Mijat Gacinovic and his Eintracht Frankfurt teammates will face Mainz in the quarter-final round of the DFB-Pokal at 18:30 this evening. In an interview with DFB.de, the 22-year-old speaks about his memories of last year’s final, what Niko Kovac has meant for his development, the interest of some of Europe’s top clubs and his biggest dream as a child.
DFB.de: You’ve been at Eintracht Frankfurt for two and a half years now. What’s been your favourite thing about Germany?
Mijat Gacinovic: Definitely the Bundesliga. I think it’s an absolutely brilliant league. You have some fantastic stadiums, 50,000 spectators come to every Eintracht home game - the fans are unbelievable. It’s something special and I’m very happy here.
DFB.de: After reaching the final of this competition last year, what memories do you have of that experience?
Gacinovic: It was obviously a great experience, but at the end of it all, we unfortunately lost to Borussia Dortmund. We played well though and a win would not have been undeserved.
DFB.de: Does missing out last year make your motivation to get back to Berlin even greater?
Gacinovic: We found out last year how great it is to play in a final. It’s why we play football. The whole occasion was amazing. We want to do everything to get back to Berlin, but there’s a long way yet. We have to make use of last year’s experience and then we might be able to get there again.
DFB.de: Mainz are the next team in your path. What do you make of your rivals at the moment?
Gacinovic: We’re expecting a tough game against Mainz in the quarterfinals. It’ll be a tough ask. Mainz are a very compact and well organised side, so it’ll be hard to get goals. But we’re ready to give it our all.
DFB.de: The game will be Eintracht’s first cup tie at home this season...
Gacinovic: The atmosphere at every one of our home games is unbelievable. That gives our team an extra edge. Our fans are amazing, everyone knows that. They are the twelfth man on the pitch. They’ll be there again against Mainz and will support us no matter what.
DFB.de: You’ve scored twice in the cup this year. How happy are you with your performances so far?
Gacinovic: I’m happy to have got on the scoresheet in the cup, but I haven’t managed to in the league yet. I could have had a few goals by now, but they’ll come sooner or later. We’ve played very well collectively to this point, although we have to keep getting better.
DFB.de: Eintracht have been great in the cup so far, and have been ever better in the league.
Gacinovic: We were also on a goof run of form this time last season, but we fell apart slightly. We have a deeper squad this year though and even more quality. We have to use that and keep getting better. If we have the chance to qualify for Europe, we must take it. It’s too early to start talking
about Europe right now, however. Nevertheless, it’s my biggest dream to play on the European stage with Eintracht.
DFB.de: It’s a dream that would be easier to realise at a top club. Are you aware of the interest from Manchester United and Bayern Munich?
Gacinovic: I’ve read a bit about that, but I’m very settled here at Eintracht and it’s also the best place for me to develop. Obviously it’s a dream of mine to play for one of the biggest clubs one day. But that’s a while away - right now it’s not playing on my mind at all.
DFB.de: How important has your coach been for your development?
Gacinovic: Niko has been and still is very important for me and my development at Eintracht. I’ve played in almost every position in midfield and attack under him. He mostly plays me behind the striker, which I enjoy a lot.
DFB.de: In the meantime you’ve learned how to speak fluent German.
Gacinovic: When you want to develop to the best of your ability, you have to be able to speak the language fluently. That was clear to me from the very beginning. So I tried to learn German as quickly as possible after I got here. It doesn’t just make things easier on the pitch, but also in private life too.
DFb.de: Aside from possibly reaching another cup final, there’s another thing to look forward this summer: Serbia have qualified for the World Cup in Russia. What do you think your chances are like of making the squad?
Gacinovic: I was actually a part of the squad all throughout qualification, so I’m hoping to be selected for the World Cup and make it into the starting XI too. I’m going to try and get as much game time for Frankfurt to prove that I’m worthy.
DFB.de: Brazil await in Group G - a tough opponent.
Gacinovic: Back when I was a child, Brazil were the best team in the world. It would obviously be a great experience to play against them. They have one of the best squads and are rightly one of the favourites to win it all in Russia. It would be a dream come true if I had the honour of playing them.
