No fazing Faz as City ready for Sligo
Kuduzovic introduces himself in his midlands English accent as “Faz”. He does it with the knowing smile of an immigrant who grew up in a strange land and, no doubt, spent countless hours explaining to friends he hoped to make how to pronounce this exotic name.
When he was eight, his family fled Bosnia as that awful year of 1992 lurched into 1993, not a new year of hope but of unknown new dangers. Vlasenica, where he was born, was at the forefront of a savage Serbian onslaught, given its proximity to the north-eastern frontier.
Prior to that first brutal summer of ethnic cleansing, over 18,000 people or 60% of the population was Muslim in Vlasenica; none remain. He landed with his parents and sister in multi-cultural Leicester while his extended family found themselves scattered across central Europe and America.
“I still feel like I’m Bosnian — apart from my accent,” he smiles.
“I was old enough to remember what was going on and what happened. It’s a mixture of happy and sad memories. It’s tough but I’d be back home in Bosnia at any opportunity. Especially now with my (Bosnian) wife to see her folks. I’m back and forth all the time.
“It is an interesting subject, to be fair. Wherever I go, lads ask me about it and what went on. But it’s funny, people don’t really have a clue. A certain amount of things they do know, but I rarely go beneath the mask with them…
“The things that went on.... even before the war, it was always leading to that. Our grandparents would tell us that there was only one way it was going to finish,” he pauses again before adding in that accent which belies his past, “it’s a mad old place like.”
Bosnia is recovering, he is eager to point out. Tourists are going back to what had been a popular destination in the 1980s. “Sarajevo is a nice spot — it’s on the other side of the scale from your Londons and what have you but it’s just so pleasant in the summer for walking and hanging out in cafés. It’s a good lifestyle.
“It’s fine now thank God. But we’re just a very passionate people, if we’re angry, it comes out strongly.”
On the flip side, it leads to an expressive footballing style which Paul Doolin, who signed Kuduzovic to Drogheda last summer, is hoping he will bring to Leeside. Occupying that hole behind the striker so craved by anyone who fancies themselves as creative, he has also slipped significantly into the number 10 jersey worn in the past by George O’Callaghan.
“You always like to feel that if you move on, players would go with you,” Doolin points out. “But it’s a big step to move down here. Faz came down, Dan Connor came down, so yeah it’s nice that they’ve shown some support for what we’re trying to achieve here.
“He’s travelled a bit, from Derby to Sligo and then Drogheda. He’s a very good player but I felt when he came to Drogheda, he wasn’t physically fit but looks it now. He’s technically good, sees a lot of things, very good from set play. He entertains the crowd, he’s that sort of player.
“But he works hard as well. That’s always important in the League of Ireland, you have to drill into a lot of players. They still have to do that little bit of work, they can’t just showboat for themselves. But Faz is very professional, I have to say.”
When the former Sligo star saw that first fixture, did he have a little groan to himself?
“It was meant to be,” he laughs “I had a funny feeling it was going to happen. I went there last season with Drogheda and I got a bit of abuse, as you’d expect, but no, I’m looking forward to going back up there. I know most of the lads and I still have good friends up there.
“It will be weird going back but I like playing there so obviously I’ll know the pitch, I’ll know the players. I’ll know what to do, where to go, who to nutmeg!
“Hopefully I’ll get off to a good start and get a goal. That would be good, especially at the old club.”
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