Albin Pelak (born 9 April 1981) is a Bosnian retired football player.

Albin Pelak
Personal information
Full name Albin Pelak
Date of birth (1981-04-09) 9 April 1981 (age 43)
Place of birth Novi Pazar, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1991–1997 Varteks 3 (1)
1997–2003 Sarajevo 107 (21)
2003 Cerezo Osaka 3 (1)
2003–2004 Dinamo Zagreb 0 (0)
2004–2005 Sarajevo 52 (14)
2006–2007 Željezničar 19 (7)
2007 Zvezda Irkutsk 6 (0)
2007–2009 Željezničar 23 (6)
2009–2010 Olimpik 13 (1)
Total 226 (51)
International career
2002 Bosnia U-21 12 (1)
2002–2005 Bosnia and Herzegovina 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

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Pelak is most famous in Bosnian and Sarajevo circles for signing with Željezničar after making an explicit promise to FK Sarajevo supporters that he would never play there.

Prior to signing with Željezničar, Pelak was one of the most popular players for Sarajevo, earning the praise of the press as well supporters for his high work rate and leadership ability. He was a key part of Sarajevo's exceptionally talented youth squad composed of players born in 1981/1982 that was one of the most talented squads in Bosnia and Herzegovina's history. Many players from that generation such as Alen Škoro, Džemal Berberović, Damir Mirvić went on to have relatively successful careers in Europe.

Pelak himself also made several tries, albeit unsuccessful at playing abroad, going to Cerezo Osaka of Japan in 2002 and Dinamo Zagreb of neighboring Croatia in 2003. While he did not stay at either club for very long, it was reported that he had been paid handsomely for his failed bids abroad; his deal with Cerzo Osaka reportedly netted him €1 million. On 4 April 2009, Pelak ended his contract with Željezničar and joined Olimpik, playing in the Bosnian Premier League.

International career

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He made his debut for Bosnia and Herzegovina in an August 2002 friendly match against Serbia and Montenegro and has earned a total of 2 caps, scoring no goals. His second and final international was an October 2005 World Cup qualification match against San Marino.[1]

Club statistics

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[2]

Club performance League
Season Club League Apps Goals
Bosnia and Herzegovina League
1999/00 Sarajevo Premier League 8 0
2000/01 35 10
2001/02 24 1
2002/03 17 7
Japan League
2003 Cerezo Osaka J1 League 3 1
Bosnia and Herzegovina League
2003/04 Sarajevo Premier League 20 4
2004/05 11 3
2005/06 12 4
2005/06 Željezničar Sarajevo Premier League 6 2
2006/07 13 5
Russia League
2007 Zvezda Irkutsk First Division 6 0
Bosnia and Herzegovina League
2007/08 Željezničar Sarajevo Premier League 11 3
2008/09 12 3
2009/10 Olimpik Sarajevo Premier League
Country Bosnia and Herzegovina 129 37
Japan 3 1
Russia 6 0
Total 138 38

National team statistics

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Bosnia and Herzegovina national team
Year Apps Goals
2002 1 0
2003 0 0
2004 0 0
2005 1 0
Total 2 0

References

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  1. ^ "Player Database". eu-football.info. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  2. ^ Albin Pelak at National-Football-Teams.com
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