# Sead Kolašinac

Sead Kolašinac (pronounced; born 20 June 1993) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Serie A club Atalanta. Born in Germany, he plays for the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team.
Kolašinac started his professional career at Schalke 04, playing first in its reserve team, before joining Arsenal in 2017, who loaned him back to Schalke 04 in 2021. The following year, he moved to Marseille. A year later, he signed with Atalanta.
A former German youth international, Kolašinac made his senior international debut for Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2013, earning 60 caps since. He represented the nation at their first major championship, the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

## Club career
### Schalke 04

Kolašinac started playing football at his hometown club Karlsruher SC, which he joined in 2001. In 2009, he moved to TSG Hoffenheim's youth academy. A year later, he switched to VfB Stuttgart's youth setup. In 2011, he went to Schalke 04's youth academy. In June 2012, he signed his first professional contract with the team. He made his professional debut against Greuther Fürth on 15 September at the age of 19.
Kolašinac debuted in the UEFA Champions League away at Montpellier on 4 December.
In June 2013, he extended his deal with the squad until June 2017.
In August 2014, he suffered a severe knee injury, which was diagnosed as an anterior cruciate ligament tear and was ruled out for at least six months. Over seven moths after the injury, on 11 April 2015, he returned to the pitch.
On 13 December, he scored his first professional goal against FC Augsburg.

### Arsenal

In June 2017, Kolašinac signed a five-year contract with English side Arsenal.

#### 2017–18 season

He made his official debut for the club in the 2017 FA Community Shield game against Chelsea on 6 August, managed to score a goal and win his first trophy. A week later, he made his league debut against Leicester City.
In September 2017, he was voted Arsenal's Player of the Month for August.
On 28 October, he scored his first league goal for the squad in a triumph over Swansea City.
He was once again voted Arsenal's Player of the Month, this time for October.

#### 2018–19 season

In August 2018, Kolašinac picked up a knee injury during a pre-season clash against Chelsea, which ruled him out for the start of the season. He made his season debut in a UEFA Europa League tie against Qarabağ on 4 October.

#### 2019–20 season

Kolašinac played his first fixture of the campaign in a defeat of Burnley on 17 August 2019.
On 15 July 2020, he played his 100th match for the side against Liverpool.
He won his first piece of major silverware with Arsenal on 1 August, by beating Chelsea in the FA Cup final.

#### 2020–21 season

Kolašinac debuted in the season in the 2020 FA Community Shield tie against Liverpool on 29 August.
In January 2021, he was sent on a six-month loan to his former club Schalke 04 and became its captain. He played his first competitive clash for the team since coming back on 9 January against TSG Hoffenheim. On 27 February, he scored first goal for Schalke 04 since his comeback in a victory over VfB Stuttgart.

#### 2021–22 season

Kolašinac appeared in his first encounter of the season in an EFL Cup fixture against West Bromwich Albion on 25 August.
In November, he suffered an ankle injury, which was diagnosed as a broken ankle and was expected to be sidelined for at least two months.

### Marseille

In January 2022, Kolašinac moved to French outfit Marseille on a deal until June 2023. He debuted officially for the squad on 4 February against Angers. On 13 November, he scored his first goal for Marseille against Monaco, which secured the victory for his team.

### Atalanta

In July 2023, Kolašinac joined Italian side Atalanta on a two-year contract. He debuted competitively for the outfit against Sassuolo on 20 August. On 8 October, he scored his first goal for Atalanta against Lazio. He won his first title with the club on 22 May 2024, by beating Bayer Leverkusen in the UEFA Europa League final.
Kolašinac scored his first UEFA Champions League goal on 26 November against Young Boys.

## International career

Despite representing Germany at various youth levels, Kolašinac decided to play for Bosnia and Herzegovina at the senior level.
In November 2013, his request to change sports citizenship from German to Bosnian was approved by FIFA. Later that month, he received his first senior call-up, for a friendly game against Argentina, and debuted in that game on 18 November.
In June 2014, Kolašinac was named in Bosnia and Herzegovina's squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, country's first major competition. He made his tournament debut in the opening group match against Argentina on 15 June.

