Where did Armin Bačinović go? Once a knock on the door of United and Chelsea, now more than four years after his last game, he recalls the golden years of his career
Today, everyone is talking about
Josip Iličić
. But when he arrived in Palermo, everyone in Italy was actually talking about another Slovenian. Armin Bačinović played so well for a while after his transfer from Maribor to Sicily that even some of Europe’s biggest clubs were linked to him in the media. “It’s a pity Palermo didn’t let me leave in the winter transfer window. Manchester United and Chelsea are history for me,“, Bačinović pointed out a decade ago. But Manchester United and Chelsea weren’t the only ones to catch his eye. Juventus and Inter have also been mentioned, even Liverpool. And there is someone else. While Iličić was just getting used to the “calcio”, Bačinović was taking life on the Apennine peninsula in his stride.
Third-level greens become a reality
But the idyll did not last long. Bačinović danced on the star football stage for only a short time. A great first season on the Italian boot was followed by a slump that the midfielder was never able to completely stop. Bačinović fell from season to season, ending up light years away from the Premier League and also from Serie A.
Italian third division greens became his reality until he got tired of kicking the ball in 2018. He left and never looked back. Even though he was only 29 years old and could certainly have played football for at least another five or six seasons. After all, he could go back home, and would probably be welcomed with open arms in Maribor any time.
Photo with Zlatan Ibrahimovic
But the footballer, who has also played 13 times for national team Sloveniawent out the back door. And quietly. The midfielder, who at one point even attracted the interest of Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Juventus and Inter, said goodbye to football on the nose and without any pomp. No flowers, no handshakes, no chanting fans. He left and was never back.
Today, people in Maribor can tell that 33-year-old Bačinović is in the construction business. It can also be seen around football pitches. But not because I was thinking of putting my socks back on. Now he is just an observer from the sidelines. A parent who takes his children to football. But every now and then, he also recalls the times when he was in the spotlight. At
Instagram
just these days, he has been sharing photos from his time playing for Maribor and Palermo. In one of the photos, he is fighting for the ball with Zlatan Ibrahimović; yes, the evergreen Swede has also experienced first-hand how relentless a footballer Bačinović could be. And it is a real pity that he said goodbye so soon. But it will be a regret that will last forever. We will never know what would have happened if… Say he transferred to Chelsea? Say.
This text was automatically translated using AI.
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