Turković: Those were the times, Alija in the stands, and we were beating Željo on the field

Ahead of tomorrow's first match of the 3rd qualifying round of the Europa League, in which Sarajevo hosts Greece's Atromitos, a photo taken at the Koševo stadium when FK Sarajevo won the BiH Cup in 1996 began circulating on social media, reports the Patria News Agency.

In the photo, the first President of the Presidency of BiH, the late Alija Izetbegović, is presenting the trophy to the then captain and now coach in Sarajevo's youth academy, Almir Turković, popularly known as Zeko. Jusuf Pušina, then head of the Football Association of BiH, is also visible in the photo.

In a statement to NAP, he says that the emotions from that time are still alive and that those were different times.

- We played with heart, with great love, and we were all "crazy" about FK Sarajevo. It was a big deal. Alija in the stands, and us on the field beating Željezničar – says Turković.

Incidentally, in that 1996/97 season, Sarajevo finished second behind Čelik, and for the first time in their history, they won the national Cup, and afterwards the Supercup, defeating Čelik from Zenica.

- I remember that Amar Osim was also playing for Željo at the time. It's nice to remember those times, when everything was different. We celebrated with a 2-0 result. Every victory in life is beautiful, but those post-war ones are special – says the popular Zeko.

Regarding tomorrow's match between Sarajevo and Greece's Atromitos, Turković hopes for a win.

I'm going to the match with friends from Japan and I hope we will celebrate a victory. I've never watched the Greeks and they are unknown to me, but we'll see – added Turković, who is otherwise one of Sarajevo fans' biggest favorites.

You can watch inserts from the CUP match between Sarajevo and Željezničar in 1996 here