ARNEL ZAHIROVIC »» MEN'S SOCCER Badgering...
A senior co-captain from Melbourne, Australia, Arnel Zahirovic transferred to Wisconsin in 2010 after playing two seasons at Illinois Central College. In his first season as a Badger, Zahirovic scored a goal as the fifth shooter in a penalty kick shootout to help UW advance past defending Big Ten champion Ohio State in the opening round of the 2010 Big Ten Tournament.
Your shootout goal in last year's Big Ten tournament helped lead UW past Ohio State. How do you prepare for a situation like that? Coming into a penalty shootout situation, it is always a nervous time for any player because it ultimately decides the game. After every practice I take a ball and slot some penalties, and for any penalty I miss, I have to make two. This keeps me on my toes for a situation like Ohio State. Walking up to the penalty spot you should only be thinking one thing, how you are going to score. Confidence and composure.
How does being a senior captain change your approach to practice and games?
There is not much of a difference, coming to practice early and being a motivator within the team was something I always felt I should be doing as a teammate. As usual, there is more responsibility to being a captain, but I feel that every successful captain is a born leader. It's not something you change about yourself that determines whether or not you can be a good captain.
What made you want to attend college in the U.S.?
Growing up I always thought I would finish my education at the high school level because soccer was all I thought about, and that was something I wanted to pursue. As I got older and got closer to graduating, I real- ized that 70 percent of the friends I knew and played club soccer with wanted the same thing. And another 70 percent of the guys from my neighborhood were pursuing the same goal. I was playing for a competitive club in Melbourne when I got picked up by a scout and was given the opportunity to play high-level competitive soccer while earning a degree. This was something I could not turn down.
How is the game of soccer in the United States different than in Australia?
Australian soccer is dominantly built on various cultures, but mainly on English football, which is fast-paced and tough, the type of soccer that shows no mercy in 50-50 tackles and a tireless work ethic. American soccer doesn't stray away too much from this, in the sense that there is a lot of physicality in games. Players are big and strong. The successful teams in Australia play and look similar to the successful teams in America.
