How Pape won the World Cup

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In 1982, Safet “Pape” Sušić signed with Paris Saint-Germain, where he became a star on the European stage. The Yugoslav international was never injured nor suspended, thus allowing him to score 96 goals and make a record 61 assists for PSG between 1982 and 1991. In 2010, France Football chose Sušić as the best player in the history of PSG. In August 2013, with coach Sušić, the Bosnian national team achieved their highest ever FIFA ranking, the 13th place. In 2013, Bosnia qualified for 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil as their first major tournament, creating euphoric joy in this unlucky little nation.

In 1982, I was three years old. Before the Winter Olympic games in Sarajevo, before Dzeko, Begovic, Pjanic, Besic and Ibisevic were born, before internet, before the war and politics, my father thought football to be the most important thing in the world, allway close to the stadium of FK Sarajevo, and he thought it to be a good idea to procure a COLOUR FOTO CAMERA (not just a common gadget in 1982), and make a foto of his son together with some football player that probably will be forgotten before the kid grows up. Just maybe, 22 years later, that litte boy can watch that forgotten footballer loose against Argentina at Maracana Stadion in Rio, and feel like a winner.

And then, however reserved and distanced I try to be to the concept of extreme national patriotism and iconisation of footballers, I no longer manage to keep the face of the intellectual. But I do rationalize to explain the exaggerated engagement in a silly ball game and focus on it’s positiv effect on the people arround me.

So, say you like the concept of Bosnia, so here is why Pape and The Blue Dragons Team won the whole thing for you after loosing the first game:

• The star of your Balkan Squad (Dzeko f.e.) is caracterized with words «He was allways a polite kid»
• Your team is of Balkans but the players do not spit, do not pick a fight, do not film injury, and do not curse in interviews and you can find it amazing.
• Your small team has an own coach and do not pay Capello 10 Million Euros for bullshit.
• Your team of superstars does not stop playing last 5 minutes of the game, as Yugos traditionally do.
• After the game, you can read the star of your team excusing himself for the loss and the supporters respond: «What are you talking about?»
• In the second minute, your team notes a record of «fastest Own-Goal in the World Cup», and in the Media you read «The bosnians love him even more after the Own-goal».
• Your team is the underdog team, but do not fall mentally apart after an own goal in second minute aganst Argentina on Maracana.
• Allways cheered for the underdog? Well, you don’t get more underdog than this.
• Your team is respected by the people you thought did not like you.
• And than you can realize from the points above that you are victorious regardless of the scoreboard and you can be proud of your players because they are the good guys.

See table below for Bosnias World Cup Record nr 2 (besided fastest auto-goal) here:

1979: