Exclusive interview: Ivan Klasnić

Bavarian giants Bayern convincingly won Bundesliga with a renewed squad. Do you think Werder can be more competent next season an go for the title?
Honestly, i dont know. It's a little early for those kind of predictions, I don't know what kind of squad we'll have in the coming season. It's still uncertain who will leave and who will come. Never the less I belive that Werder will always have a quality team, and next season will probably be no different. It will only be after the summer transfers when we'll see if the team will be good enoug to compete with Bayern.

You mentioned, that it's uncertain who will come and go. Your contract is expireing. Will you stay or will you go?
That is true. I have a contract with Werder until the end of this season. I thought about the future a lot. I admit I have been concidering to try in anothe country, but I havet't decided anything yet. That's all I can say for now.

Do you agree that German Bundesliga is loosing touch with English, Spanish and Italian leagues?
Those leagues are really hard to compete with. There's more and more money in England, Spain and Italy, but I belive that German league can compete. It may seem like those competitions are stronger, but that can change in a few years. The fact is that Bundesliga always was and always will be one of the strongest competitions in the world.

You have had a tough time returning after two kidney transplants. You career was in doubt. How did you manage to overcome the obstacles and return?
I'm the kind of guy that doesn't give up easily. I allway say you have to belive in yourself. That's very importat because it gives you the proper motivation. In my case, my family helped alot. They all belived me and encouraged me and help me get through some hard times. The kept telling me that one day it will all be good again. Although now I have a strict diet, and I have to take medication I got used to it and im feeling better every day.

You earned being called back into Croatian squad. How did you see the last two friendlies with the natioan team?
We played a really poor match agaist Holland. We weren't focused enoguh and the result was not suprising. We plaied alot better against Scottland. We were more focused and did what coach Slaven Bilić told us. I'm happy that I got back into the team after a year and a half.

Eduardo da Silva will probably not play in Euro 2008. Will this be a handycap for Croatia? Which attacker you think could explode in Euro?
Eduardo is a grat player and we'll definately miss him. Croatia has many quality attackers os I belive we can do well even without him. It's hard to say who will explode, I just can't predict that.

What kind of chance do you think Croatia has on this European Championship? How far can you go?
Croatia always had a quality squad. We are not afraid of anyone, there is noone we coudn't beat. The first match against Austria will bre the definitive one. After that match we'll see how well prepared are we, and what chances we have. Next two matches ar going to be harder, especially Germany who are among the favourites to lift the trophy.

Who do you belive are the favourites in the upcoming Euro?
I don't thin much has changed. Surprises happen so you can't rule that out, but the main favourites are same as always. Holland, France, Italy and Germany are absolute favourites.