It has become like family to me now. I know all the staff, from the administrative staff to the team personnel – everyone who works at the club. I have very good relationships with all of them and I just feel comfortable. And I think this club is special because we foster exactly that feeling: the non-playing staff aren't just staff, and the players aren’t just the players.
It is always unbelievably special. All Champions League games are, but a home game even more so, because very often you’ve got friends and family here. You come out, turn around and look up, and you're just enjoying it. Then you hear the Champions League music as well. So you can enjoy the first two or three minutes before the game, soak it all up and you certainly draw a lot of energy from that.
It’s only the second time we've been in the competition. I was lucky to get some experience the first time round so I was definitely excited this time, but I knew what was coming as far as the atmosphere was concerned – and it was just sheer anticipation. We just wanted to enjoy it and give the best possible performance. We thought, “The fans are back and it's going to be a great night to play football.”
Yes. It's like before you goto war: you hear the noise first and you think, "This is it." And then you go out…
It was unbelievable! I think it would also have been great if we had scored around the 80th minute, say, but a last-minute goal like that… I don't want to say it's cooler, but it comes with different emotions. It's pure euphoria. The whole stadium is on its feet, people are all hugging each other and you know you've won the match. I was thinking during the game, “We have to get this done, we have to win this game,” and then to score a goal that late was just pure emotion – and pure joy.
It has become like family to me now. I know all the staff, from the administrative staff to the team personnel – everyone who works at the club. I have very good relationships with all of them and I just feel comfortable. And I think this club is special because we foster exactly that feeling: the non-playing staff aren't just staff, and the players aren’t just the players.
It is always unbelievably special. All Champions League games are, but a home game even more so, because very often you’ve got friends and family here. You come out, turn around and look up, and you're just enjoying it. Then you hear the Champions League music as well. So you can enjoy the first two or three minutes before the game, soak it all up and you certainly draw a lot of energy from that.
It’s only the second time we've been in the competition. I was lucky to get some experience the first time round so I was definitely excited this time, but I knew what was coming as far as the atmosphere was concerned – and it was just sheer anticipation. We just wanted to enjoy it and give the best possible performance. We thought, “The fans are back and it's going to be a great night to play football.”
Yes. It's like before you goto war: you hear the noise first and you think, "This is it." And then you go out…
It was unbelievable! I think it would also have been great if we had scored around the 80th minute, say, but a last-minute goal like that… I don't want to say it's cooler, but it comes with different emotions. It's pure euphoria. The whole stadium is on its feet, people are all hugging each other and you know you've won the match. I was thinking during the game, “We have to get this done, we have to win this game,” and then to score a goal that late was just pure emotion – and pure joy.
Yes, it was hugely important. I think we experienced that last season in the Europa League when we got through against Leverkusen [in the round of 32]. We put in a great performance and the stadium was completely empty; you want to celebrate and there's nobody there. So a game like that – when the fans are there, when the stadium is full – is doubly great. Because if we had won and the ground had been empty, yes, you’d be happy, but it wouldn't have been the same.
Yes, it does. A stadium can always have an influence. Either you're walking onto the pitch here and you've got 30,000 fans behind you, or you have a game like we had in Budapest [against Ferencváros in the play-offs] when 20,000 fans are all against you. That's a motivating factor for us as well. I have played a lot of games now so I can assess those situations and deal with them, and when we play away from home and there’s a big crowd against us, I can draw strength from that. It’s a big motivation.
I have a close relationship with them. I have moments in games where the ball goes out of play and I take a look around to see exactly what's going on. It's not that we are the players and they are just fans: we try to bring the two together. Here we are one unit, with them in the stands and us on the pitch. We played without fans for 18months and now that they're back, it's definitely something that makes football special.
It has become like family to me now. I know all the staff, from the administrative staff to the team personnel – everyone who works at the club. I have very good relationships with all of them and I just feel comfortable. And I think this club is special because we foster exactly that feeling: the non-playing staff aren't just staff, and the players aren’t just the players.
It is always unbelievably special. All Champions League games are, but a home game even more so, because very often you’ve got friends and family here. You come out, turn around and look up, and you're just enjoying it. Then you hear the Champions League music as well. So you can enjoy the first two or three minutes before the game, soak it all up and you certainly draw a lot of energy from that.
It’s only the second time we've been in the competition. I was lucky to get some experience the first time round so I was definitely excited this time, but I knew what was coming as far as the atmosphere was concerned – and it was just sheer anticipation. We just wanted to enjoy it and give the best possible performance. We thought, “The fans are back and it's going to be a great night to play football.”
Yes. It's like before you goto war: you hear the noise first and you think, "This is it." And then you go out…
It was unbelievable! I think it would also have been great if we had scored around the 80th minute, say, but a last-minute goal like that… I don't want to say it's cooler, but it comes with different emotions. It's pure euphoria. The whole stadium is on its feet, people are all hugging each other and you know you've won the match. I was thinking during the game, “We have to get this done, we have to win this game,” and then to score a goal that late was just pure emotion – and pure joy.
