I first heard the name Susic in 1980. After former German Worldclass midfielder Guenther Netzer had taken over managerial duties at Hamburg in 1978, he brought in renowned coaches like the Yugoslav Branco Zebec in 1978 and the Austrian Ernst Happel two and a half years later. A couple of weeks before Zebec was suspended due to problems arising from his alcoholism, Hamburg played Sarajevo in the UEFA Cup. Mind you, Zebec`s HSV was almost the same team that 3 years later would win the Champions League final against Juventus Turin in Athens. In the autumn of 1980, Hamburg advanced 7-5 on aggregate after a 3-3 draw away. Safet Susic had scored in both matches, and after the away draw, Guenther Netzer told a journalist , that he hadn`t seen a better player than Susic in 10 years.
