During his time as an FC Bayern player, Hasan Salihamidžić celebrated many great moments. The current board member for sport lifted no fewer than 17 trophies with the Reds, including the 2001 Champions League title.
With today being his birthday, fcbayern.com is taking a look at his finest moments in the German record champions' shirt:
1. The miracle of Hamburg 2001
Without doubt the most thrilling German championship that “Brazzo” celebrated in his career came at Hamburg’s Volksparkstadion in 2001. On the final day of the season, Bayern visited HSV while direct rivals Schalke hosted relegated side Unterhaching. Whereas the Munich men just needed a point to secure the title, the Royal Blues required a win and help from Hamburg, which arrived when Sergej Barbarez fired the Red Shorts in front in the 90th minute. Schalke were already celebrating a first league title since 1958, but Bayern got one last chance in the fourth minute of added time, which they made the most of. Patrik Anderson’s fierce free-kick earned Ottmar Hitzfeld’s side a draw and the 17th German championship in the club’s history, as well as Salihamidžić’s third.
2. A day for the history books
Salihamidžić registered the greatest success of his career just four days later, on 23 May 2001. With the Champions League triumph over Valencia, he didn’t just celebrate his first European title but also brought the famous trophy back to Munich for the first time in 25 years. Following three consecutive final defeats, Bayern lifted the fourth Champions League cup in the club’s history in Milan. For Salihamidžić, these two successes in the space of five days were probably the most emotional of his career to date, which was still at an early stage.
3. Joker off the pitch, fighter on it
On the pitch, he usually showed himself to be a tough fighter. With his tireless battling mentality, the team player was always able to carry his teammates along and also impress the fans in the stands. At the same time, “Brazzo” always remained a likeable joker. Waldemar Hartmann, the former commentator on Sportschau, also had to experience this. When Bayern won the title early at Kaiserslautern in 2006, Salihamidžić did not miss the chance and poured a bucket of ice-cold water over the presenter.
4. The legendary seconds in March 2007
It took just 10.12 seconds for Bayern to take the lead in their Champions League round of 16 second leg against Real Madrid on 7 March 2007. Roy Makaay’s strike remains the quickest goal in the history of the competition. The alert Salihamidžić also played a vital role in the rapid goal, taking full advantage of a Madrid mistake and delivering the ball perfectly into the middle. The current board member for sport still fondly recalls it, 15 years later: “That was unbelievable. The phantom struck straight away there!”
5. Time to say goodbye
After nine years, 365 games and 47 goals in the red shirt, it was goodbye – for now – to Salihamidžić at the end of the 2006/07 season. He bid farewell to the fans at the Allianz Arena with a 5-2 victory over 1. FSV Mainz 05 in the final home match of the campaign. It only turned out to be a temporary goodbye, though, as the Bosnian returned to the German record champions in 2017 as a club representative. He’s stayed loyal to his beloved club since and recently extended his contract as board member for sport.
Until 2026! Last August, Hasan Salihamidžić signed an extended contract with Bayern:
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