As the FIFA World Cup kicks off this week, Milwaukee has some representation on the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team.
Esmir Bajraktarević, known as “Milwaukee Messi,” is a 21-year-old rising star on the world stage. The Appleton-native sent Bosnia and Herzegovina to the World Cup in late March with a key penalty kick, and makes his World Cup debut on Friday.
But his journey to the World is more than thirty years in the making, and includes a civil war, found family, and bringing Milwaukee soccer up with him.
Rooted in family and soccer
A decade before Bajraktarević was born, his parents left their native Bosnia in 1995 to escape the Srebrenica genocide. By 2001, they had put down new roots in Appleton, Wisconsin, and four years later, Esmir was born. By the time Esmir was 5, he was already turning heads on the pitch.
This is when he met a lifelong friend in Liam Wasco.
“I remember the exact day I met him, actually. We were warming up before a game, and my dad came up to my team and goes, ‘There's this very good Bosnian kid that we're about to play against,’ and kind of warned our coach and all of us,” Wasco says.
Wasco, also 5 years old, says he wasn't initially fazed by the warning. But by the end of the day, he saw young Esmir was something special.
“He did moves like I've never seen before at someone who was 5 years old. He was always ahead of everyone our age. So yeah, it was crazy,” Wasco says.
Soon, the Bajraktarevićs and Wascos were close family friends. Liam and Esmir continued to play soccer together, and the families gathered for regular cookouts. Liam's mom, Mitzy, noted the Bajraktarevićs' excellent culinary skills, introducing the Wascos to all the Bosnian classics: ćevapi, sirnica, burek and more.
Somewhere along the line, Esmir gave Mitzy a new title.
“His nickname for me is ‘Mom 2.0,’ which I love. And it's Mom 2.0 because we have spent an immense amount of time together since he was little, traveling to practices and games and tournaments,” Mitzy says. “We're not blood family, but we consider each other family.”
Becoming ‘Milwaukee Messi’
Both Esmir and Liam quickly outgrew their competition in Appleton and began traveling to the Milwaukee area for practices and games. Multiple times per week, Esmir, Liam and Liam's five siblings piled into the car for an hour-and-a-half drive there and back to play.
Mom 2.0 was often the driver, but she had rules.
“I said, ‘All right, everyone, we're going to do this, but here's how it's going to work. We are going to do our homework on the way down. School is going to come first. You're not going to slip through the cracks,’” Mitzy says. “No one loved that rule, but everyone was really good about following it, and that's okay. You know, kids are kids.”
But this choice to play in the Milwaukee area would give Esmir opportunities to shine.
Rob Becerra is now the director of youth development for the New England Revolution, a Major League Soccer club. But he still remembers when his colleague Marcelo Santos flagged Esmir — with a caveat.
“[Santos said] he's from Milwaukee, and I was like, it's fine. You say he's good. Let's take a look at this,” Becerra says.
Becerra explained that the Milwaukee area wasn't a hotbed for MLS talent the way Southern California, New York or Chicago might be. So typically, it wasn't a place teams looked for young players. But Santos was from the Milwaukee area and vouched for Esmir.
But it didn't hurt that Esmir really was that good.
“That Milwaukee idea was to get out of your comfort zone, come take a look, come do some research and let's find out. But Marcelo was very confident that he was good, and he was right,” Becerra says.
Esmir soon signed with the New England Revolution and quickly rose through the ranks. He has since moved on to play with Eredivisie club PSV in the Netherlands.
While with the Revolution, teammates started calling Esmir the “Milwaukee Messi,” referring to soccer legend Lionel Messi.
While the Milwaukee part of the nickname might have started as easy alliteration, Becerra noted that it may have opened up future opportunities for Milwaukee's soccer talent.
“I think the great thing about a story like Esmir is it just goes to show that great players can be anywhere. It doesn't have to be from a major city,” Becerra says. “I think there've been other players now who've come out of Milwaukee that are doing quite well. And maybe part of that's because people aren't afraid to look because they're like, well, hey, Esmir played there. So it's really important.”
‘Go out there and have some fun’
As the World Cup begins, Esmir will don the jersey of his parents’ home country 30 years after they became refugees. A heritage that never left him, and skills and community that were forged in Appleton and molded along I-41 en route to Milwaukee and beyond.
The people who have seen Esmir through his journey are still watching. Becerra was quick to offer a prediction.
“I firmly believe he will be a part of a goal, he will create or score a goal,” Becerra says.
The Wascos, watching from Wisconsin, offered words of encouragement. Mitzy, Esmir’s “Mom 2.0,” reminded him to soak it all in.
“Go out there and have some fun. Not many people will be able to say they did that during the World Cup,” Mitzy says.
And his lifelong friend Liam wanted to remind Esmir he’s never alone on the pitch.
“We’re all proud of you, and good luck in the World Cup. We love you,” Liam says.
