On this day 38 years ago, Asim Ferhatović Hase left us

(Patria) - On this day in 1987, Asim Ferhatović Hase, one of the greatest athletes in the history of Sarajevo and Bosnia and Herzegovina, left us forever.

Everything is known about Asim Ferhatović Hase as a footballer. He spent his entire career at Košev, with the exception of a brief stint at Fenerbahçe. He played 204 league matches for Sarajevo and scored 75 goals. Including unofficial matches, Hase wore the Sarajevo jersey 422 times and found the opponent's net on 198 occasions.

But who was Asim Ferhatović?

Asim Ferhatović was born into an old bourgeois family. He spent his whole life in Sarajevo, at the same address. There he met Vahida, with whom he started a family in 1957 and had three children, Senada, Merdina, and Ademir. He was considered an exemplary husband and father and was respected in the wider family as a good host and friend. Asim was particularly attentive to the elderly and infirm. Children loved him because he was kind and caring towards them. His family life was the foundation of his happiness and satisfaction, all of which was complemented by a very successful sports career.

It can be safely said that Asim Ferhatović was a happy man, just as he surrounded everyone around him with kindness and happiness. However, numerous memories among family and old friends fill us with unhidden pride. That feeling has not faded even after so much time since Asim's death, but has become even more intense, which, like the legend of a noble man and a brilliant athlete, is becoming an unavoidable page in the history of the city of Sarajevo.

Asim Ferhatović died just one day after turning 54 (January 25, 1987). The man who lived so intensely, who wore himself out, and paid the least attention to himself, simply burned out. He was stopped by a heart attack and deep chest pain...

The funeral was marked as one of the largest in our city. He was sent to his eternal rest with dignity. Sarajevo, the city and the club, said goodbye to their great man, but all lovers of sport, especially football, also paid their respects to Asim Ferhatović. The arrival of numerous guests and Asim's admirers, not only from the former country but also from abroad, was an act of respect and gratitude for all that Asim did as a footballer and a man during his life.

The memory of Hase has been marked in many ways. Hase's name is now borne by the Košev stadium, a street in Sarajevo, a public fountain in Baščaršija, traditional futsal and chess tournaments, and Hase's image and work will forever be woven into many songs, as well as into a postage stamp issued by BH Pošta.

(Historija.ba)