Nemanja Bilbija (, ; born 2 November 1990) is a Bosnian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Bosnian Premier League club Zrinjski Mostar.
A former youth international for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bilbija made his senior international debut in 2018, earning 6 caps until 2023. He is the Bosnian Premier League's record goalscorer.
Club career Early career Bilbija started his career with his hometown club Borac Banja Luka, whose academy he joined in 2000. He made his professional debut on 8 November 2008 against Posušje at the age of 18. He scored his first goal as a professional against Orašje on 7 March 2009.
On 29 January 2010 Bilbija moved to Serbian side Vojvodina signing a four-year contract. During his time at the club, he was sent on two loans to his former club, Borac Banja Luka.
In August 2013, Bilbija signed a two-year deal with Sarajevo.
In July 2015, he joined Split on a two-year contract.
Zrinjski Mostar On 11 February 2016, Bilbija signed with Zrinjski Mostar on free transfer. He scored on his competitive debut for the club against his former team Sarajevo on 28 February.
In August 2017, Bilbija signed a new two-year deal with Zrinjski Mostar. In a game against Vitez on 26 August, Bilbija scored his first hat-trick for the team. A year later, he scored four goals in a convincing triumph over Zvijezda 09.
On 10 November 2018, Bilbija scored a brace on his 100th appearance for the club.
Gangwon On 23 December 2018, Bilbija joined South Korean side Gangwon for an undisclosed transfer fee. On 4 January 2019, Bilbija officially joined Gangwon after signing a contract with the club.Nemanja Bilbija potpisao za Gangwon: Sretan sam što sam došao u ovu ligu at klix.ba, 4 January 2019
He made his debut for Gangwon on 2 March 2019, in a 2–0 away loss against Sangju Sangmu coming in as a substitute in the 71st minute.
Bilbija scored his first goal for Gangwon on 15 May 2019, in a 2–0 home win against Paju Citizen in the round of 16 of the 2019 Korean FA Cup.
Return to Zrinjski Mostar
On 24 December 2019, Bilbija came back to Zrinjski almost a year after joining Gangwon, signing a three-and-a-half-year contract which will last until the summer of 2023 with the Mostar based club. In his first game back, Bilbija scored a goal in a 2–0 league win against Čelik Zenica on 23 February 2020.
On 31 October 2020, he scored a hat-trick against Velež in the Mostar derby.
Bilbija finished the 2020–21 season as the league's top goalscorer with 17 goals.
In a league game against Sarajevo on 23 October 2021, Bilbija scored his 76th goal for Zrinjski, making him the club's highest goalscorer of all time. Following a 4–0 over Sarajevo on 16 April 2022, the club was crowned league champions, with Bilbija winning his fourth league title with Zrinjski. He finished the 2021–22 season again as the league's top goalscorer with a record-breaking 33 goals.
On 4 September 2022, Bilbija scored two goals in a 4–1 league win against Sarajevo, overtaking Wagner as the Bosnian Premier League's record goalscorer. He finished the 2022–23 season as the league's top goalscorer for a third time in a row, as well as winning the double with Zrinjski, the first in the club's history.
In the first leg of the Bosnian Cup final in May 2024, Bilbija suffered a severe knee injury after tearing his ligament, ruling him out for five months. His first game back since his injury was a 2–0 win over Radnik Bijeljina on 16 October 2024. On 27 September 2025, Bilbija made his 300th appearance for Zrinjski in a 3–1 away win in the Mostar derby over rivals Velež. He scored his 200th goal for the club in a 3–1 home win against BSK Banja Luka on 1 September 2026. On 19 September 2026, he scored his record 200th Bosnian Premier League goal in a 2–0 home win against Velež.
International career Bilbija was a member of the Bosnia and Herzegovina national under-21 team. He was also captain of the under-21 side and is the highest goalscorer in the team's history with 9 goals.
In August 2017, Bilbija received his first senior call-up, for 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Cyprus and Gibraltar. He debuted in a friendly game against United States on 28 January 2018.
Personal life Bilbija's father Milorad Bilbija was also a professional footballer who currently works as a football manager.
Career statistics Club
ClubSeasonLeagueNational cupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsBorac Banja Luka2008–09Bosnian Premier League17500––1752009–10Bosnian Premier League13631––168Total301131––3312Vojvodina2009–10Serbian SuperLiga10100––1012010–11Serbian SuperLiga18130––2112011–12Serbian SuperLiga500000–502012–13Serbian SuperLiga902030–1402013–14Serbian SuperLiga100041–51Total4325071–553Borac Banja Luka (loan)2011–12Bosnian Premier League11610––1262012–13Bosnian Premier League128–––128Total231410––2414Sarajevo2013–14Bosnian Premier League10262––1642014–15Bosnian Premier League2041062–276Total3067262–4310Split2015–161. HNL90–––90Zrinjski Mostar2015–16Bosnian Premier League94–––942016–17Bosnian Premier League31103220–36122017–18Bosnian Premier League30120020–32122018–19Bosnian Premier League16141062–2316Total864042102–10044Gangwon2019K League 16221––83Zrinjski Mostar2019–20Bosnian Premier League3200––322020–21Bosnian Premier League28171034–32212021–22Bosnian Premier League323311––33342022–23Bosnian Premier League30244582–42312023–24Bosnian Premier League292440145–47292024–25Bosnian Premier League221041001127122025–26Bosnian Premier League2713321381044232026–27Bosnian Premier League86002100107Total179129179402021238159Career total4062043915632521510245
International
National teamYearAppsGoalsBosnia and Herzegovina201810202350Total60
Honours Sarajevo Bosnian Premier League: 2014–15 Bosnian Cup: 2013–14
Zrinjski Mostar Bosnian Premier League: 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2024–25 Bosnian Cup: 2022–23, 2023–24, 2025–26 Bosnian Supercup: 2024, 2025
Individual Bosnian Premier League Player of the Season: 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24 Bosnian Premier League top scorer: 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24
References
External links