Because with his new club Cercle Bruges, to which he moved from Upper Austria, Muslic has not only annoyed the big players in Belgium’s highest box office, but is now also playing for a European Cup starting place with the outsider.
“We have achieved something historic, but the madness continues,” said Muslic. In the Pro League, as in Austria, a Champions play-off is played, Cercle made it into the top six in the field of 16 – alongside Union Saint-Gilloise, Anderlecht, Antwerp, Genk and Club Bruges. The derby will be against the city rivals on Easter Monday; the previous two duels of the season ended in a draw.
“Full-throttle football” with Cercle
It is a huge success for Cercle, which celebrated its last of three championship titles (1911, 1927, 1930) almost 100 years ago. The Belgian press received extra praise for Muslic and his “full-throttle football” (according to “Het Laatste Nieuws”). The promised man now sees the chance for more for his team: “We have invested a lot, now we want to continue to act courageously. We want to enjoy these games, but also attack again. We just want to be Cercle.”
IMAGO/Isosport The Cercle fans know what they have in Miron Muslic
Being Cercle means being unpleasant for your opponents. The smaller club from the capital of the province of West Flanders impresses with its pressing-oriented game. Muslic speaks of “high-intensity power football”; Cercle is the youngest team in the league, he reports proudly. Last summer, the Green-Blacks’ best players were sold for almost 20 million euros. Only players from the U21 category were brought in.
Connections to Monaco
“We were actually completely written off,” explained Muslic. Thanks to a clear plan in the club, the departures were able to be absorbed. They were and are looking for young, developing players with physical strengths to keep up the strenuous game for 90 minutes. AS Monaco is the partner club, and like last year, three loan players came from the Monegasques this year. The Ligue 1 club with coach Adi Hütter acts autonomously, says Muslic. However, a man who now works for Monaco played a role in his move to Belgium.
Carlos Avina Ibarrola answered Muslic’s cell phone in his home town of Altmünster in the fall of 2021; ex-ÖFB team player Franz Schiemer had put him in touch with Cercle’s Mexican sports director. Muslic, who once played in Tyrol (SV Wörgl, Reichenau, SV Hall) and for Ried in the Bundesliga (four games in 2007), took advantage of the opportunity. He analyzed Belgian games and was shortly afterwards hired as an assistant to coach Yves Vanderhaeghe.
Shared times with Thalhammer
Muslic remained assistant coach under his successor Dominik Thalhammer, and together the duo brought Cercle out of the relegation zone and finished the season in tenth place. A weak start to the following season cost Thalhammer his job, and Muslic was promoted in September 2022 – a logical step, as he explained in retrospect.
GEPA/Christian Moser Dominik Thalhammer (r.) had to make room
“It was clear from the start that I would get my chance,” said the 41-year-old. He himself had no doubt that he would be up to the task. “Sure, I failed in Ried. But that’s part of it. In this industry, every trainer fails at some point. But I wanted to continue on the path and knew that there would still be a chance for me.” He obviously took advantage of it. Cercle once again worked its way up out of the relegation zone and the 2022/23 season, which was played in a different format, ended in sixth place.
“I’m going all out here”
Muslic also came into focus again. The fact that Italian transfer expert Fabrizio Romano reported interest from Germany and Italy a few months ago was noted in Bruges. Muslic still sees himself in good hands at the “development club” Cercle for the time being. “I thrive here, the club also gives me the opportunity to develop myself further. There are still a lot of things I need to improve about myself,” he said. It’s important not to rush anything. Muslic has extended the contract with Cercle until summer 2025.
There’s only one thing that’s bothering us: the Muslic family of five remains separated. His wife Ensada works as a nurse in Gmunden and their children Benjamin, Lejla and Hamza attend school. “Unfortunately, I haven’t found a cure for that yet,” said Muslic, who moved to Innsbruck from Bosnia in 1992 as the child of a refugee family, about his homesickness. After the decisive 4-0 win against Molenbeek, he dedicated the qualification for the Champions play-off to his family, “who miss their father and husband every day”.
