Ioannis Amanatidis

DW-TV:

First of all: should we refer to each other formally or by first name?

Ioannis Amanatidis:

Using first names is fine.

Okay, that's good. My name's André...

I'm Ianni.

Ianni, I'm from Australia and as an Australian I've spent the last months watching the Cricket World Cup and Rugby World Cup. It was great. Why should I come down on a Saturday afternoon and watch Frankfurt play?

I think in Europe, and especially Germany, football really is the number one sport. You can see that when you go to a game. The stadium here is fantastic, with a great atmosphere. Every week we have basically a sell out crowd. The feeling is indescribable. You just have to be there yourself and experience it.

You've played with a few teams in Germany: Fürth, Kaiserslautern, Stuttgart. What's so special about Frankfurt?

I've been pretty much everywhere in southern Germany, that's true. But somehow I just couldn't leave Frankfurt. I just like it here I suppose. I've played the majority of my Bundesliga games for Frankfurt, scored most of my goals here and when I'm moving around the city I feel comfortable. If I go away and visit friends - to Stuttgart or wherever - then I immediately feel at home when I drive back in to the city. That's a satisfying feeling.

You mention feeling at home here...but you were born in Kozani, in northern Greece. What was life like back then?

It was a simple village life. I lived there until I was 9 years old and went to school there. Well actually as soon as I got home from school I went and played football on the street with my friends . Sometimes I got in trouble because there was homework that needed doing...other times I just slipped off without anyone noticing. I suppose you could say that Greek village life is a bit more relaxed than living here. Then my family decided that we were going to move to Germany.

You are now in the Greek International side, have been for a while in fact. Do you have goals at that level?

Of course. I want to play for Greece as much as I can. When I first came in to the national team I was 21 or 22 and was playing only irregularly. Now I have established myself. If I stay fit and perform at my best, I should be playing. And that's the goal. And if I am on the field then I want to show what I can do - for my country and for our fans, my countrymen, who always come and support us.

Speaking of countrymen: there is another Greek player at Frankfurt, Sotirios Kyrgiakos. What's it like having him on the pitch for you as captain?

He's still having difficulties with his German, probably because he doesn't want to speak the language. But that's not important because we all speak a type of football language with each other anyway. For that reason language isn't so important and he doesn't have to learn German, but it might help him in his private life. He helps our team immensely on the field. I help him in training and on the field to understand what's going on. It's good that he's here in Frankfurt - he strengthens our team and that's the most important thing.

You must have personal goals though at Frankfurt. What do you aim for yourself at the start of each season? Do you say: I want 20 goals?

No, I don't believe in that. I put the team first and its success. If we are successful, if we play well and develop our game, then each one of us will develop individually anyway. That's a basic principle but you have to understand it. I will never say: I want 10, 15 or 20 goals in a season. I've scored three thus far, that's okay. I would certainly like to score a few more this season. But the specific number is unimportant.

Let's say, hypothetically, you are playing for Frankfurt in the German Cup and you score a goal. Two months later you score a goal for Greece in the European Championships. What's more important for you, personally?

Well, it depends. If it was the third or fourth goal in a game then it's not so important as when it is a tight 1-0 win. If it was the 1-0 for Greece then I would prefer to score that than the 4-0 for Frankfurt because there the game has already been won!

A very diplomatic answer. Okay, Ianni, thanks for your time.

No worries. My pleasure.