Dzeko — from rubble to stardom

The Bosnian, in the autumn of his career, began in war torn Sarajevo

At 35, Edin Dzeko is both the star and old man of a Bosnia team he will lead against France in 2022 World Cup qualifying on Wednesday, but he owes his long career to the time his mother would not let him play football. One day, during the bloody siege of Sarajevo, the young Dzeko asked his mother if he could go outside to play football. She said no. A bomb exploded on the pitch, killing several children. Dzeko is in the autumn of a career in which he has won league titles in Germany and England. He has scored just seven league goals in 20 Serie A matches for Roma this season and none since he hit the winner against Sampdoria in early January.