\n<\/p>\n
It is that belief and commitment that Argyle showed as they upset a Liverpool side who finished top of the Champions League group stage and have a healthy six-point lead at the summit of the Premier League under Arne Slot.<\/p>\n
Conversely, Muslic inherited an Argyle side spiralling towards League One.<\/p>\n
To add to his tough start, he saw his best defender, Lewis Gibson, and star forward, Morgan Whittaker, leave during the transfer window.<\/p>\n
But, just like Muslic’s early life in Austria, the shoots of recovery could well be sprouting under him at Argyle.<\/p>\n
Last Saturday, the Pilgrims paid a club record fee for Ukraine defender Maksym Talovierov and came from a goal down to beat play-off contenders West Bromwich Albion 2-1<\/a> – a victory that ended a 15-game winless run in the league. <\/p>\n And it is football – and a love of its ups and downs – that has driven Muslic from a child who could not speak the language to a coach so fluent in English that his rousing first speech to Argyle’s players, external<\/span><\/a> has been watched by the best part of four million people on social media. <\/p>\n As a teenage forward, he joined Wacker Innsbruck before a career that took in the top five tiers in Austria and a short spell in Croatia. <\/p>\n He credits the sport with helping him adapt to his new homeland, allowing him to “have the privilege to call not only Bosnia, but also Austria, my home.”<\/p>\n “That’s why football is so important, because it’s universal,” he says.<\/p>\n “Because when you’re on a football pitch or somewhere on the street, it’s not about your name, your last name, it’s not even about your refugee status or not; it’s only about the game.<\/p>\n “Where religion, nationality, is my mother a cleaning lady or a lawyer has no impact, has no influence.<\/p>\n “That’s why we love this beautiful game, and that’s why I always call it ‘the game we love’, and that’s the magic of football.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n