Denis Špoljarić - minister of defence against old club Zagreb

Füchse Berlin will host HC Croatia Osiguranje Zagreb in Round 5 of the VELUX EHF Champions League. There are two Croatian players currently playing for Füchse, Denis Špoljarić and Ivan Ninčević.

Ninčević is still playing for the national team, and was a part of the Olympic bronze medal winning team in London. Špoljarić was a member of Croatia's 'golden generation', winning gold medals at the 2003 World Championship in Potrugal and the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.

Špoljarić had 124 appearances and scored 59 goals. He was also the most important player in Croatia's defence, gaining the nickname, minister of defence. In that time he has two silver medals from 2005 and 2009 World Championships and one silver medal from EHF EURO 2008.

On Thursday, Špoljarić is going to be the key player in Berlin's defence in their clash against Croatia Osiguranje Zagreb, the club where he came from, and where he became captain. Here is what he said to ehfCL.com about the match with Zagreb.

ehfCL.com: Is the match against Zagreb going to be easy for Füchse?

Denis Špoljarić: It is never easy to play aginst them. I know their mentality very well, and they will try to surprise us.

ehfCL.com: Do you think it could be possible?

Denis Špoljarić: I think that in our group, Barcelona and ourselves are quite far ahead of the other four teams, but it is pretty equal among them. We achieved a lot in the last season, more than expected. We were third in Bundesliga, and we played in the Champions League FINAL4 in Cologne, and almost caused an upset.

This season we will continue that way. In the Champions League we played very well in Szeged and won this very important match for us. We learned how to carry on with a strong rhytm of Bundeliga and Champions League side by side, which was a whole new situation for us last season.

ehfCL.com: Are there more critics of the team than last season?

Denis Špoljarić: Actually yes, but I do not find them important in this whole situation. We have our way, a great team atmosphere and no pressure on us to do something big, though we want to.

ehfCL.com: Can you tell us something about Füchse's game this season?

Denis Špoljarić: Defence is the key and I believe that it is on its way to become even better and tougher than last year, everything needs some time. We have Borge Lund now who is still fitting in and I believe that when he recovers, he is going to be a great plus for us.

Regarding the offence. Pettersson left, and he meant a lot to us, not only in attack but all around. Igropulo is our new right back who is also becoming an important part of our team.

My impression is that our attack is improving. There is a problem with Richwein's injury but it is just something that we cannot change and we have got to carry on without him. With our audience and the atmosphere that the Bundesliga has, everything is easier.

ehfCL.com: What do you think of Zagreb?

Denis Špoljarić: They are looking young, good and enthusiastic. Their performance oscillates a lot, for example, when they came from minus to plus five in Minsk or Schaffhausen, but lost due to some mistakes they made in last minutes of those matches.

They have a very young team and great potential, and with a few experienced players like Valčić, Špiler and Kelentrić, I believe that they are going in the right direction. We will have to work hard to stop them.

ehfCL.com: Do you think about the national team?

Denis Špoljarić: Not any more after not going to Beijing in 2008. At the beginning it was a huge disappointment, but it gets better. My heart is still with the team and I am proud of them, their results, and medals that they have won in last few years.