FTC: Kristoffer Zachariassen wasn’t interested in crab fishing

– You grew up on a magnificent fairytale island with colorful beach houses and countless fjords in the area. Did you spend a lot of time on the water?
– My father had a boat, and we often went out to the coastal waters – Kristoffer Zachariassen, 27-year-old FTC midfielder capped once for Norway told our portal. – We liked fishing, but Dad mainly fished crabs, that was his specialty. I was less attracted to it. I grew up in a fairytale place: the island itself is big, but it's inhabited by no more than 30,000 people.

– Is it true you had a cross motor?
– I did, but I've always been more interested in skiing. The nearest major town to our island is Bergen, and an hour from there, there are already huge mountains, we used to go skiing there a lot. Our island and the mainland are connected by a bridge of more than a kilometer, and I can't count how many times I've crossed it so far.

– You haven't lived anywhere else other than Norway. Did you have a hard time moving to Hungary?
– It was a big change in my life. I changed not only a club and a city but a country. Suddenly, everyone around me started speaking English, there was a lot of culture mixing in the dressing room. It's interesting to experience that. As we prepare for training, they speak French in one corner, Serbian in the other, and German in the third.

– And Norwegian in the fourth, right?
– Tokmac Nguen and I really do speak in our native language, and Franck Boli understands everything in Norwegian, but I mostly speak English to the others. Luckily, I settled in quickly, the teammates accepted me, and we became more and more fond of Budapest; it is a beautiful city.

– Is your family also having a good time?
– Our daughter was born a few months ago back home in Norway. She came to Budapest when she was three weeks old, and says everything is beautiful here... Joking aside, my wife is also having fun in Hungary.

– Do you enjoy being a father?
– Very much so. My life has changed a lot in this. As my wife put it, the video game era is over... I enjoy every moment of my time with my little girl.

– You have already had time to get used to the victories with Ferencváros. You are now waiting for the clash against Puskás Akadémia as the number one in the rankings.
– Our first game of the season against each other got postponed. So, I play against the Felcsút team on Saturday for the first time. The professional staff and the players have talked about them a lot saying that the opponent is focused during big matches. It's going to be a tough game, but winning is the only acceptable result for us.

– You've played in the middle, as well as on the right and left side of the field. Which position do you feel the most confident in?
– Number eight is my favorite. Head coach Peter Stöger often puts me on the far right, I haven't played football there before, but I'm getting more and more into it. I played at Rosenborg on the left, just like I did in my only game for Norway.

– Speaking of which... Do you think Ferencváros or Rosenborg is the bigger, more prestigious club in Europe?
– It's hard to say. I grew up in Norway, I know Rosenborg's history by heart, but now I am also aware of Ferencváros'. If we asked today's children and youngsters, maybe they would say Ferencváros is more famous. After all, in recent years, it has reached the group stages of a European Cup series, and last year's Champions League appearance was a big success.

– Is that why you signed with the Hungarian champions? Was the cup performance appealing?
– Absolutely! The Europa League is a great opportunity for me. I haven't played in the Champions League yet, and I want it more than anything to happen next season. I have a strange career path: I have never been invited to the Norwegian youth teams, my name has not even been mentioned, but this year, I was able to make my debut in the senior team against Greece. It just proved to me that everything is possible in football.

Translated by: Vanda Orosz