Eleven of Borussia Mönchengladbach’s 27 Bundesliga goals are credited to him: Haris Tabakovic is truly the life insurance of the Foals.
But as so often in life, things could have turned out very differently. If he hadn’t had the support of one man, the career of the 31-year-old striker might have taken a different path.
Alexander Kiene was the one who brought Tabakovic to the second Austrian league in 2020. At that time, the striker’s career was at a crossroads. In Hungary, he suffered a cruciate ligament tear, his expiring contract was not renewed, and attractive offers failed to materialize.
Kiene—coach of Austrian second division side Austria Lustenau—definitely had Tabakovic on his radar and, after a bit of persuasion, lured him to his club.
According to a report by ‘Sportbild’, he remembers it as follows: “We were looking for exactly this profile of a center forward. But Haris was initially skeptical, because it was only the second division, which was also characterized by a very robust style of play,” which is why a lot of convincing was necessary. Since Tabakovic hadn’t played football for almost a year, he ultimately decided to make the move.
As Kiene revealed to ‘Sportbild’, the new start required a lot of hard work, with two factors being decisive: mental training and fitness.
But this work certainly paid off: In 48 competitive matches for the Austrian club, Tabakovic scored 46 goals and provided eleven assists. Eventually, his career picked up again: via Austria Vienna, he landed at Hertha, then, as is well known, moved to Hoffenheim, and in the summer, went on loan to Gladbach.
He is also a regular in the Bosnian national team and could still qualify for the World Cup with them.
According to the coach, Haris Tabakovic and his “career savior” Alexander Kiene are still in contact.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.
