Attacking football is Susic's credo

Former Yugoslavia forward Safet Susic had huge expectations to deal with in soccer-mad Bosnia when he took over at the Balkan nation in December 2009 and his penchant for attacking football was richly rewarded with a 2014 World Cup berth.

The 59-year-old coach, who scored 21 goals in 54 international appearances which included games in the 1982 and 1990 World Cups, succeeded the much-admired Miroslav Blazevic who steered Croatia to the semifinals in the 1998 tournament and reached the 2010 play-offs with Bosnia.

A gifted forward with quick feet, superb skill and vision, Susic, as coach, instilled the same kind of philosophy in his players which prompted many of his former Yugoslavia team-mates and a few rivals to heap praise on him.

“If you were to rank Susic with the all-time greats you would have to put him at least in the top 40,” said former West Germany striker and 1974 World Cup winner Gerd Mueller.