Sport is a way to learn more about who we are — how we handle success, failure, pain, loss, friendships, challenges and opportunities. In this conversation, sport becomes the initial “handshake” that has allowed us to talk about the deeper experiences in life — freedom, love, risk, and family.
Baggio Husidic was born in Velika Kladuša, SFR Yugoslavia (present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina). Baggio and his family fled Bosnia in the mid-1990s to escape the Bosnian War, spending time in a refugee camp in southern Croatia, and living in Hamburg, Germany for several years, before eventually settling in Libertyville, Illinois in 1997.
Husidi? was drafted in the second round (20th overall) of the 2009 MLS SuperDraft by the Chicago Fire, and signed a Generation Adidas contract. He is currently a member of the Los Angeles Galaxy,
In this conversion he shares his love for life, his unique path, and his search for meaning and mastery.
“The soccer field was the one place where I felt equal to other kids.”
In This Episode:
- When the Civil War in Bosnia really started affecting him
- Escaping the country
- Life at the refugee camp
- Putting soccer into perspective
- Most difficult moment in his life
- Dealing with fighting and bullying at school and joining the soccer team
- What the next generation should know
- His reasoning for never getting mad
- Relationship between him and Bruce Arena
- Building confidence in sports
- Finding balance as a young athlete