## Style of play

During his career, Kolašinac has been deployed as a centre-back and as a defensive midfielder, although he spent most of the time playing as a left-back. He possesses very strong body build and strength.

## Personal life

Kolašinac married his long-time girlfriend Susubelle in June 2019. Together they have a daughter named Soleil.
He is a practising Muslim; together with international teammates Ibrahim Šehić, Muhamed Bešić, Armin Hodžić, Izet Hajrović, Edin Višća and Ervin Zukanović he visited a mosque in Zenica during the national team's concentration.
In July 2019, he and his then teammate Mesut Özil were victims of an attempted carjacking, which Kolašinac successfully fought off.

## Career statistics
### Club

    As of match played 16 March 2025
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | National cup | National cup | League cup | League cup | Continental | Continental | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Schalke 04 II | 2011–12 | Regionalliga West | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | 0 |
| Schalke 04 II | 2012–13 | Regionalliga West | 5 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 5 | 2 |
| Schalke 04 II | 2014–15 | Regionalliga West | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 0 |
| Schalke 04 II | Total | Total | 8 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 8 | 2 |
| Schalke 04 | 2012–13 | Bundesliga | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 3 | 0 | – | – | 20 | 0 |
| Schalke 04 | 2013–14 | Bundesliga | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 6 | 0 | – | – | 30 | 0 |
| Schalke 04 | 2014–15 | Bundesliga | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | – | – | 7 | 0 |
| Schalke 04 | 2015–16 | Bundesliga | 23 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 6 | 0 | – | – | 30 | 1 |
| Schalke 04 | 2016–17 | Bundesliga | 25 | 3 | 3 | 0 | – | – | 8 | 0 | – | – | 35 | 3 |
| Schalke 04 | Total | Total | 94 | 4 | 6 | 0 | – | – | 23 | 0 | – | – | 123 | 4 |
| Arsenal | 2017–18 | Premier League | 27 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 36 | 5 |
| Arsenal | 2018–19 | Premier League | 24 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | – | – | 36 | 0 |
| Arsenal | 2019–20 | Premier League | 26 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 32 | 0 |
| Arsenal | 2020–21 | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| Arsenal | 2021–22 | Premier League | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 5 | 0 |
| Arsenal | Total | Total | 80 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 20 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 118 | 5 |
| Schalke 04 (loan) | 2020–21 | Bundesliga | 17 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 18 | 1 |
| Marseille | 2021–22 | Ligue 1 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 3 | 0 | – | – | 17 | 0 |
| Marseille | 2022–23 | Ligue 1 | 33 | 4 | 4 | 0 | – | – | 4 | 0 | – | – | 41 | 4 |
| Marseille | Total | Total | 47 | 4 | 4 | 0 | – | – | 7 | 0 | – | – | 58 | 4 |
| Atalanta | 2023–24 | Serie A | 30 | 1 | 4 | 0 | – | – | 9 | 0 | – | – | 43 | 1 |
| Atalanta | 2024–25 | Serie A | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 9 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 31 | 1 |
| Atalanta | Total | Total | 50 | 1 | 4 | 0 | – | – | 18 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 74 | 2 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 296 | 14 | 22 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 68 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 399 | 18 |
* ↑ Includes DFB-Pokal, FA Cup, Coupe de France, Coppa Italia
* ↑ Includes EFL Cup
* 1 2 3 4 Appearances in UEFA Champions League
* 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
* 1 2 Appearance in FA Community Shield
* ↑ Appearances in UEFA Conference League
* ↑ One appearance in UEFA Super Cup; one appearance in Supercoppa Italiana

### International

    As of match played 14 October 2024
Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2013 | 1 | 0 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2014 | 5 | 0 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2015 | 4 | 0 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2016 | 7 | 0 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2017 | 5 | 0 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2018 | 2 | 0 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2019 | 6 | 0 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2020 | 5 | 0 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2021 | 8 | 0 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2022 | 8 | 0 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2023 | 6 | 0 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2024 | 3 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 60 | 0 |

## Honours

Arsenal
* FA Cup: 2019–20
* FA Community Shield: 2017, 2020
Atalanta
* UEFA Europa League: 2023–24
Individual
* Bundesliga Team of the Season: 2016–17
* UEFA Europa League Squad of the Season: 2018–19