Hana Husić

Wife of Edin Husić, former international of Bosnia and Herzegovina

I met my husband in my hometown Croatia while he was playing there. In both Bosnia and Croatia is soccer the second most important thing in the world. Everyone likes soccer, talks about soccer and wants to become one. But not me… I never really liked soccer and never even thought I would end up marrying one!

As a soccer player, you travel around quite a bit, so when that moment came for my husband, I decided to leave everything behind me and go with him to where ever.
There were multiple destinations on the list: China, Kazakhstan, and some tropical destinations! But we ended up in Sarajevo…
When we moved to the capital of Bosnia, I was amazed how beautiful the city was recovered after that horrible war from 1992 till 1995. Knowing that my father in law was in a concentration camp in Bosnia, it made me intensely emotional bonded with this city.

In Bosnia, you have fans who are crazy fanatic. In a good way, but also a little bit in a “scary” way.
Because of that, I didn’t go to any of the home games for my own “safety”. You hear a lot of swearing, see a lot of fights and it is just not the place for a woman to be in.
Then… The pressure was super intense for my husband. The people around him do expect only good results and nothing else. There is absolute no mercy.

Being a wife, I had to cheer, comfort and listen to all his stories about soccer over and over again.
And… I still do!
I became from an “I don’t know anything about soccer” to a total expert and know now all the ins and outs.
‘I bet that every soccer wife is with me in this one’!

After our adventure in Bosnia we wanted something new. We wanted to leave Bosnia because I was always a type of person who wanted to travel the world, meet new cultures and make new friendships.

My husband got a call and was asked to go to Texas in the USA and play soccer, I immediately said YES in the background, let’s do it! Not sure what his thought was at that time, but I was ready to leave!
It will be a one-time experience that not a lot of people get a chance to, especially where we are from. We decided to close the deal, pack our bags and go to this new adventure that would change the course of our lives.

It was the beginning of the month March but still very cold in Europe, when we arrived in the USA, Texas. Our coats and scarves became right away an excess! It was so humid and warm.
When I saw all the lights and commercials on the way to our apartment I was like a little child. I remember saying to myself: “I feel like I just entered my TV!”
We settled in our apartments and were ready to explore.

In the club, I only found kindness. So many good people! Starting from the staff, management and then all the ladies of the soccer family. They made me feel so welcomed in their little circle. Their kindness was maybe a small thing for them to do, but meant the world to me. Where I am from, it is not that comment that somebody is so nice to a new person. I was a stranger who did not know anybody and was kind of lost in a big world. I truly felt I was making friends! I was accomplishing one of my main goals.

I can say Americans are really warm and nice people in general. But I only have seen a part of Texas of course, so I don’t know how it will be outside this state. They always had nice words for us, asking us where we are from and what we do here. It was random people you meet at grocery stores or ordering coffee in the Starbucks.
They heard us talking some “strange alien language” and wanted to hear where we were from. When we said Croatia/Bosnia, you could see from their facial expression that they didn’t have a clue where that is! We wanted to make it easier and say ex-Yugoslavia and they were like: “Ex?!There is no more Yugoslavia?”
Few people even thought we were part of SSSR (Socialistic Republic of Russia)!
I got to say… ‘TV was definitely right about one thing – Americans don’t really know much about world geography or history further than their own country’… But seriously they are so friendly.

That kind of memories stays with me my whole life and I will always cherish them! Every day was a blessing for us and every person that we met, remains in our stories till this day.

My husband and I talk about it every day. Our adventures in Croatia, Bosnia and our time in the USA!
When we left to go home, we were happy to see our family but also very sad to leave that part of our life. I hope one day we’ll go back in the US and live again the “American dream”!

But for now we are still waiting for a new adventure. We are ready for every club and we get many promises from agents, but we also know that 99% is not true. Soccer is a hard business to be in and you need to have a lot of patience to get where you worked so hard for. Every day you hope for that “one e-mail or that one phone call” what will decide your future, but as I see it right now… We have a long time to go.
I am super proud of my husband and I can never imagine a life without him! I believe in his qualities and I believe he will be on the field again very soon!

To survive this unsecure and madness life in soccer, I always think of my good friend ‘Laura Denissen’ who said some wise words to me…

“Every test in our life makes us bitter or better, every problem comes to break us or make us! The choice is ours whether we become victim or victor”.

And well… I decided to be the victor and will be ready for what will come!

Love.

Hana