	3	—		—		36	9
	2023–24	Bosnian Premier League	22	2	1	0	1	0	—		24	2
	Total		104	25	13	5	2	0	—		119	30
Career total			408	86	56	20	40	5	4	0	508	111

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year^[31]

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Bosnia and Herzegovina
	2008	1	0
	2009	1	0
	2010	1	0
	2011	3	0
	2015	1	0
Total		7	0

Honours

Lech Poznań^[28]

• Ekstraklasa

2009–10

• Polish Cup

2008–09

• Polish Super Cup

2009

APOEL^[28]

• Cypriot First Division

2015–16

Individual

• Ekstraklasa Midfielder of the Season: 2014–15^[32]
• Ekstraklasa Player of the Month: August 2014^[33]
• Lech Poznań All-time XI^[34]
• Piłka Nożna Foreigner of the Year

2008^[35]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Semir Stilic APOEL profile.
2. Web site: Utakmica sa Poljskom. nfsbih.ba. 24 August 2014.
3. Web site: Mało efektowni dublerzy. 90minut.pl. 24 August 2014.
4. Web site: 90 Minut. Semir Štilić. Polish. 3 March 2010.
5. Web site: Офіційно. Семір Штіліч - гравець "Карпат". 23 July 2012 . Karpaty Lviv. 23 January 2014.
6. Web site: Semir Stilić - była gwiazda Lecha Poznań - trafił do ligi tureckiej. Sport.pl. 23 January 2014. Polish.
7. http://www.klix.ba/sport/stilic-potpisao-za-gaziantepspor/130819115 Štilić potpisao za Gaziantepspor
8. Web site: Semir Štilić piłkarzem Wisły. 90minut.pl. 23 January 2014.
9. Web site: http://apoelfc.com.cy/nqcontent.cfm?a_id=13426&tt=graphic&lang=l1. el:Κατ'αρχήν Συμφωνία με τον Semir Štilić. APOEL FC. Greek. 13 June 2015. 13 June 2015.
10. Web site: Vardar 1–1 APOEL. UEFA. 21 July 2015. 21 July 2015.
11. Web site: Ermis vs. APOEL 1-5. soccerway. Greek. 22 August 2015. 22 August 2015.
12. Web site: Astana make history as Maksimović stuns APOEL. UEFA. 26 August 2015. 26 August 2015.
13. Web site: Λύση κοινή συναινέσει με Semir Štilić . APOEL FC. 19 September 2016. 19 September 2016.
14. Web site: Semir Štilić piłkarzem Wisły Płock . 90minut . 4 September 2017 . 7 September 2017 . Polish.
15. Web site: Semir Štilić od ljeta u novom klubu. 24 May 2019. 24 May 2019. Bosnian. A. Pašić. sportsport.ba.
16. Web site: Štilić se ušetao u Plavi salon: Vezista potpisao trogodišnji ugovor sa FK Željezničar!. 2 August 2019. 2 August 2019. Bosnian. S. Mlaćo. sportsport.ba.
17. Web site: Derbi za pamćenje: Željezničar razbio Sarajevo s 5:2 i preuzeo prvo mjesto na tabeli. 31 August 2019. 31 August 2019. Bosnian. N.K.. Klix.ba.
18. Web site: Željezničar na krilima sjajnog Štilića razbio Zvijezdu 09 i preuzeo lidersku poziciju. 25 September 2019. 25 September 2019. Bosnian. E.B.. Klix.ba.
19. Web site: Plavi na krilima Štilića pokorili Koševo i preuzeli vrh tabele Premijer lige BiH. 30 November 2019. 30 November 2019. Bosnian. E.B.. Klix.ba.
20. Web site: Odlični Željezničar bez problema ostvario pobjedu u gostima kod Radnika. 7 August 2020. 7 August 2020. bs. F.Z.. Klix.ba.
21. Web site: Posušje u odličnoj utakmici savladao Želju. 3 April 2022. 3 April 2022. bs. reprezentacija.ba.
22. Web site: Semir Štilić potpisao novi ugovor s FK Željezničar!. 15 June 2023. 15 June 2023. bs. M. Šljivak. sportsport.ba.
23. Web site: Željezničar se divnom porukom oprostio od Semira Štilića: Pamtit ćemo tvoj nemir. 8 July 2024. 8 July 2024. bs. N.M.. Klix.ba.
24. Web site: Utakmica sa Poljskom. nfsbih.ba. 24 August 2014.
25. Web site: Mało efektowni dublerzy. 90minut.pl. 24 August 2014.
26. Web site: Japan vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina 3-0. soccerway.com. 30 January 2008. 13 June 2015.
27. Web site: Semir Štilić dobio novu funkciju u Željezničaru nakon okončanja karijere. 14 August 2024. 14 August 2024. bs. H.H.. Klix.ba.
28. Web site: S. Štilić: Summary . Soccerway . Perform Group . 26 May 2024.
29. Web site: Semir Štilić statistics . 90minut.pl . 26 May 2024.
30. Web site: Semir Štilić statistics . National Football Teams . 26 May 2024.
31. Web site: Football PLAYER: Semir Štilić. eu-football.info. 13 June 2015.
32. Web site: Rozdano nagrody w Ekstraklasie za sezon 2014/15 . 90minut.pl . 8 May 2024 . pl . 8 June 2015.
33. Web site: Stilić Piłkarzem Miesiąca w ekstraklasie! Zobacz jak głosowali kapitanowie . przegladsportowy.onet.pl . 8 May 2024 . pl . 12 September 2014.
34. Web site: PKO Ekstraklasa. Lech Poznań wybrał jedenastkę wszech czasów . sport.tvp.pl . 17 April 2023 . pl . 19 March 2022.
35. Web site: Laureaci . pilkanozna.pl . 21 June 2024 . pl.