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Edin Dzeko probably thought his career had peaked when he scored 26 goals to fire Wolfsburg to their first Bundesliga title in 2009.
Then he probably thought it had peaked when his stoppage-time equaliser paved the way for Sergio Aguero's iconic Premier League-winning strike against Queens Park Rangers in 2012, sealing Manchester City's first top-flight crown in 44 years.
Edin Dzeko's 2025/26 season might just be one of the best of all time
It's important to note that this isn't about statistics. Dzeko has scored 13 goals in 35 games for club and country this term, which are decent numbers for a 40-year-old but not spectacular.
On the surface, he has had a far less impressive campaign than Cristiano Ronaldo, for example, who has found the net 26 times in 29 matches for Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League aged 41. But while Ronaldo is playing in front of 20,000 fans in a league that has fallen off the radar of European supporters, Dzeko has created unforgettable memories.
The striker started 2025/26 at Italian side Fiorentina, but his season didn't get going until he joined Schalke on a free transfer in January.
The Gelsenkirchen giants are one of the biggest clubs in Germany but have spent three of the past four campaigns in Bundesliga 2, finishing 10th and 14th in the past two seasons amid a period of financial turmoil.
Desperate to return to the top flight, Schalke brought in a proven winner in Dzeko - and he made an immediate impact, scoring 20 minutes into his debut to spark a 2-2 comeback draw against Kaiserslautern.
The veteran found the net six times in his first eight matches, before attention turned to international matters in March for the 2026 World Cup play-offs.
Bosnia and Herzegovina were on the verge of a semi-final exit to Wales in Cardiff, before Dzeko - nine days after turning 40 - popped up with a captain's goal four minutes from time to snatch a 1-1 draw, with his country eventually progressing on penalties.
The entire Schalke squad led by Edin Džeko out in Marbella celebrating promotion back to the Bundesliga 😂That away game at Nürnberg on Saturday might be absolute cinema. pic.twitter.com/Sh08Weth2qMay 6, 2026
While he didn't score in the play-off final win over Italy - another 1-1 draw where Bosnia progressed on penalties - shocking a huge name in the country where he played club football for eight years was still pretty memorable.
Perhaps less memorable will have been the hours between midnight and 5am, when it appeared the Bosnia squad were out celebrating in Sarajevo, courtesy of Dzeko live-streaming the festivities on his Instagram account.
A shoulder injury limited his impact in the final weeks of Schalke's season, but he came on as a substitute in the 1-0 win over Fortuna Dusseldorf this month that sealed their promotion.
With their place in the top flight secured, the Schalke squad flew out to Marbella last week and Dzeko was at the heart of the celebrations, again. Unsurprisingly, they lost 3-0 to Nurnberg the following Saturday, but it mattered not.
Schalke end the domestic season at home to Eintracht Braunschweig on Sunday, less than four weeks before Dzeko's Bosnia start their World Cup campaign against co-hosts Canada in Toronto. You wouldn't bet against him stealing the show again.
