Huge crowd expected in Hamburg as cult hero Vuskovic returns from long doping suspension

In November 2022, Mario Vuskovic received a provisional suspension from football after testing positive for the banned blood-booster EPO during a training session with Hamburger SV.

Vuskovic had moved to the 1983 European Cup winner Hamburg in 2021 from Hajduk Split after playing for Croatia at the Under-21 European Championship. 

The German Football Federation (DFB) handed him an initial two-year ban, but the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) since doubled his suspension to four years following appeals by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

Throughout the legal battles, critics of the current anti-doping framework highlighted a lack of scientific transparency and perceived vulnerabilities within WADA's established system.

Despite the suspension, the entire HSV community continued to maintain his innocence against the EPO doping charges as he became a symbol of a player wronged by bureaucratic sports courts. Fans consistently printed "Free Vuskovic stickers and banners, while his number 44 jersey was regularly presented by teammates after scoring goals.

Rather than abandoning him, HSV also stood by Vuskovic in tough times as they restructured his contract to heavily support his future. His old deal was terminated by mutual consent, and instead the Croatian defender signed a new, performance-based contract to secure his official roster spot the moment his playing ban ends on November 16, 2026.

His celebrity status in Hamburg was further elevated during last season when his younger brother, Luka Vuskovic, joined HSV on loan from Tottenham Hotspur and decided to wear his brother's signature number 44 jersey. 

After a very successful season where Luka was named Bundesliga Player of the Year, he publicly stated that his biggest dream was to stay in Germany to play alongside Mario, a gesture which deeply cemented the family into HSV folklore.

Upon his return, Mario is now to be assigned a locker in the team dressing room right where his brother Luka - five years his junior - sat the previous season. It is a return eagerly awaited not only by HSV fans and his teammates but also by the Vuskovic family themselves, who will be present on Tuesday. 

"Mentally, what he and the entire Vuskovic family have gone through is something you wouldn't wish on anyone—or want to experience yourself. The way the HSV family has stood together over the past few years speaks volumes. It has been outstanding", says HSV coach Merlin Polzin.

To accommodate the enormous fan interest around Mario's emotional return to team training after a 1,404-day doping suspension, HSV will open the North Stand (Nordtribüne) of the Volksparkstadion for spectators on Tuesday afternoon - marking the first time HSV has ever hosted an open public training session inside the main stadium.

"We’re trying to give Mario a moment of appreciation on Tuesday," Polzin explained last week. "At the same time, it’s about not making too big a deal of it all - because that’s not the kind of person Mario is. He’s simply really looking forward to being back in the dressing room and having fun with the team there and out on the pitch."

The enormous support from the passionate supporters couldn't come at a better time for HSV, who have had a dreadful start to the German Bundesliga season with zero points and a heavy goal deficit from their opening matches, which has left them at the bottom of the table. 

Several key players from the promotion-winning and survival-securing team left HSV in the summer and the North German club now prepares to face 1. FC Koln on Saturday in one of the most eagerly anticipated clashes of the German Bundesliga, with the Vuskovic family surely amongst the spectators. 

Svend Bertil Frandsen has been Senior News Editor for Flashscore News in Denmark since September 2022. He has formerly worked for UEFA and FIFA and is a former tennis pro.  He specializes in news around football, tennis, badminton and handball. You can also follow him on LinkedIn.