Darijan BojaniÃÂ (; born 28 December 1994) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for K League 1 club Ulsan Hyundai.
His parents fled from Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Yugoslav Wars while his mother was pregnant with him. Bojaniàwas born in Växjö, Sweden, and grew up in Gislaved. His mother is of Croat descent, while his father is Bosnian. Bojaniàis fluent in the Bosnian language.
In 2010, after debuting in the senior team at local club Gislaveds IS at age 16, BojaniÃÂ moved to ÃÂsters IF in Superettan, Sweden's second tier. Around that time, he also attracted interest from several European clubs, reportedly Fulham and Heerenveen. In 2012, BojaniÃÂ made 12 appearances as ÃÂster won Superettan and got promoted to the first division.
In 2013, Bojaniàmade his debut in Allsvenskan, aged 18. Midway through the season, after making 14 appearances for ÃÂster, he transferred to IFK Göteborg.
On 2 August 2013, Bojaniàsigned a four-and-a-half-year contract with IFK Göteborg, but failed to make an impact at the club. He reportedly had disciplinary issues during his stay at IFK Göteborg and Bojaniàlater admitted that he once fell asleep during a team meeting. In total, Bojaniàwould only make 10 league appearances for the side.
On 15 July 2014, BojaniÃÂ moved to Helsingborgs IF. He reunited with his former coach from ÃÂster, Roar Hansen, and soon established himself as a starting player at the club.
Bojaniàfell out of favour with manager Henrik Larsson in 2016 after the player had criticised his coach in the media. Helsingborg got relegated to Superettan the same year. In 2017, he went on loan to ÃÂstersunds FK in Allsvenskan, but failed to make an impact, only making four league appearances for the side. He won the 2016âÂÂ17 Svenska Cupen, the main domestic cup, with ÃÂstersund.
In 2018, BojaniÃÂ played 29 games, scored six goals and provided 13 assists, as Helsingborg won a promotion to Allsvenskan. At the end of the season, he was voted as Superettan Player of the Year.
On 26 November 2018, BojaniÃÂ moved on a free transfer to Hammarby IF, signing a three-and-a-half-year contract. He played 29 games in the 2019 season, scoring four goals and providing 11 assists, the most in the league, as Hammarby finished third in the table after eight straight wins at the end of the campaign. He vas voted as Allsvenskan Player of the Month in October, and Hammarby Player of the Season by the fans at the end of the year.
In January 2020, Bojaniàsigned a new three-and-a-half-year contract with Hammarby. The season was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic with Bojaniàbeing in poor form and plagued by injuries, only making 23 appearances as his side disappointedly finished 8th in the table. Although, he scored from a free-kick in the first round of the 2020âÂÂ21 UEFA Europa League against Puskás Akadémia (in a 3âÂÂ0 win), before the club was eliminated from the tournament in the second round against Lech Poznaà  (in a 0âÂÂ3 loss).
On 30 May 2021, Bojaniàwon the 2020âÂÂ21 Svenska Cupen with Hammarby, through a 5âÂÂ4 win on penalties (0âÂÂ0 after full-time) against BK Häcken in the final. He featured in all six games as the side reached the play-off round of the 2021âÂÂ22 UEFA Europa Conference League, after eliminating Maribor (4âÂÂ1 on aggregate) and FK ÃÂukariÃÂki (6âÂÂ4 on aggregate), where the club was knocked out by Basel (4âÂÂ4 on aggregate) after a penalty shoot-out, in which Bojaniàmissed his attempt.
On 23 September 2021, Bojaniàwas appointed as the new club captain of Hammarby by head coach Miloà ¡ MilojeviÃÂ, replacing Jeppe Andersen. On 2 April 2022, Bojaniàwas demoted to vice-captain by new head coach MartàCifuentes, being replaced by Richard Magyar.
Bojaniàfeatured in the final of the 2021âÂÂ22 Svenska Cupen, in which Hammarby lost by 4âÂÂ5 on penalties to Malmö FF after the game ended in a 0âÂÂ0 draw. During the summer, he reportedly attracted interest from FC Zürich in the Swiss Super League, but their bid was rejected. In the league, Bojaniàscored four goals in 29 appearances, often captaining his side, that ultimately finished 3rd in the Allsvenskan table. On 10 November 2022, shortly after the final game of the season, Hammarby accepted a bid from K League 1 club Ulsan Hyundai for his transfer, subject to the player's personal agreement.
On 14 November 2022, Ulsan Hyundai confirmed that they had reached an agreement for his transfer, effective in January 2023.
Between 2011 and 2014, BojaniÃÂ won several caps for both the Swedish U17 and U19 teams.
Bojaniàwas called up to the Swedish senior squad for the training tour in early 2020. He made his debut in a 1âÂÂ0 friendly win against Moldova on 9 January 2020. Three days later, on 12 January, he provided the assist to Simon Hedlund as Sweden won 1âÂÂ0 against Kosovo. Manager Janne Andersson praised him as one of the best Swedish players during the tour.
In 2021, BojaniÃÂ confirmed that he was contemplating switching his allegiance to Bosnia and Herzegovina, where his family originally is from, pending a call-up and an application for dual citizenship.
As a deep-lying playmaker, BojaniÃÂ is known for his strong passing game and technique. He is also a set piece-specialist.
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Gislaveds IS
ÃÂsters IF
ÃÂstersunds FK
Helsingborgs IF
Hammarby IF
Ulsan Hyundai
Individual