The lowdown from IMScouting.com on Wolfsburg’s Edin Dzeko, the in-form forward in Europe who is maturing into one of the most feared goalscorers in world football.
The lowdown from IMScouting.com on Wolfsburg’s Edin Dzeko, the in-form forward in Europe who is maturing into one of the most feared goalscorers in world football.
At only 23 years of age, Edin Dzeko is already one of the best strikers in the German Bundesliga and this season has seen him rise up from hot prospect status into a mature player who could play at the highest level.
The exciting thing about Dzeko is that he is good in almost every possible aspect of the game; He's got the physical presence and height (6.3ft) for a target striker of the highest caliber, plus excellent speed combined with great technique with both feet which makes him dangerous for any defender in the world.
Dzeko was born in Doboj, but during the war years in Bosnia (1992-1995) he moved to Sarajevo with his family. He took his first football steps at FK Zeljeznicar and interestingly, he started his career as a midfielder. In the next couple of years coaches recognized his scoring talent and he was transferred into the central striker position.
He really came to prominence to scouts in Eastern Europe at Teplice where he became the top scorer and Player of the Season in 2006/2007. His excellent performances at Teplice earned Dzeko a move to German side Wolfsburg in the summer of 2007 for a transfer fee of 4 million euros.
Under coach Felix Magath, Dzeko continued improving, and was the best striker in Germany in the first half of the 2007/2008 season. Dzeko finished last season with a tally of eight goals and seven assists, impressive statistics for a first season in the Bundesliga.
Dzeko has made his big leap forward this season. After a solid first half of the season, he started scoring at an incredible rate (10 in 10 at the time of writing) when Wolfsburg finally found their form. His combination with Brazilian striker Grafite is extremely impressive, as they are two massive target strikers who seemingly complete each other.
Dzeko has also scored some beautiful goals for the Bosnian national team lately, claiming three in two games in the recent double header against Belgium and he has a decent chance to play in South Africa in 2010. His international record of nine goals in 15 appearances also adds yet another fine statistic to his CV.
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(Many more players to watch from around the globe can be seen on the IMScouting website. The IMScouting database is used by some of the biggest clubs in the world to find new talent, including Borussia Dortmund, Panathinaikos and Lille.)