‘Something very big for me’

They never thought about Luka Kulenovic at a national football association. Not with that of Canada, the country where he was born. And not with those of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the country where they are roots lie.

But the 25-year-old striker from Heracles Almelo made his international debut on Saturday against Germany (7-0 loss). His second game in the Nations League will follow tonight, against the Netherlands (8:45 p.m.).

“For me this is something very big,” says Kulenovic. “I have never been selected for a national team, not even in youth. I don’t take this for granted.”

Kulenovic was born in Toronto, Canada, into a family with Bosnian and Croatian roots. When his father took him to World Cup matches in Germany in 2006, he became hooked on football. With Zlatan Ibrahimovic – with exactly the same background as him – as his great idol.

At the age of fifteen he left for family in Bosnia to play football at Banja Luka. Kulenovic then played for years on the fringes of professional football in the Balkans.

He could just about make ends meet. He really didn’t know at that moment how long he would last in professional football: quitting was a real option. During those years, Kulenovic played to make ends meet, which he often only just succeeded in doing. Playing for a national team was unthinkable just three years ago.

“No, I didn’t believe in that at the time,” says Kulenovic. “No one believed in that. That makes sense when you see what my career was like at the time.”

But Kulenovic kept getting everything out of it. With every step he climbed higher. “You have to be the first to arrive and the last to leave. I always tried to take advantage of all the opportunities that were offered to me, because I had more financial options and was given better facilities. It was also a matter of mental development. “

After those tough years of football, Slovan Liberec brought Kulenovic to the Czech league. He continued to live on that. Kulenovic stood out with his strength, reasonable technique and scoring ability.

Heracles saw that and paid a record amount for him this summer. After two goals against Ajax, representatives of the Bosnian association came to Almelo to take a look.

After a home match against NAC, they presented him with a plan. Kulenovic said yes, of course, because he didn’t hear anything from Canada. And so it came to an international debut.

“I’m just a late bloomer,” says Kulenovic. “But I think I deserve this, also because of my character. I try to have an impact even when things are going badly for my team. To fix what needs to be fixed.”

In Bosnia, the best player of the selection is in Kulenovic’s position. The old cunning fox Edin Dzeko is still there, and even after all these years he still guarantees goals. “He is the greatest footballer in our history. Zlatan was my childhood hero, but he was also one of my idols. Even at this age he is still fantastic.”

In addition to the 38-year-old Dzeko, the Bosnian team includes a few excellent attackers. “There are five strikers in the selection. Playing time is not guaranteed. I have to show that I deserve my place.”

But Kulenovic is used to that. “That’s why I don’t like extremes. If things go badly, I won’t get through it quickly and if things go well, I won’t be on a pink cloud either.”