Vedad Ibisevic (39) turned down an offer from Hertha BSC to work as a top talent coach in the future. According to information, the ex-professional is now moving to the USA for work
The preliminary talks in the summer were quite promising and the job profile was clearly defined. Vedad Ibisevic was supposed to take over at Hertha BSC in September as a so-called transitional coach between the youth and professional sectors, looking after the capital club’s top talents. However, he never signed the contract.
The long-time Bundesliga goalscorer (127 goals in 344 Bundesliga appearances for Aachen, Hoffenheim, Stuttgart, Hertha and Schalke) will continue to be drawn to the professional game – and across the pond. Ex-Hertha coach Sandro Schwarz is set to join the MLS franchise New York Red Bulls as their new head coach in the near future. Schwarz, from whom Hertha parted ways in mid-April of this year, not only wants to bring his long-time assistant Volkan Bulut and video analyst Daniel Fischer to his overseas project, but also Ibisevic.
Ibisevic’s active career began in the USA
At Hertha, the Bosnian former international had worked as an assistant coach under Pal Dardai, Tayfun Korkut, Felix Magath and Schwarz. His return to North America closes a circle for him. To escape the turmoil of the Bosnian war, the then 15-year-old Ibisevic’s family first moved to Switzerland and then to relatives in St. Louis in the USA in 2001. There, the attacker, who has both Bosnian and US citizenship and whose parents and sister later stayed there, played for Saint Louis Billikens (Saint Louis University), the St. Louis Strikers and Chicago Fire PDL, the youth team of Chicago Fire, in the USL Premier Development League.
At the time, Ibisevic was regarded as one of the best youth players of his age in the United States. He returned to Europe in 2004 – to Paris Saint-Germain, who loaned him to Dijon at the beginning of 2005, before the then promoted Bundesliga side Alemannia Aachen signed him in the summer of 2006.
New York Red Bulls, RB Leipzig’s sister club, finished the regular season in eighth place in the Eastern Conference and were eliminated by Cincinnati FC in the first play-off round at the beginning of November. Coach Troy Lesesne was dismissed in mid-November and sporting director Denis Hamlett also had to leave his post after more than six and a half years. In New York, Schwarz and his staff will meet an ex-Hertha man in Dominik Wohlert. The son of former Bundesliga professional and long-time Hertha scout Torsten Wohlert was a scout at Hertha BSC and part of the coaching team as a video analyst. He has been working for New York Red Bulls since January 2022