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Mijat Gacinovic and his Eintracht Frankfurt teammates will face Mainz in the quarter-final round of the DFB-Pokal at 18:30 this evening. In an interview with DFB.de, the 22-year-old speaks about his memories of last year’s final, what Niko Kovac has meant for his development, the interest of some of Europe’s top clubs and his biggest dream as a child.
DFB.de: You’ve been at Eintracht Frankfurt for two and a half years now. What’s been your favourite thing about Germany?
Mijat Gacinovic: Definitely the Bundesliga. I think it’s an absolutely brilliant league. You have some fantastic stadiums, 50,000 spectators come to every Eintracht home game - the fans are unbelievable. It’s something special and I’m very happy here.
DFB.de: After reaching the final of this competition last year, what memories do you have of that experience?
Gacinovic: It was obviously a great experience, but at the end of it all, we unfortunately lost to Borussia Dortmund. We played well though and a win would not have been undeserved.
DFB.de: Does missing out last year make your motivation to get back to Berlin even greater?
Gacinovic: We found out last year how great it is to play in a final. It’s why we play football. The whole occasion was amazing. We want to do everything to get back to Berlin, but there’s a long way yet. We have to make use of last year’s experience and then we might be able to get there again.
DFB.de: Mainz are the next team in your path. What do you make of your rivals at the moment?
Gacinovic: We’re expecting a tough game against Mainz in the quarterfinals. It’ll be a tough ask. Mainz are a very compact and well organised side, so it’ll be hard to get goals. But we’re ready to give it our all.
DFB.de: The game will be Eintracht’s first cup tie at home this season...
Gacinovic: The atmosphere at every one of our home games is unbelievable. That gives our team an extra edge. Our fans are amazing, everyone knows that. They are the twelfth man on the pitch. They’ll be there again against Mainz and will support us no matter what.
DFB.de: You’ve scored twice in the cup this year. How happy are you with your performances so far?
Gacinovic: I’m happy to have got on the scoresheet in the cup, but I haven’t managed to in the league yet. I could have had a few goals by now, but they’ll come sooner or later. We’ve played very well collectively to this point, although we have to keep getting better.
DFB.de: Eintracht have been great in the cup so far, and have been ever better in the league.
Gacinovic: We were also on a goof run of form this time last season, but we fell apart slightly. We have a deeper squad this year though and even more quality. We have to use that and keep getting better. If we have the chance to qualify for Europe, we must take it. It’s too early to start talking
about Europe right now, however. Nevertheless, it’s my biggest dream to play on the European stage with Eintracht.
DFB.de: It’s a dream that would be easier to realise at a top club. Are you aware of the interest from Manchester United and Bayern Munich?
Gacinovic: I’ve read a bit about that, but I’m very settled here at Eintracht and it’s also the best place for me to develop. Obviously it’s a dream of mine to play for one of the biggest clubs one day. But that’s a while away - right now it’s not playing on my mind at all.
DFB.de: How important has your coach been for your development?
Gacinovic: Niko has been and still is very important for me and my development at Eintracht. I’ve played in almost every position in midfield and attack under him. He mostly plays me behind the striker, which I enjoy a lot.
DFB.de: In the meantime you’ve learned how to speak fluent German.
Gacinovic: When you want to develop to the best of your ability, you have to be able to speak the language fluently. That was clear to me from the very beginning. So I tried to learn German as quickly as possible after I got here. It doesn’t just make things easier on the pitch, but also in private life too.
DFb.de: Aside from possibly reaching another cup final, there’s another thing to look forward this summer: Serbia have qualified for the World Cup in Russia. What do you think your chances are like of making the squad?
Gacinovic: I was actually a part of the squad all throughout qualification, so I’m hoping to be selected for the World Cup and make it into the starting XI too. I’m going to try and get as much game time for Frankfurt to prove that I’m worthy.
DFB.de: Brazil await in Group G - a tough opponent.
Gacinovic: Back when I was a child, Brazil were the best team in the world. It would obviously be a great experience to play against them. They have one of the best squads and are rightly one of the favourites to win it all in Russia. It would be a dream come true if I had the honour of playing them.
