Wolfsburg's Džeko retains Bosnian accolade

VfL Wolfsburg striker Edin Džeko has been crowned Bosnia and Herzegovina player of the year for a second time.

The 24-year-old was selected from a shortlist made by former national team defender Muhamed Konjić, keeping the National Idol accolade he picked up 12 months ago. He beat the likes of Olympique Lyonnais's Miralem Pjanić, Emir Spahić of Montpellier Hérault SC and Galatasaray AŞ playmaker Zvjezdan Misimović.

"Receiving an award like this, especially for a second time, brings not only great honour but also responsibility," said Džeko, scorer of 31 goals for club and country this calendar year. "The list of nominees was again strong, and if any one of my international team-mates had received this award instead of me, it would have been well deserved."

He added: "I expect a difficult year ahead of me both at Wolfsburg and with the national team, where we are aiming to reach UEFA EURO 2012." Bosnia and Herzegovina are fourth in Group D after picking up four points from their opening three matches, with Džeko on target in a 3-0 win against Luxembourg.

Vahid Halilhodžić was named coach of the year after guiding NK Dinamo Zagreb five points clear at the summit in Croatia.