SMAJLOVIĆ EARNS FIRST BOSNIA SENIOR CALL-UP AFTER CHOOSING BOSNIA OVER SWEDEN

When Olympiacos signed Zinedin Smajlović this summer, the attraction was obvious. He was young.

He had size. He had already accumulated first-team experience in Scandinavia. And at 22, there was significant room for appreciation in both performance and market value. Only two months later, one of those upside scenarios is already beginning to materialize.

Bosnia and Herzegovina have called him into their senior national team. That is important for Smajlović personally. It is also potentially important for Olympiacos.

He is no longer simply a developmental center-back

Olympiacos announced Smajlović in July after his spell with Sandefjord, bringing in a 1.91m defender capable of developing under José Luis Mendilibar. ΟΛΥΜΠΙΑΚΟΣ - Olympiacos.org

The initial expectation could reasonably have been that he would spend time adapting to the demands of a club competing for titles and in Europe. Instead, he has already accumulated five appearances across competitions, according to Greek reporting. bwinΣΠΟΡ FM 94.6

Now comes international recognition. That does not suddenly make him an automatic Olympiacos starter.

But it does alter his trajectory. A player who was viewed principally as a promising summer addition is now entering the senior international environment of a UEFA nation. That raises the competitive stakes around his development.

Choosing Bosnia over Sweden is significant

Smajlović was born in Stockholm and previously appeared three times for Sweden’s U21 side. That means this was not a default international assignment.

There was a decision to make. Greek reports state that Sweden also wanted him, but Smajlović has chosen Bosnia and Herzegovina. That gives the October 2 Nations League match against Sweden a particularly interesting personal dimension. More importantly, once he begins playing competitive senior internationals for Bosnia, his pathway becomes increasingly fixed around that national team. For Olympiacos, that adds another international-level player to a defensive unit Mendilibar is still shaping.

International football can accelerate his tactical development

The biggest benefit is not prestige. It is exposure. Center-backs often develop through repetition against different kinds of attacking problems. At Olympiacos, Smajlović will frequently play for a team expected to dominate possession domestically. Bosnia may ask something very different from him. Against stronger or evenly matched international opponents, he may have to:

defend deeper for longer periods,

manage crosses and second balls,

protect larger transition spaces,

defend against elite individual attackers,

and operate without Olympiacos’ usual territorial control.

That variety can be valuable. It gives Mendilibar a defender who is learning multiple defensive contexts rather than only the particular game states Olympiacos encounter in Greece.

There is also a squad-value dimension

International status usually matters when clubs evaluate young players. It strengthens visibility. It provides another performance environment. And sustained senior caps can materially affect how the European market perceives a player.

Olympiacos signed Smajlović on a long-term deal, with his contract going through June 2030.

If he establishes himself simultaneously with Olympiacos and Bosnia, the club could be developing an asset substantially more valuable than the one it acquired this summer.

That is not guaranteed. A national-team call-up alone does not create transfer value. Performances do.

But this is exactly the kind of career progression Olympiacos would have hoped for when recruiting a 22-year-old center-back rather than a finished veteran.

It gives Mendilibar another selection problem — the good kind

Olympiacos’ defensive competition now becomes more interesting. Smajlović is not merely occupying depth.

He is beginning to produce external evidence that his performances are being noticed. If he uses this call-up well, Mendilibar may face increasing pressure to give him meaningful minutes. For a squad competing domestically and in Europe, that is valuable.

You want young players forcing themselves into the rotation. Not being handed places because of their potential. Smajlović appears to be moving toward the former.