Sheffield United v Sheffield Wednesday: Anel Ahmedhodzic embracing derby-day madness and key responsibility
Sheffield United v Sheffield Wednesday: Anel Ahmedhodzic embracing derby-day madness and key responsibility
Anel Ahmedhodzic embracing derby-day madness and key responsibility ahead of Sheffield United’s trip to Wednesday
As a relatively-young man with experience of playing on world football’s biggest stages and against some of its biggest names, the prospect of walking out at a raucous Hillsborough on Sunday is unlikely to cause too much anxiety for Anel Ahmedhodzic. But the Sheffield United man knows that he has a valuable off-field role to play for some of the more inexperienced members of the Blades squad which faces the old enemy Wednesday.
“The thing I’d say is that when you’ve just started to play in big games, that’s when you start to think about the occasion too much,” Ahmedhodzic said in an exclusive interview with The Star ahead of the weekend’s game. “Which could potentially affect your game.
“But once you have some more experience, you become more calm and I think it’s part of my job to maybe look for the new players and tell them to calm down a little. Just do your job, you’ll be fine. It’s nothing to worry about. You’re not going to die after the game! Just play without pressure and you probably play better if you don’t think too much about it.”
Not that Ahmedhodzic believes that the latest instalment of a fierce cross-city rivalry is, as one former United boss infamously dubbed it, just another game. He looked forward to experiencing a Sheffield derby from the moment he arrived at Bramall Lane from Malmo back in 2022 and got his wish earlier this season, when Tyrese Campbell’s second-half goal gave United the city bragging rights once more.
“It was a good game,” said the Bosnian, relaxing into his chair at United’s Shirecliffe training ground. “They made it hard for us to play. They’re a hard team to beat, especially when it’s a local derby with a big rivalry. The atmosphere was great, you could just tell everyone was buzzing for it.
“I met some people in the city and they said to me: ‘We’ve got to win the derby.’ And I agree with them! It means a lot and if we can get six points off them it will be an amazing season. But for me I would rather we got promoted or even win the league if we can. That’s my priority. But to get there you have to look to win every game and we all know the derby is coming up.”
The game has undoubtedly a different feel for supporters of both sides but players such as Ahmedhodzic, who was born in Sweden rather than Sharrow, feel it as well. “Of course it does [feel different],” the defender added. “We’re talking about the game and it’s still a while away!
“Ever since I came here, I’ve always wondered how it would be to play in a derby like that. One big city and two teams. Since they came to the Champ and we dropped down it’s been a game everyone’s looking forward to. It’s a big game to play in, and you just look forward to games like that.”
Not that Ahmedhodzic’s participation against Danny Rohl’s Owls was guaranteed, the defender walking a tightrope for the last couple of games and knowing that one more yellow card would rule him out of the Hillsborough trip. “Of course, that was in the back of my mind,” he admitted before the threshold passed after Tuesday’s home draw with Bristol City.
“Although I didn’t want to change my game. The yellow I got the last game definitely wasn’t a yellow; I’d just got an elbow to my back and it took me some time to get up. I wasn’t time-wasting, it was like the 50th minute! And he booked me. I was on the ball for about five seconds, so it was a stupid yellow. But I’m good to go now and I can’t wait.”
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