Back in the summer, Zlatko Junuzovic became a father. Alongside his wife Katharina, ‘Zladdi‘ has built a family and a home in Bremen. The Austrian turned down lucrative offers in 2015 to extend his contract at Werder. “I feel comfortable both in Bremen and at Werder” said Junuzovic, and he discussed how things have fared since making his decision to remain.
In the second part of his interview, Zlatko discusses fatherhood, his friendship with Theodor Gebre Selsassie and his visit with the Werder playgroup.
WERDER.DE: In February 2015, you extended your contract with Werder. There were other offers that to some looked more tempting than remaining with the club. What made you stay?
Zlatko Junuzovic: “A lot has happened in the last year. We were all in great shape and were well-prepared under Robin Dutt, but unfortunately results did not go our way in the first few games. The team was in order but lacking in successful results. The more relaxed atmosphere came back with the new coaching team and managed to rally and save ourselves. I felt very comfortable in that spell and already identified with Werder. I decided together with my wife – we were aware that we could be on a rocky path but it would not stay like that and that surely things would be picking up in due course. But I wanted to solidify my achievements here at Bremen – at times it has gone well, at others not. I had to work with a new situation in my general life, as well, which had to be worked with. I am glad for the decision I made. It has become somewhat rare for someone to stay at the one club so long.”
WERDER.DE: There was a large social media campaign with the tag #JunobleibtBremer at the time: looking back, what was the decisive factor in your choosing to stay?
Zlatko Junuzovic: “You have to take a lot of factors into account when making these kinds of decisions. Your status in the team is an issue, the extent to which you identify with the club, but also how comfortable your family feels. The fan campaign was a part of the wider tapestry. I had other more lucrative offers but not everything was not quite as 100%-fitting as things are at Werder. You can never see clearly what comes next in terms of the sporting situation, and things can similarly change very quickly everywhere.”
“I never said that I wanted to go”Zlatko Junuzovic
WERDER.DE: Despite all of that, there was still a lot of speculation last summer that you may leave the club, and that you had submitted a transfer request…
Zlatko Junuzovic: “I never said that I wanted to go, but I did make a mistake. When I went on holiday I did not make my stance clear, instead choosing to stay quiet. I wanted to unwind after the Euros and recover from my injuries, to clear my head and enjoy the silence. But there are times when there is not much to write about and the stories grow further and further and get progressively more twisted. As a footballer, you have to live with the headlines. It is a fast-moving business.”
WERDER.DE: How difficult is it to get to know and get comfortable with new team mates in this fast-paced business, both in a sporting and off-pitch sense?
Zlatko Junuzovic: “There has always been a good atmosphere between us, and you tend to find that together quickly in football. However, a few of the departures were very sad for me, such as Sebastian Prödl, Assani Lukimya and Felix Kroos, with whom I got on very well. That said, others like Theodor Gebre Selassie stayed, which is important for me.”
WERDER.DE: Would you say that is the closest relationship you have built in your years here?
Zlatko Junuzovic: “From the very start it was all great. He came to Norderney, which is when we got to know each other. In the second training camp here, we were roomed together at the request of Thomas Schaaf, when Theo started to learn German, and the rest is history! It has already been a long time and it is slightly unusual.”
WERDER.DE: It seems you were a pretty good German teacher…
Zlatko Junuzovic: “But of course! (Laughs). Everything was easy with me.”
WERDER.DE: You have both become fathers in your time at Werder. What has changed for the two of you?
Zlatko Junuzovic: “Everything changes! Together you have to become better at planning and more organised: spontaneity gets completely lost. Now you meet to go for a walk in the park or go for a coffee – but you can still play each other on the PlayStation online! (Laughs).
WERDER.DE: Your son goes to the Werder playgroup every week, correct?
Zlatko Junuzovic: “Yes. We are even all members of the club. My wife, young Clemens and I – the whole family.”
WERDER.DE: Is your relationship with Werder more than the standard dynamic between an employer and employee?
Zlatko Junuzovic: “Definitely, after this recent time. The first half year was perhaps like things are at most other clubs, but now… I have not spent such a long time at one club as I have at Werder. I know all about the club. It is a great security in life.”
WERDER.DE: Despite that, in the morning at the bakers’ do you prefer to say ‘Servus’ instead of ‘Moin’ and ‘Semmeln’ over ‘Brötchen’?
Zlatko Junuzovic: “No, ‘brötchen’ is already very much in habit! (Laughs). ‘Servus’ remains, though – I cannot change that!
WERDER.DE: And in the dressing room?
Zlatko Junuzovic: “At the start I was really anxious about speaking High German, but after a year it had all settled. I speak so often in the dialects that whoever does not understand it is just lost. When I speak with Stoxi or Flo Kainz, no one can understand anything!”
In the first part of the interview, Junuzovic discussed his first memories of the Weser, the relationship he has with Frank Baumann and a few of his highlights from his 150 Bundesliga games.