It has become like family to me now. I know all the staff, from the administrative staff to the team personnel – everyone who works at the club. I have very good relationships with all of them and I just feel comfortable. And I think this club is special because we foster exactly that feeling: the non-playing staff aren't just staff, and the players aren’t just the players.
It is always unbelievably special. All Champions League games are, but a home game even more so, because very often you’ve got friends and family here. You come out, turn around and look up, and you're just enjoying it. Then you hear the Champions League music as well. So you can enjoy the first two or three minutes before the game, soak it all up and you certainly draw a lot of energy from that.
It’s only the second time we've been in the competition. I was lucky to get some experience the first time round so I was definitely excited this time, but I knew what was coming as far as the atmosphere was concerned – and it was just sheer anticipation. We just wanted to enjoy it and give the best possible performance. We thought, “The fans are back and it's going to be a great night to play football.”
Yes. It's like before you goto war: you hear the noise first and you think, "This is it." And then you go out…
It was unbelievable! I think it would also have been great if we had scored around the 80th minute, say, but a last-minute goal like that… I don't want to say it's cooler, but it comes with different emotions. It's pure euphoria. The whole stadium is on its feet, people are all hugging each other and you know you've won the match. I was thinking during the game, “We have to get this done, we have to win this game,” and then to score a goal that late was just pure emotion – and pure joy.
It has become like family to me now. I know all the staff, from the administrative staff to the team personnel – everyone who works at the club. I have very good relationships with all of them and I just feel comfortable. And I think this club is special because we foster exactly that feeling: the non-playing staff aren't just staff, and the players aren’t just the players.
It is always unbelievably special. All Champions League games are, but a home game even more so, because very often you’ve got friends and family here. You come out, turn around and look up, and you're just enjoying it. Then you hear the Champions League music as well. So you can enjoy the first two or three minutes before the game, soak it all up and you certainly draw a lot of energy from that.
It’s only the second time we've been in the competition. I was lucky to get some experience the first time round so I was definitely excited this time, but I knew what was coming as far as the atmosphere was concerned – and it was just sheer anticipation. We just wanted to enjoy it and give the best possible performance. We thought, “The fans are back and it's going to be a great night to play football.”
Yes. It's like before you goto war: you hear the noise first and you think, "This is it." And then you go out…
It was unbelievable! I think it would also have been great if we had scored around the 80th minute, say, but a last-minute goal like that… I don't want to say it's cooler, but it comes with different emotions. It's pure euphoria. The whole stadium is on its feet, people are all hugging each other and you know you've won the match. I was thinking during the game, “We have to get this done, we have to win this game,” and then to score a goal that late was just pure emotion – and pure joy.
Yes, it was hugely important. I think we experienced that last season in the Europa League when we got through against Leverkusen [in the round of 32]. We put in a great performance and the stadium was completely empty; you want to celebrate and there's nobody there. So a game like that – when the fans are there, when the stadium is full – is doubly great. Because if we had won and the ground had been empty, yes, you’d be happy, but it wouldn't have been the same.
Yes, it does. A stadium can always have an influence. Either you're walking onto the pitch here and you've got 30,000 fans behind you, or you have a game like we had in Budapest [against Ferencváros in the play-offs] when 20,000 fans are all against you. That's a motivating factor for us as well. I have played a lot of games now so I can assess those situations and deal with them, and when we play away from home and there’s a big crowd against us, I can draw strength from that. It’s a big motivation.
I have a close relationship with them. I have moments in games where the ball goes out of play and I take a look around to see exactly what's going on. It's not that we are the players and they are just fans: we try to bring the two together. Here we are one unit, with them in the stands and us on the pitch. We played without fans for 18months and now that they're back, it's definitely something that makes football special.
It has become like family to me now. I know all the staff, from the administrative staff to the team personnel – everyone who works at the club. I have very good relationships with all of them and I just feel comfortable. And I think this club is special because we foster exactly that feeling: the non-playing staff aren't just staff, and the players aren’t just the players.
It is always unbelievably special. All Champions League games are, but a home game even more so, because very often you’ve got friends and family here. You come out, turn around and look up, and you're just enjoying it. Then you hear the Champions League music as well. So you can enjoy the first two or three minutes before the game, soak it all up and you certainly draw a lot of energy from that.
It’s only the second time we've been in the competition. I was lucky to get some experience the first time round so I was definitely excited this time, but I knew what was coming as far as the atmosphere was concerned – and it was just sheer anticipation. We just wanted to enjoy it and give the best possible performance. We thought, “The fans are back and it's going to be a great night to play football.”
Yes. It's like before you goto war: you hear the noise first and you think, "This is it." And then you go out…
It was unbelievable! I think it would also have been great if we had scored around the 80th minute, say, but a last-minute goal like that… I don't want to say it's cooler, but it comes with different emotions. It's pure euphoria. The whole stadium is on its feet, people are all hugging each other and you know you've won the match. I was thinking during the game, “We have to get this done, we have to win this game,” and then to score a goal that late was just pure emotion – and pure joy.
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