"The best thing that ever happened to me"

Andrej, you've been playing in Hoffenheim for over five years. You've never lived outside of Croatia for this long before. Has the Kraichgau region since become your second home?

"Absolutely. The region, the club, the town, the atmosphere – I really like it all here. It's calm, and I can enjoy the nature. In Heidelberg, I particularly like the romantic old town and the castle. I enjoy every moment here. The Kraichgau region is really very, very similar to my homeland. I recognised that immediately when I arrived here in January 2016. It felt right from the first moment."

You've never spoken much about the time before your football career. Where did you grow up in Croatia?

"I was born in Zagreb and spent the majority of my childhood there. But I spent the first few years living in the Zagorje region, which is in the north close to the Slovenian border, approximately one hour away from Zagreb. My family comes from a small village in the region. Back then, my parents moved to Zagreb to try to find work – and before I went to nursery, I spent a lot of time with my grandparents in Zagorje. It wasn't until I went to school that we all moved to Zagreb. Most of my family still lives in Zagorje today."

What memories do you have of your childhood?

"I was often outside and used to enjoy being in nature as a small child. In addition, my father spent a lot of time with me on the football pitch. Because ever since I learned how to walk, I always had footballs in my bedroom and used to play everywhere in our apartment. We didn't live a life of luxury, but we weren't wanting for anything. My mother studied medicine and initially worked as a doctor. Nowadays, she works in the Croatian Health Ministry. My father is retired, but beforehand he worked for the government. My parents did everything to ensure my sister, who is four years older than me, and I had a lovely childhood. I have very fond memories of that time."

At what age did you start playing for a football club?

"My first football club was Dinamo Zagreb; I first played for them when I was six years old. Back then, my father would drive me directly from nursery school to Dinamo's stadium in Zagreb's Maksimir district. Dinamo is the biggest club in the city and was the club of my childhood. Every youngster dreams of playing for Dinamo one day."

"It was a very special moment"

You were 17 years old when you made your debut for the first-team alongside big names such as Mario Mandzukic, Dejan Lovren and Robert Kovac.

"It really was a very special moment. I was always one of the best players at the academy level and then it was a case of taking the next step. I was regularly allowed to train with the first team and then I played in a team together with all of those great guys for the first time in a match against NK Zagreb. That made me very happy – even though we lost the derby that day."

Your parents were presumably very proud of you…

"Oh yes – especially my father. He used to play football himself and perhaps had the talent to become a professional. But my grandfather said that you couldn't make a living from sport and sent him to university."

Your father, meanwhile, always supported you in your efforts to become a professional footballer...

"It was actually one of the reasons why I ultimately turned professional. We did a lot of extra sessions together. He was the most important coach during my childhood and has consistently tried to make me a better player. He has played a big part in me getting here. The fact that I went on to play for my hometown club Dinamo Zagreb was the icing on the cake for him."

Your close connection to Croatia is clear to see. Would you describe yourself as a person who is close to his roots?

"That's 100% the case. I try to visit my family in Croatia as often as possible. There are several flights from Frankfurt heading for Zagreb every day. That's very important to me. Unfortunately, the current restrictions mean that regular visits to my family are not possible. Although I have not lived in Croatia for almost seven years now, I still feel very closely connected to my home country and I see Zagreb as my home."

How did it feel when you left your homeland for the first time in January 2015 and joined Leicester City?

"I was alone, I didn't see my family and friends for a long time. That made the first three months very difficult for me. After a while, I got used to the situation and things got better, but by that point I was already a bit on the fringes of the team. By that stage, it was almost too late already. That was the reason why I decided to make the move to Hoffenheim."

"It means so much to me"

So you came to Hoffenheim in January 2016, initially on loan for six months, to help TSG in a relegation battle. More than five years have now passed...

"I never would've thought that I'd be able to produce such good performances at a club like this in a foreign country. I didn't expect that I'd one day be regarded as one of the best strikers in Germany. It means so much to me, and I'm very grateful to the whole club, the coaching staff, Alexander Rosen and everyone else for the help that they've given me over the course of the years. It's the best thing that could've happened to me."

Nowadays, you describe TSG as your second hometown club.

"Yes, and there are many reasons for that. I have a super connection with my team-mates, the coaching staff and the employees. I can feel at home here and talk about anything. Then there's the sporting success, of course. We've had such a brilliant time together over the past few years. It makes me unbelievably proud that I now hold so many records."

It hasn't all been plain-sailing this season, however.

"That's true. We've actually always been very successful over the past few seasons. So we're of course disappointed with this season. I cannot deny that. Evidently something like that can happen; you can go through a bad patch as a team. But if you look at the period as a whole, we've had a lot of success together. You always want more of that, but then as we've seen it can unfortunately go in a different direction too. We have to accept it and increase our quality on the pitch again in the future."

"I feel very happy here"

Your contract with TSG runs until the summer of 2022. Have you already given thought to your future?

"I think everyone should do that. I hold talks with Alex (editor's note: Rosen) and the coaching staff very often. But my contract still has more than a year to go. There's no need for us to stress. I obviously think about it often, but for now my focus is on the rest of the season. Afterwards, we'll hold further talks and see what happens. I can only re-emphasise how happy I feel here."

Do you already have some nice plans for once your career is over?

"We will certainly return to Zagreb. That's my hometown; my family live very close by. For me, family, friends and relaxation are what defines home. I'm really looking forward to that time, but I will certainly return frequently to Hoffenheim, Heidelberg, and the Kraichgau region once my career is over. It is, and will remain, my second home."