The sad truth about the world is that more and more people are having to flee their country of origin because of war and other conflicts. In some cases, this can lead to a life of hardship, turned away at the borders or countries that contribute to the wars in the first place. Other times, though, people can settle in a new place and live a good, fulfilling life. Thankfully, that is exactly what happened to Zećira Mušović’s family, with their daughter getting a good life in Sweden as a result of them having to flee what is modern-day Serbia. She eventually ended up at Chelsea, helping the club to win numerous major trophies.
Who is Zećira Mušović?
Born on the 26th of May 1996 in the Swedish city of Falun, Zećira Mušović’s life could’ve been very different if her family had been able to remain in their ancestral home. Her family had lived in Prijepolje in what was then known as Yugoslavia but is nowadays known as Serbia. Her parents, along with her three older siblings, fled their home in 1992 in order to escape the Yugoslav Wars, settling in the Swedish province of Scania. She would later say that she has ‘a lot of love’ for Bosnia and Herzegovina, with many relatives in Prijepolje and Bosnia, often taking the time to visit her ‘favourite city’ of Sarajevo when she can.
Playing Football as a Youngster
With an older brother and two older sisters, Zećira Mušović was always likely to get involved in whatever they were doing. Her older brother enjoyed playing football, which might well be part of the reason she began playing the game in the first place. It might also be why she took up goalkeeping, given that is a position that many people don’t like to play, therefore forcing the likes of their younger sister in net. As a nine-year-old she began playing for Stattena IF, with many making fun of her and asking when she’d quit on account of the fact that girls ‘don’t play football’. She took up the goalkeeper role when she was 12.
In 2011 and 2012, Mušović moved up to play with the senior team in spite of her relatively young age, helping the club’s women’s team to secure promotion out of Division 2 in the latter of the two seasons. In the October of 2012, 16-year-old Mušović moved to LdB FC Malmö, soon understudying Þóra Björg Helgadóttir. That turned out to be an excellent move, given that Helgadóttir was crowned the Goalkeeper of the Year in the season that Malmö won the 2013 Damallsvenskan championship title. Malmö became Rosengård prior to the start of the next season, whilst Mušović was promoted to the first team after Helgadóttir’s departure.
Being Spotted by Chelsea
After Helgadóttir had departed the club, Rosengård brought Kathrin Längert in in order to vie with Mušović for the goalkeeper’s spot. She secured her place ahead of the 2015 season, being rewarded for her progress with a new two-and-a-half-year contract by the club. In spite of this, Rosengård signed a new Canadian goalkeeper, which caused issues for Mušović when she broke her arm in a game for the Sweden Under-23s. On top of that, the Canadian, Erin McLeod, suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury, meaning that a veteran goalkeeper in the form of Sofia Lundgren was brought in as cover in the position.
Mušović sat down with the Director of Football for Rosengård, Therese Sjögran, and was eventually persuaded to stay with the club. When she lost her place to McLeod after she had recovered from her ACL, she resolved to train alongside her Canadian rival and improve her game where she could. In the October of 2017 she was rewarded for this approach with a new contract from Rosengård, declaring, “FC Rosengård has always been and will always be the club in my heart”. Towards the end of the season, she had become Rosengård’s first-choice goalkeeper. Between her attitude and her ability, she had caught the eye of a major English club.
Signing for Chelsea
Whilst playing in goal for Rosengård, Mušović played in a game against Chelsea and was called upon to save a penalty when the game was precariously placed at 2-2. She did indeed save it, which meant that she came to the attention of Chelsea manager Emma Hayes. They pushed for her signature, eventually signing her up on a two-year deal in the December of 2020 with the player actually joining the club in the following month. The number one shirt at Chelsea belonged to her compatriot Hedvig Lindahl at the time, but Mušović made an appearance against West Ham United and kept a clean sheet in a 2-0 away win.
Over the next six months, Mušović enjoyed a settling-in period before she began challenging Ann-Katrin Berger for the number one jersey. She appeared in half of Chelsea’s Champions League games, as well as in nearly the same amount of Women’s Super League games. She also featured regularly in the cup competitions, keeping eight clean sheets in 14 starts for the Blues, as well as becoming the only goalkeeper to register an assist with a vital ball for Sam Kerr as Chelsea defeated Aston Villa in a last-gasp manner in the March of the 2021-2022 campaign.
The player was hoping she might be able to take the number one shirt for herself.
Continuing to Impress
During her third season at Chelsea, Mušović continued to put in big performances and put pressure on the club’s first-choice keeper in the search for the gloves. She made 14 appearances, managing to keep seven clean sheets. Although she conceded against Arsenal in the January of 2023, she made a number of huge saves that allowed the Blues to win a point against their fierce rivals. As a result, she was given a new contract in the February, which was a prelude in terms of celebrations given the fact that Chelsea went on to secure a league and cup double. Even so, no one goalkeeper was chosen by Hayes as the permanent fixture in the Chelsea team.
Instead, Mušović and Ann-Katrin Berger shared the honour during the initial part of the 2023-2024 season. In the December, Mušović was named as the Goalkeeper of the Year for Sweden. Hannah Hampton had begun to push for a place in the team and became Emma Hayes’s first-choice for the second-half of the campaign. Mušović, though, didn’t let her head drop and continued to impress, with Hayes giving her the cup games as well as three Women’s Super League starts. One of those included the 6-0 win at Old Trafford on the final day of the season as Chelsea secured the top-flight title for the final time under Hayes.
Impressing for her Country
Whilst Mušović’s main aim has long been to earn the number one shirt for Chelsea, she has also been able to represent her country of birth on numerous occasions. Although she was given the choice to play for Serbia or Sweden, she chose Sweden on account of the fact that the country had welcomed her family ‘with open arms’. She captained the Sweden Under-19s side at the 2015 Under-19 European Championship’s final stage in Israel, but was stopped from going as Rosengård needed her for matches. Even more annoyingly, Sweden went on to win the tournament in her absence, but she was rewarded with a call-up to the senior side.
On the 13th of June 2023, Mušović’s name was alongside 22 others in the squad that Sweden were taking to the FIFA World Cup. Her main rival for the gloves, Hedvig Lindahl, was out, meaning that either her or Jennifer Falk were likely to take the top spot. The manager, Peter Gerhardsson, played Mušović in their first two games and Falk in the final group match. Mušović was picked for the round of 16 game against the United States of America, who were the tournament favourites, pulling off a string of saves and stopping the US from scoring in both normal time and extra-time. Sweden defeated Japan in the quarter-finals but lost to Spain in the Semis.