The Bosnian Footballer of the Year, renamed to Idol Nacije (English translation: The Idol of the nation) in 2008, is an annual award given to the best Bosnian football player of the year, as well as recognising and awarding other sports men and women, coaches and game officials in the country. The event was held in 2001 under the Bosnian banner for the first time, with Sergej Barbarez winning the most prestigious award for best player of the year.[1] [2] [3]
From 2008 to 2013, the awards was organized by sports news/media website SportSport.ba and broadcast on NTV Hayat and was expanded to include many other award categories. Edin Džeko won three Idol Nacije awards in a row.[4] [5] Vedad Ibišević and Asmir Begović were the only other winners. From 2010 awards, it was decided that former player Muhamed Konjić would nominate 10 players for the main award of player of the year. In 2008 Sergej Barbarez had this honor, while Mehmed Baždarević received the task in 2009.[6]
In 2011, it was announced that the ceremony would be held before the end of June, and that all future events would take place during the summer, rather than the winter period.[7] The awards therefore are given for performances during the previous season, rather than for the previous calendar year.[8] Since 2017, the awards have been given out under the name Kristalnih 11.[9]
During the days of Yugoslavia, the award was run collectively on the entire former Yugoslavia territory by newspaper Večernji list from 1972 until the breakup of Yugoslavia. Some of the past winners from the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina in those times include:
| Year | Player | Nationality | Club | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Velež | |||
| 1973 | Velež | |||
| 1974 | Željezničar | |||
| 1979 | Sarajevo | |||
| 1985 | Hajduk Split | |||
| 1986 | Velež |
Past winners from the modern-day state of Bosnia and Herzegovina include:
| Year | Player | Club | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 |  CD Tenerife | ||
| 1997 | CD Tenerife | ||
| 1998 |  Fenerbahçe | ||
| 1999 | Real Madrid | ||
| 2000 | Bayern Munich | ||
| 2001 | Hamburger SV | ||
| 2002 | Hamburger SV | ||
| 2003 | Hamburger SV | ||
| 2004 | Bayern Munich | ||
| 2005 | Bayern Munich | ||
| 2006 | Bayern Munich | ||
| 2007 | 1. FC Nürnberg | ||
| 2008 | 1899 Hoffenheim | ||
| 2009 | VfL Wolfsburg | ||
| 2010 | VfL Wolfsburg | ||
| 2011 | Manchester City | ||
| 2012 | Stoke City | ||
| 2013 |  Guizhou Renhe | ||
| 2014 |  Roma |
| Season | Manager | Nationality | Club | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Velež | |||
| 2010 | Željezničar | |||
| 2011–12 | Željezničar | |||
| 2012–13 | Željezničar | |||
| 2013–14 | Not held | |||
| 2014–15 | ||||
| 2015–16 | Zrinjski | |||
| 2016–17 | Sarajevo | |||
| 2017–18 | Zrinjski | |||
| 2018–19 | Sarajevo | |||
| 2019–20 | Not held | |||
| 2020–21 | Velež | |||
| 2021–22 | Zrinjski | |||
| 2022–23 |  Croatia | Zrinjski | ||
| 2023–24 | Posušje | |||
Brazil