After Bosnia and Herzegovina's national team upset Italy in a playoff final in March to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, thousands of fans at the stadium in Zenica and later in Sarajevo's main square belted out the refrain 'I am from Bosnia, take me to America.' The song, originally titled 'USA,' was released by Bosnian band Dubioza Kollektiv some 15 years ago on their album 'Wild Wild East' (2011) and had nothing to do with football.

Band member Vedran Mujagic explained that the song is about a typical Balkan experience of going abroad in search of a better life, facing the reality of immigrant life, and ultimately returning home. The song had been played at concerts for years before it unexpectedly appeared during Bosnia's World Cup playoff semifinal against Wales, when fans unfurled a banner with its title.

By the Italy match, the song was already established as the team's unofficial hymn. After the victory, players stormed coach Sergei Barbarez's press conference singing the song. The band then released a new supporter's version with changed lyrics, mostly in Bosnian, addressing football subculture and emotions surrounding the qualification.

The lyrics play on local stereotypes and bemoan a disallowed goal against Nigeria at the 2014 World Cup, which video footage showed was clearly onside. The new version's music video, shot on a mobile phone, features band members playing football in a neighborhood courtyard with neighbors grilling meat, striking a chord particularly in South America.

Mujagic credited coach Barbarez and sporting director Emir Spahic for recruiting and creating a team from diaspora kids whose parents sought the 'American Dream' or were refugees during the war. He noted that these players experience the song in a completely different manner.

When Bosnia kicks off their World Cup campaign against co-hosts Canada in Toronto on Friday, the song is sure to ring through the stands, symbolizing the team's journey and the diaspora's connection to their homeland.

Source: www.dw.com